1,500 passengers evacuated along tracks after Hong Kong train breaks down in tunnel

Over 1500 passengers were evacuated through a railway tunnel in Hong Kong after a train broke down on Monday morning — second such incident to take place in less than a month.

Officials said that the couplings between two carriages broke down, leading to the breakdown of service on the Tseung Kwan O line in Hong Kong. The service resumed after four hours, around 12.30pm local time.

The MTR Corporation in Hong Kong said that the train was removed from the tracks after the breakdown. But denied that there was any derailment.

The local police said that the failure occurred between the train’s sixth and seventh compartments.

“I apologise for the inconvenience caused to passengers by the disruption of service this morning,” operations chief Sammy Wong Kwan-wai said.

“A mechanical failure took place when the train was about to enter Tseung Kwan O station, triggering the relevant safety equipment to stop the train as it was a certain distance away from the station.”

Photos and videos of hundreds of passengers walking through the tunnel towards the nearby Tseung Kwan O station soon started appearing online and on social media.

The passengers were guided through the tunnel by an MTR employee.

“I may be late for an hour for my work,” a female commuter surnamed Lam was quoted as saying by Hong Kong’s The Standard:“There are plenty of people queuing for buses, and it would take more than 15 mins to catch one.”

The train, travelling from Lohas Park station, broke down around 8.30am local time and passengers described hearing some loud sound before the train finally stopped. The electricity in the compartments went out too.

Gary Zhang Xinyu, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong’s Legislative Council’s railways subcommittee wrote on his social media: “The connection between the compartments of a Korean-made Tseung Kwan O line train appears to have come loose.”

Meanwhile, the MTR Corporation said it provided feeder bus services along the Tseung Kwan O line for the passengers’ convenience.

But because of the chaos and the crowd inside the tunnel, some people felt unwell. Police said that two women were taken to hospital and received treatment from the paramedics.

This is the second time a train broke down in Hong Kong in less than a month. Last month, a train partially derailed at Yau Ma Tei station after hitting a displaced metal fence next to the track.

On Monday, the fire department said that at least 104 firefighters and ambulance officers were sent to the scene, along with 30 appliances.

Nelson Ng Wai-hung, chief of operations engineering, said in a press briefing on Monday: “According to a preliminary investigation, the incident was due to components in coupling connections between two carriages failing functions, which led to the train’s emergency brake equipment being launched.”

“The train was not derailed, and the service is now gradually resuming as our staff fixed the failed train.”

Hong Kong lawmakers demanded that the MTR Corporation step up its inspections. In a live Facebook video, Hong Kong Free Press reported that legislative councillor Gary Cheung held up a picture taken by a commuter who was standing near the site of the mechanical failure. It said that parts of the train floor, normally hidden under the connecting panels, were revealed as a result of the Monday incident.

Mr Cheung said: “We call this a train division, where the carriages are split apart. Anyone can imagine that, if it were more serious and [the parts] did snap off, commuters could have fallen through.”

Another lawmaker, Stanley Li said the MTRC should check “what is the reason for the connector malfunctioning? Was it the wear and tear on the equipment, the wear and tear on the coupling?”

“I hope the MTR can learn its lesson and make improvements,” Mr Li said, adding that everyone at the railway company – from the frontline staff to top management – should be held accountable.