Debate rages over MTR open section closure

A heated debate broke out between the former Observatory director and people on social media yesterday following his criticism of the blanket suspension of the open-section railway services after the No 9 signal was hoisted on Sunday.

Shun Chi-ming, the Observatory director from 2011 to 2020, posted his commentary from a Chinese-language newspaper on his Facebook account yesterday.

He suggested MTR Corp consider actual weather conditions in deciding whether or not to suspend services.

His opinion immediately drew heated debate, with some people online retorting that "it is irresponsible to let MTR examine weather conditions on its own" and "MTR is not professional in monitoring and reporting on weather; they could only rely on the Observatory's report to arrange services."

In replying, Shun said MTRC should install anemographs along open sections to monitor wind speeds when deciding whether to suspend services or not.

One person online said it would be dangerous not to suspend open-section services when the No 9 signal is hoisted as it usually indicates a situation had become urgent.

The subway operator decided to suspend open-section services once a No 9 signal is hoisted after trees fell onto its overhead cables and passengers were trapped in trains and stations overnight when Typhoon Vicente hit the city in 2012.

Shun said in the article that the force of Koinu's winds on Sunday was much weaker than Vicente's as the fierce winds only affected the southern shores of Hong Kong.

Unionists also took issue with Shun's comment.

Lam Wai-keung, chairman of Hong Kong Federation of Railway Trade Unions, said: "You can judge things easily when you're not in that position, but you have to take many things into consideration when you should be responsible for that."

He added that it would also be difficult for the MTR to monitor wind speeds and decide whether it is safe to continue service.

Leung Wing-mao, former assistant director of the Observatory, said it would be complex for railway operators to monitor wind speeds in practice.

"The Observatory puts instruments at the airport, but the service range of the MTR is much larger than the airport," he added.

The MTR stopped all open-section services from 7 pm on Sunday after the Observatory hoisted the No 9 signal.