Overseas Experts To Join MTR Collision Probe

MTR chairman Fred Ma said on Tuesday that the rail operator will set up an investigation panel which will include overseas experts to look into a collision between two trains on Monday during a signal system test run.

Speaking after a special meeting of the directors held to discuss the unprecedented accident, Ma said the board has told the MTR management to set up an investigation panel to look into the cause of the crash.

The panel will consist of MTR staff members as well as local and overseas experts.

Ma said the company is very disappointed at the performance of the contractor who supplied the new signalling system.

The MTR's operations director, Adi Lau, meanwhile, said staff members are hoping to put the derailed train back on the track on Tuesday, so it can be driven away from the tunnel after service hours.

However, he would not say when he expects services between Admiralty and Central on the Tsuen Wan Line can resume.

Transport Secretary Frank Chan, who also attended the meeting, said it is too early to say if human error or a flawed system was to blame for the collision.

Chan said the administration has ordered the railway company to carry out an in-depth probe, adding that the government's Electrical and Mechanical Services Department will also conduct its own thorough investigation and make public its findings, in order to restore people's confidence in the railway system.