MTR faces scrutiny after eight-hour disruption on East Rail Line

MTR will submit a report to the government regarding the eight-hour service disruption on the East Rail Line caused by a faulty level-sensing system in an engineers’ train near Tai Wo station, said chief of operations engineering maintenance Lee Kim-hung.

Speaking on a radio program on Thursday, Lee outlined the company's thorough investigation and apologized for any inconvenience to passengers.

The crane carriage of the engineer train tilted to the left due to the malfunctioned leveling system on Wednesday morning, which took nearly eight hours to fix and move the train away from the tracks. 

Lee said that the crane, the only one of its kind deployed by MTR, has been in service for two decades and is designed to maintain horizontal stability during operations.

“Workers could only conduct limited repairs on-site to ensure safety while maintaining part of the train services,” Lee said. 

He emphasized that the crane undergoes daily operational tests and regular maintenance checks. 

The company has contacted relevant contractors to review design specifications, maintenance requirements, and operational protocols.

Lawmaker Gary Zhang Xinyu said that failures in level-sensing systems are rare and urged the rail operator to investigate the causes and check for similar problems in passenger trains. 

Zhang, who plans to question the fine issue on the Legislative Council Panel on Transport on Friday, also called for a review of the penalty mechanism. 

“The current mechanism focuses on service disruption duration rather than passenger impact,” he said. 

“The penalty mechanism should reflect the scale of affected passengers as well.”

Hong Kong Federation of Railway Trade Unions chairman Lam Wai-keung expressed hope that the public would understand that frontline repair staff had done their best, as trains passing the crane increased repair complexity and time.

The Transport and Logistics Bureau expressed concerns about the incident on Wednesday, and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department has requested MTR to submit a report within a month.

(Ayra Wang)