Safety Checks Run Before Line Was Reopened: MTR

MTR officials said on Wednesday that they carried out safety tests on the link between Central and Admiralty on the Tsuen Wan Line before normal services were resumed.

Part of the line was shut for two days after two trains collided during a test run for a new signalling system. The rail authorities had earlier warned that they may need more time to remove the carriages and repair the track.

MTR operations director Adi Lau said that some trackside equipment was damaged but it has since been repaired.

"We identified that there is some equipment that [has been] damaged. But the damage is quite minor in nature and that includes the shifting of the locations of a signalling box trackside," he said.

Lau said all the damaged equipment was repaired and safety tests were conducted under the supervision of government staff before the rail operator announced the resumption of services roughly an hour ahead of the first scheduled train.

As for the two damaged trains involved in the crash, Lau said they have been removed to Admiralty and will be taken to a depot after engineers have inspected them.

He said the MTR has spare trains at its disposal and it will try its best to maintain normal services.

Lau visited Central Station along with MTR chairman Frederick Ma at around 8am on Wednesday morning.

The MTR boss thanked his staff for their tireless work, as well as the Fire Services Department for its help.

Transport Secretary Frank Chan, meanwhile, said the government will follow up with the MTR on penalties for the service disruption caused by the Monday collision. But he pointed out that focus now is on investigating the incident.

Passengers who were forced to change their commute on Tuesday due to the shutdown of the link welcomed the return to normality. "We don’t need to change at earlier stations, which takes at least 10 minutes more," said one passenger.