Stuck Locomotive Disrupts East Rail For Nine Hours

Services on the MTR's East Rail Line between Tai Po Market and Fo Tan were suspended for almost nine hours on Thursday after a locomotive broke down, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded and waiting for alternative transport to their destinations.

The rail authorities said services resumed by 2.30pm. They had been suspended since a locomotive pulling an engineering vehicle got stuck at University Station at 5.40am.

A large number of passengers were stranded for hours as they waited for shuttle buses arranged by the MTR from Tai Po Market Station.

MTR officials said they deployed 150 extra members of staff to manage the situation. But they said it was difficult to replace train services with shuttle buses.

The authorities said one train can move 2,000 to 3,000 passengers, but a double-decker bus carries only about 100. So it took a longer time to move this many people, they said.

The rail operator said work to move the stuck locomotive also took hours due to the complex situation. It said nearly 100 workers were at the scene, but with the 80 tonne heavy locomotive tilting, they had to move carefully and that took time.

But as services remained suspended for hours, the queue of people waiting for shuttle buses stretched from the underground bus terminus all the way along a pedestrian tunnel.

Some passengers were dissatisfied with the arrangement and said MTR officials were giving out unclear instructions.

______________________________