Hong Kong's sole railway operator MTR Corporation on Tuesday vowed to conduct a thorough investigation into a train crash which occurred during a trial run to test a new signal system on Monday. It was the most serious incident of its kind for 40 years.

The remark came after an emergency meeting, attended by MTR's board committee members, management officers, suppliers, as well as government officials in charge of transportation.

Managing Director Jacob Kam Chak-pui told reporters MTRC will launch comprehensive investigations to find out the cause and to avoid similar accidents. The probe will involve a full inspection of the new signal system - including compatibility of the software and hardware, operating procedures - and the safety assurance mechanism.

On Monday, the MTRC said the company would submit an initial investigation report to the government in two to three months. This will be produced by a designated task force comprising experts from the MTRC, suppliers of the new signal system and third parties.

On Monday morning, two MTR trains collided near Central Station due to signal failure in a trial run testing a new signal system. A driver injured his leg and the MTR had to shut down rail services from Central to Admiralty along the Tsuen Wan Line.

MTRC Chairman Frederick Ma Si-hang said the board committee was very concerned about the accident and pledged managerial staff would "do their best" to address the issue.

With "deep disappointment", Ma said the company reserves the right to pursue legal action against suppliers of the new signal system. The suppliers had provided "flawed" software which may have caused the accident.

To increase service efficiency, reliability and passenger capacity, the MTRC invested HK$3.3 billion ($420 million) to upgrade the signal system of all the trains along seven railways. The new signal system was offered by a joint company of French-based Alstom and Canada-based Thales. Both are globally renowned signal system suppliers.

According to a statement on Tuesday, Thales promised to submit an initial report by Friday.

Also attending the emergency meeting, Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan said the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department will conduct an independent investigation into the accident.

He added that before the suspended railway service between Central and Admiralty resumes, the bureau will keep maintaining its public transport arrangements.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor also expressed deep concerns over the accident on Tuesday morning. Lam stressed that the MTRC played a key role in providing public transport services. She urged the company to launch a new signal system after sufficient tests to ensure public safety.

Tung Yip-Wai, a Hong Kong engineer and senior consultant of infrastructure projects, told China Daily that amid frequent enhancements to improve passenger capability, railway signal systems of major metro systems were becoming increasingly complex. This has caused difficulties for operators to understand how to work them.

Calling for simplifying the system, such as abandoning some functions, Tung urged suppliers to put more effort into communicating with operators.

bingcun@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 03/20/2019 page4)