Hong Kong’s rail operator faces setback after new signalling system assigns wrong route to train on East Rail line
- An MTR source says it is unclear whether the mistaken assignment was the fault of the system itself or human error
- MTR Corp says it was already aware of the ‘route-setting situation’, having noticed it after staff started testing new system in May
Hong Kong’s costliest rail project ever may face further delays after the system’s beleaguered operator was forced to pump the brakes on a new batch of shorter trains and a new signalling system for the connecting East Rail line on Friday in order to fix route-setting glitches.
The first phase of the changes was to bring six of the shorter trains into service on Saturday, with another 31 to follow within 18 months.
However, James Chow So-hung, the MTR Corp’s divisional general manager for projects construction, said the upgrade would be postponed for an indefinite period after route-setting problems were discovered during tests for the new system.
“We’ve been retesting the new system with the new trains for different scenarios,” he said. “During the process, we’ve discovered some problems with route-setting for the trains and we’ve decided to further improve the system. We don’t know how long it will take, but we hope to deliver a safe and reliable service to passengers.”
Chow admitted the work would further impact the opening of the cross-harbour section of the link between Hung Hom and Admiralty, which had already been delayed from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022.
“The improvement work will definitely impact the progress of the section between Hung Hom and Admiralty,” he said. “We are now making assessments and hope to reduce the impact to a minimal extent.”
