Safety problems East Rail Line

1 safety problems

1.1 train accidents
1.2 underframe cracking
1.3 platform gaps

safety problems

the east rail line hong kong s oldest high-speed railway (as opposed tramways). while regarded safe, railway suffered serious incidents during history.

train accidents

at 11:00 am, 14 june 1923, train derailed @ ma liu shui due landslide following heavy rain. locomotive , 1 coach derailed , slid down embankment edge of tide cove. nobody injured.

the same locomotive involved in 1923 incident involved in more serious derailment on 20 april 1931. owing heavy rains, embankment @ ma liu shui south of today s university station weakened. collapsed kowloon-bound train passed on @ 17:10, causing locomotive , 4 carriages crash , pile atop 1 another. there 12 deaths , 8 serious injuries.

on 12 november 1955 fatal accident occurred @ mile 17¼, site of private military level crossing. speeding passenger train struck british military comet tank @ crossing. new diesel electric locomotive, sir alexander (now exhibited in hong kong railway museum), derailed. various other carriages severely damaged. train guard , member of tank crew killed.

at 15:00 on 18 december 1980, contractor building mong kok (now mong kok east) station accidentally severed signalling cables, disabling automatic signalling system. @ time, railway had been partly doubled-tracked, , still made use of old single-track beacon hill tunnel. later in day, 2 trains inadvertently put on head-on collision course south of tunnel. @ 18:40, lo wu-bound train carrying 1,500 passengers reached point double-tracked section of railway ended ahead of tunnel, near yau yat chuen. safety device, trap point, prevented collision forcing train derail, causing minor injuries passengers. minute later, southbound train came screeching halt @ accident site. kcr spokesman blamed misunderstanding in telephone communication .

on 25 november 1984, train derailed between sheung shui , lo wu stations. incident occurred when driver, meaning train sheung shui station, failed follow speed/stop signal while train exceeding speed limit. train being driven rear cabin, driver relying on signals train guard in front carriage. train sped past danger signal onto siding @ 30 kph, rather shunting onto main line @ 10 kph meant to. crashed concrete buffer @ end of siding, first 2 cars piling on top of each other. damage severe cars never returned service. passengers had been unloaded prior crash while 2 kcr employees escaped significant injury. however, accident caused train services suspended rest of day , incident spurred series of public outcries concerning railway safety. kcr determined accident occurred due human error , not system failure, suspended driver, , changed procedures such drivers required operate train front carriage while shunting @ sheung shui.

in 1988, there numerous separate incidents of chinese freight trains derailing on railway. on 28 may, locomotive , goods wagon jumped tracks near fo tan station, blocking line. services temporarily detoured through racecourse station. on 4 june, wagon derailed near university station, again blocking line. coupled lorry accident in lion rock tunnel same day, kowloon , sha tin thrown traffic chaos . on 2 july, goods wagon derailed on siding in lo wu after arriving shenzhen. being hauled fo tan workshop @ 1:44 following day examination, derailed again, though damage tracks minor. nobody injured in above incidents. problems attributed uneven loading of freight trains, sharply curved trackage unideal freight wagons, , structural characteristics of chinese trains. in response, kcrc carried out track improvements , liaised guangzhou railway administration. @ time, kcrc handled 6.25 million freight wagons per year, derailments relatively isolated occurrences.

in morning of 31 may 1989, diesel locomotive l57 collided head-on locomotive l56 @ mongkok (now mong kok east) station, causing injuries 4 kcr staff. 3 employees in l57 taking locomotive kowloon (now hung hom) station fo tan repairs. locomotive ran red signal , struck stationary l56 while traveling @ 50 kph. chan yau-keung, kcr corporation construction supervisor, critically injured , died on 8 june @ kwong wah hospital. had been standing between driver ko yuk-ching , co-driver lee kam-ming, both of whom seated. ko qualified driver while lee, assistant operator, operating under ko s supervision. lee driving @ time of accident, seated in left of cabin , not see signals, on right , obscured long hood of vehicle. according procedures, lee had rely on ko relay him status of signals. ko, speaking @ inquest following accident, stated had felt dizzy , not recall colours signals displayed. advance warning system (aws) of locomotive l57, have automatically halted train, switched off. kcr officers in control centre saw impending collision not warn crew l57 radio switched off.

underframe cracking

on 21 december 2005, metro cammell emu failed while in operation. following examination of train, kcrc staff detected minor cracks in welding of mounting brackets underframe components. review panel commissioned kcrc looked problem 4 aspects:

the rate of change of acceleration , deceleration of trains
the welding of components mounting brackets
the profile of track , train wheels
suspension system

since full introduction of automatic train operation (ato) on east rail system in 2003, rate of change of acceleration , deceleration resulting ato driving added stress underframe components. allow root cause investigation carried out, use of ato system suspended on 15 january 2006, leaving operation of trains in hands of train drivers, safety of train operation under control of automatic train protection system. resulted in decreased frequency (from 24 23 trains per hour) , lengthened trip time (increase 90 seconds 42.5 minutes). kcrc temporarily transferred staff west rail cope recent maintenance of trains.

the environment, transport , works bureau reprimanded kcrc not notifying government when found problems east rail trains in 2005. secretary bureau dr. sarah liao said had ordered kcrc inspect trains, , did not rule out suspending services if there safety doubts. dr. liao ordered chairman review corporation s operations, including management , overall system, , submit report. kcrc chairman michael tien accepted responsibility corporation s poor judgement in not sharing information public in timely matter.

on 21 january 2006, michael tien stated safety problems of east rail had been controlled, , train service expected operate usual, including train service in chinese new year. kcrc east rail trains reverted ato operation on 6 august 2006, after investigation confirmed ato system not direct cause of cracking.

platform gaps

the wide platform gap @ several stations (namely lo wu, tai wo, university, kowloon tong, , mong kok east) safety concern. kcrc has visually marked gap black spots on platforms of stations , stated plates installed in gap between train , station. platform gap caused curvature of station , how train enters station area. mechanical gap filler system, extends platform edge when train stopped @ station, trialed @ lo wu station.

after 2 incidents of children falling onto tracks @ university station in 1985, issue discussed in legislative council. secretary transport asserted gaps within international safety limits , , gap not narrowed due curvature of station rather wider bodies of chinese through trains run through station daily. man fractured leg boarding train @ university station in 2008 asserted fell gap of 35 cm, while mtr claimed 22 cm @ relevant section of platform.

the future mtr r-stock trains have wider compartments existing east rail line rolling stock, therefore narrowing gap. also, due planned decrease in train lengths 12 cars 9 cars, trains stop @ less curved sections of platforms. mtr suggests width of gap similar of urban lines. in addition, automatic platform gates being installed on east rail line platforms part of sha tin central link project. these block passengers view of wide platform gaps. reduce safety risk, mtr installing 140 mechanical gap fillers @ mong kok east, university, , lo wu stations.