Hong Kong’s MTR Corp to review incident where passengers left train by emergency exit; union chief says rail giant needs to step up passenger education
- About 20 passengers left a train compartment at Wan Chai station through rear emergency exit on Monday night, sparking an hour-long service disruption
- Railway union boss says rails giant should do more to teach passengers about proper use of emergency exits
Hong Kong’s rail operator has promised to review an incident where passengers used an emergency exit to leave a carriage after the train doors stayed shut at a station, which caused an hour-long suspension on part of the Island line.
The MTR Corporation on Tuesday warned improper use of emergency equipment that affected train services and passengers was governed by MTR by-laws and vowed to step up education on safety procedures.
“The corporation will review the cause and handling of the case as well as strengthen publicity and education on related procedures, while also ensuring passengers receive updates on train service information in different situations,” a spokesman said.
The rail giant spoke out hours after an MTR Corp union chief accused the operator of failing to educate commuters about train safety.
The row broke out after 20 passengers left a carriage of a Kennedy Town-bound train at Wan Chai station through the rear emergency exit on Monday night.
The train doors and platform screen doors did not open automatically as normal, the MTR Corp said.
A group of passengers left through the emergency exit, despite the driver announcing that the doors would be opened later and appealing for patience.
About two minutes after platform staff were dispatched to help, the statement said that the driver was informed that the driving cabin and emergency ramp at the rear of the train had been opened by passengers.
MTR staff at the scene assisted the 20 passengers who had left the train to get back to the platform safely.
At around 8.11pm, seven minutes after the train arrived at the platform, the train doors and platform screen doors were opened and the rest of the passengers left the train.
Services between Quarry Bay and Sheung Wan stations, which were suspended during the incident, restarted at around 9.04pm.
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The driver in the Yau Ma Tei incident was unaware passengers had left the train and walked along the tracks.
Lam said the MTR Corp should teach passengers to use emergency exits only in urgent situations or under the driver’s orders and that people should also know the direction to take and which part of the track to walk along to avoid accidents.
He also appealed to the company to crack down on malicious behaviour.
A Transport and Logistics Bureau spokesman said they had asked the rail operator to investigate the incident and make improvements to prevent future incidents.
It added it would follow up with MTR Corp under existing agreements, which mean service suspension that lasted for 31 minutes or more could result in penalties.
But incidents caused by events beyond the operator’s control, including passengers’ behaviour, are exempted.
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Fellow legislator Gary Zhang Xinyu agreed that the MTR Corp should strengthen passenger education to ensure safety rather than focusing on the deterrent effect.
Anyone convicted of activating an emergency or safety device on railway premises without authorisation faces a HK$5,000 (US$640) fine.
The MTR Corp can face a fine if a service delay lasts more than half an hour because of technical failures or human error. For a one-hour delay, the company has to pay HK$1 million in non-rush hours and HK$200,000 more during rush hours.
