The MTR Corporation on Wednesday apologised for two successive rush-hour service disruptions on its Kwun Tong line within a span of 15 hours.

Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said the government was "highly concerned" over the incidents, and has instructed the railway to submit a report within a month.

Trains were forced to skip Lam Tin station during the morning rush hour on Wednesday after platform equipment started emitting smoke.

This came on the heels of a separate incident the night before, when an insulating component on a track switch near the same station caught fire, disrupting services between Kwun Tong and Tiu Keng Leng during the evening rush.

Lee Kim-hung, the railway's deputy director of operations engineering maintenance, said inspectors would investigate whether the two incidents are related in any way.

“We will conduct an in-depth investigation into both incidents, looking into various factors from multiple angles, such as potential equipment overheating, operational issues, or environmental factors,” he said.

“We will also examine whether there is any connection between the two incidents and invite independent experts to participate in our investigation to identify the causes and make necessary improvements.

“We will report back to the relevant government departments regarding both incidents and submit detailed reports in accordance with official requirements," he added.

Mable Chan said the railway's probe should cover multiple areas, highlighting the need to ensure passenger safety.

“We have requested the MTR properly handle the issues and conduct a thorough and comprehensive investigation, including maintenance and upkeep procedures of the equipment and facilities, so as to find the root cause of the problem,” she said.

“We have also requested the MTR to carry out a comprehensive review of the security of the relevant system.”

Chan also said the railway could make greater use of technology – such as deploying devices to monitor the temperature of components – to find problems at an early stage.

Lee said additional manpower would be deployed to monitor power systems and other core facilities while extra engineers would be assigned to ensure smooth train operations.

He added that the insulation component damaged in Tuesday's fire and the equipment that emitted smoke had passed routine inspections with no abnormalities detected.

Regarding potential passenger compensation, the deputy director of the operating and metro segment, Cheris Lee, said the MTR would discuss this with the government in accordance with the established service performance mechanism.



Edited by Cecil Wong