Hong Kong MTR workers scrambling to restore East Rail line services after derailment, while authorities vow thorough investigations
- Eight injured when three carriages come off the track near Hung Hom station during morning commute
- Some 200 staff members involved in removal of carriages at site and safety checks
Hong Kong’s railway workers are scrambling to put train services on the East Rail line back on track, with the government and operator pledging thorough investigations, after the most serious derailment in more than two decades left five passengers in hospital on Tuesday.
The MTR Corporation said services between Mong Kok East and Hung Hom stations were suspended after three carriages veered off the tracks as a train travelling at 30km/h approached Hung Hom at about 8.30am.
MTR operations director Adi Lau Tin-shing said the aim was to get the trains up and running again by Wednesday morning, deploying some 200 staff to remove the carriages and conduct safety checks and repair work.
But he conceded the removal posed challenges. “It is clouded with uncertainties,” he said, stopping short of issuing a guarantee.
The incident dealt another blow to the embattled operator, which has been targeted in recent weeks by radical anti-government protesters who have vandalised nearly half of its 91 stations. The wave of anger at the MTR Corp followed multiple incidents of clashes between protesters and police in stations and trains, as well as a mob attack on protesters and commuters in Yuen Long.
Critics accused the rail giant of bowing down to Beijing by closing stations as demonstrations began.
