Hiccups ‘inevitable’, says MTR as first eight-car service experiences instability after just 5 hours
ELIZABETH.CHEUNG@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 03 January, 2016, 2:44am
UPDATED : Sunday, 03 January, 2016, 10:10am
Passengers on the MTR’s West Rail Line were delayed when train service was disrupted yesterday evening. Photo: Dickson Lee
The first eight-car train in West Rail Line broke down on its debut day after running for less than five hours.
One of the two computers on the train reported instability issue at around 10.45am yesterday after it first started operating between Hung Hom and Tuen Mun stations at 6.05am.
While the issue did not affect the safety of train operation, MTR decided to send the train back to depot for check.
A spokesperson for the MTR said it was “inevitable” to take time for the new train to run smoothly at the beginning stage.
The conversion from seven to eight-car design was part of the Shatin to Central Link project, which was expected to open in 2019.
While there are currently 28 trains serving the West Rail Line, it would take at least 30 months to complete the entire conversion of trains. The overall carrying capacity has been aimed to enhance 14 per cent upon completion.
The line had more grief as service delay was reported in late afternoon yesterday. An overhead line equipment failure was experienced near Austin station at around 5.25pm. Passengers had to spend an extra 10 to 15 minutes to travel on the line in the evening.
Services between Hung Hom and Tsuen Wan West ran at every 10 minutes, while trains between Tsuen Wan West and Tuen Mun went every five minutes.
The time was extended from the standard frequencies on Saturday--four minutes for evening peak hours and five to seven minutes for non-peak hours.
Staff from MTR arrived the scene and carried out repair work. Service gradually resumed normal at around 9.25pm.
Macy Tong, a passenger who was on the train going from Austin to Nam Cheong station yesterday, wrote on a non-official MTR service Facebook page that she saw explosion and sparks outside the window.
Local media quoted other passengers on the train saying burning smell was noticed after the sound of explosion near the front part of the train. Lights and air conditioning has been out for around 10 minutes. The train moved slowly to Nam Cheong afterwards and passengers were asked to leave the train.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1897714/west-rail-lines-new-train-breaks-down-day-one
