Hong Kong’s MTR Corp says limited repair time may prevent more ultrasonic checks for tracks, after cracked rail disrupts travel
- Rail firm’s Tony Lee tells lawmakers cracked track sent to laboratory for testing after discovery disrupts MTR services during Ching Ming Festival
- ‘There are practical difficulties [about more frequent checks] because many other works also require the precious time of overnight maintenance hours,’ he adds
Tony Lee Kar-yun, operations and innovation director at the MTR Corporation, also told a Legislative Council railway subcommittee on Friday the firm had sent the cracked track section to a laboratory for study and to prevent any repeat incidents.
The damage was uncovered on Thursday morning at a melding position along a line near Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station, causing disruptions to the Tsuen Wan line service during the Ching Ming Festival, also known as tomb-sweeping day.
Services between Central and Tsuen Wan were delayed by 15 to 20 minutes for a short period that morning, with trains also travelling at reduced speeds between Tsim Sha Tsui and Jordan.
Lee told lawmakers that engineers had replaced the damaged section at around 11.30pm on Thursday, ensuring services could fully resume on Friday.
“The components removed last night will be sent to the laboratory for further analysis to see what understanding and information we can glean, so we can step up analysis and ensure such incidents can be minimised,” he said.
