Hong Kong MTR’s Sha Tin-Central rail project ‘faces fresh six-month delay’ over signalling fiasco
- Another lengthy hold-up expected as MTR Corporation sets up investigatory panel to probe signalling glitches and the response
- Rail operator issues apology for the last-minute postponement of the East Line upgrade
Hong Kong’s costliest railway project looks set to be delayed by up to six months following the aborted launch of a new signalling system, a fiasco to be investigated by a panel the embattled MTR Corporation established on Monday.
The inevitable setback for the scandal-hit Sha Tin-Central link came as the transport giant, in an abrupt change of tone, issued a belated public apology for Friday’s eleventh-hour postponement of the East Rail line upgrade.
Hong Kong rail bosses ordered to probe signal glitches on stricken project
“The corporation recognises the public’s concern over this matter and would like to apologise for the last-minute deferral of the introduction of the new signalling system,” it said in a statement on Sunday night.
Henry Cheung Nin-sang, chairman of the Association of Hong Kong Railway Transport Professionals, said another significant delay to the whole project was very likely given the time required to submit an investigative report and for follow-up works.
“The panel will take three months to conduct its investigation and recommend a solution, which may take another three months for rectifying the problems and a new trial run. I reckon the rail link will be delayed by another six months,” he said.
The Sha Tin-Central project has already racked up a price tag of HK$90.7 billion (US$11.7 billion), after suffering repeated delays and cost overruns.
Services on the project were now unlikely to run in their entirety until the third quarter of 2022. The completion date had already been pushed back from the fourth quarter of next year to the first quarter of 2022.
Under the East Rail line upgrade, the original plan was to bring six of the shorter trains – made up of nine carriages rather than the current 12 – into service on Saturday, with 31 more to follow within 18 months.
Also to be introduced that day was the signalling upgrade, which together with the shorter trains would ensure the line conformed with the project’s platform designs.
However on the eve of the launch, the plan was put on hold indefinitely after testing revealed route-setting problems, which might cause a train to deviate from its intended course at the diversion point and follow the route of a previous service to the wrong station.
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The MTR Corp said it had set up an investigation panel to probe the matter, with its report expected to be submitted to the government within three months.
Chaired by Edmund Leung, former president of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, the panel’s membership includes MTR Corp’s engineering director Peter Ewen and two external experts from consultants WSP – Joseph Wong, director of infrastructure for the China region, and Gab Parris, technical discipline lead and associate director.
It said the panel would look into matters such as MTR Corp’s identification of the issues and the response, internal communications and reporting mechanisms, and whether the process for informing relevant government departments was timely or appropriate. The panel can also recommend improvement measures.
The rail firm said it would wait until a technical solution had been accepted before deploying the new signalling system.
“The corporation reiterates that even under the potential incorrect route setting, the automatic train protection system is fully functioning to safeguard train operation. This issue has no impact on safety and the possibility of occurrence is considered very low,” it said.
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The Sha Tin-Central project aims to connect Admiralty on Hong Kong Island and Hung Hom in Kowloon by extending both the East Rail and Tuen Ma lines.
The first section of the link – phase one of the new Tuen Ma line and connecting Wu Kai Sha to Kai Tak through Tai Wai, Hin Keng and Diamond Hill – opened on February 14.
The Tai Wai-Hung Hom section was initially expected to open in the middle of last year after an earlier target of December 2018 was pushed back due to construction problems.
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Hong Kong rail operator MTR to open Tuen Ma Line Phase 1 on Valentine’s Day
It was further delayed to late 2021 due to reinforcement works at Hung Hom station, where shoddy work was revealed by a whistle-blower.
The opening of the cross-harbour section between Hung Hom and Admiralty, has also been pushed back from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022.
Cheung believed the latest glitches were caused by a computer bug in the software which could be easily resolved with a software rewrite by supplier Siemens.
MTR Corp vows smooth launch of new trains, signalling system on East Rail line
Ex-railway chief and lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun said he understood that conflicting views between the MTR’s project and operation teams were behind the delay.
“The project team thinks the issue was minor which can be resolved by manual operation for route setting while the operation team hoped the software could be stretched to its limit. Their difference in opinion has caused the delay in reporting to the government about the route-setting issues,” he said.
Tien suggested that the MTR Corp should improve its governance through a task force formed by a government official and the operator’s top management to balance public expectations with the priorities of rail projects and services.
Lam Wai-keung, chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Railway Trade Unions, agreed that the Sha Tin-Central rail link was bound to suffer a delay of up to six months given the latest investigation.
“We are against the use of manual operation for route setting during the diversion point as this could create more human errors,” he said.
“We hope the MTR could ask for a software rewrite to ensure a safe and reliable service.”
