Qi Luo
Friday, August 01, 2014
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Kam said yesterday that although there have been several incidents in which passengers were inconvenienced, these were isolated cases and there was no common cause.
He said minor signal disruptions are unavoidable even though the railway's signaling systems adopted the most advanced technology at the time of installation.
Kam's assurances came in the wake of five signaling incidents causing delays of eight minutes or more in the past nine days. He said six types of signal systems were installed in the network using the most effective and advanced technology.
Kam said that the MTR Corp had been trying to reduce signal problems to the minimum. "There are more than 8,000 train trips each day. It's very difficult to achieve zero delay," he said.
In the first seven months, 97 delays were recorded, slightly less than the same period last year.
All the signaling systems on the different lines remain in good condition, Kam said.
The most serious recent incident occurred on the West Rail Line on July 22, causing a reduction in train frequencies that lasted for six hours.
The other four signaling-related incidents occurred on the East Rail, Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan, and West Rail lines between July 22 and July 30.
Another incident caused a delay of six minutes on the Tseung Kwan O Line on July 23.
Kam said the cause was severe lightning damage to two electronic computer cards in the signaling systems.
However, the corporation will look to strengthen lightning protection measures along the network with the assistance of an independent specialist on signaling equipment, Kam said.
A spokeswoman for the MTR added that passengers can rest assured the signaling systems on all lines are maintained and operating in good condition to provide safe train service.
In addition, replacement work on the Tsuen Wan Line, Kwun Tong Line, Island Line and Tseung Kwan O Line is expected to begin in 2015 and be completed in phases from 2018 to 2022.
After that, replacement work will begin on the Disneyland Resort Line, Tung Chung Line and Airport Express.
The East Rail Line signaling system will be replaced as part of the Sha Tin to Central Link project.
