Island Line services between Sheung Wan and Quarry Bay were suspended for nearly an hour on Wednesday morning after an object obstructed the tracks near Wan Chai Station. The MTR later said a shifted engineering train component and damaged tunnel signaling equipment were found, describing the incident as “very rare.”
The railway operator also said the engineering train involved will undergo a full inspection after service ends tonight. It added that it is not yet able to determine whether the incident was caused by human error or a mechanical fault.
Speaking to the press in the afternoon, Cheris Lee Yuen-ling, chief of operating and metro segment at MTR, said the control center detected a signaling equipment failure near Wan Chai Station at around 5.30am. Engineering staff were immediately dispatched to inspect the tracks. At about 6am, they reported finding an object on the tracks between Wan Chai and Causeway Bay stations.
To ensure safety, the object had to be removed, temporary repairs carried out, and the signaling system tested before services could resume, she said.
During the emergency repair work, train services between Sheung Wan and Quarry Bay were suspended until about 7.30am, when full Island Line operations resumed.
Lee said train operations along the rest of the Island Line remained safe during the incident, with limited impact overall. The MTR kept passengers informed through station announcements and various media channels, deployed additional staff, and arranged more than 30 shuttle buses to assist affected passengers.
Lee Kim-hung, deputy director of operations engineering, said maintenance staff heard “unusual noises” near Wan Chai Station when a rail milling engineering vehicle was returning from routine track maintenance at around 5.30am.
The train then entered a siding for inspection, during which staff discovered that some undercarriage components had shifted and equipment along the track had been damaged.
He said the rail milling engineering vehicle is used for routine track maintenance and operates nightly. All engineering trains are subject to maintenance protocols and inspections before each night’s operation, he added.
Describing the situation as “very rare,” he stressed that the MTR takes the incident seriously.
Asked why the MTR initially reported only that an object had obstructed the tracks, rather than mentioning damage to signaling equipment, and whether the seriousness of the incident had been downplayed, Cheris Lee said that once the signaling damage was detected, the priority was to investigate the cause and arrange appropriate services for passengers. At that stage, she said, the most urgent task was to restore operations as quickly as possible.
When asked about possible penalties and passenger compensation, Lee said the immediate focus is on identifying the cause of the incident, adding that it is still too early to determine whether it involved human or mechanical factors.
She said the MTR has an established penalty mechanism with the government and will discuss any compensation arrangements for affected passengers with the authorities.
