Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation to replace section of railway track after cracks found near Tsim Sha Tsui station; longer journey times on line
- MTR Corporation says engineering staff temporarily repaired cracks that were spotted near Tsim Sha Tsui station on Thursday morning
- Lawmaker Michael Tien criticises company after service delay, urges it to deploy better technology in its daily inspections
Hong Kong’s rail operator will replace a section of tracks near Tsim Sha Tsui station overnight after the discovery of cracks caused a delay to services on Thursday morning, triggering calls from a lawmaker for the company to upgrade its inspection system.
Services between Central and Tsuen Wan were delayed by 15 to 20 minutes for a short period in the morning, with trains also travelling at reduced speed between Tsim Sha Tsui and Jordan stations.
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Staff were seen entering the tunnel from Tsim Sha Tsui station to carry out repairs.
“The engineering staff have used temporary reinforcement components to secure the affected section of the tracks to ensure safe train operations,” the MTR Corp said.
The rail giant said the overall travel time between Central and Tsuen Wan stations on the line would take an extra three to five minutes on Thursday. It reminded passengers to allocate enough time while planning their travel.
“The MTR engineering staff will closely monitor the situation of the affected section and arrange for the replacement of the tracks after the service hours tonight,” it added.
The company said tracks were secured to the track bed about every two feet (60cm) with steel fasteners, which prevented displacement and ensured safe train operations.
Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun, a former chairman of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, which merged its operations with the MTR Corp in 2007, criticised the company and urged it to deploy better technology in its daily inspections.
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He said the company would usually use reinforcement clamps to secure tracks and only replace or do welding at night during the few hours for maintenance.
“When I was the chairman, many times we relied on visual inspections for cracks in the tracks, but it is impossible to inspect everything in one night,” he wrote in a social media post.
“That’s why I have consistently advocated for the use of ultrasonic technology to inspect a larger area quickly at night.
“But it seems that they still haven’t achieved the ability to inspect everything rapidly. How long has it been since the last inspection in this particular section of the track?”
He urged the company to explain the incident as soon as possible and stick to its promise of using different technologies to enhance efficiency.
