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Following is a question by Dr Hon Fernando Cheung and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (November 1) :
Question:
In 2003, 2004 and 2005, there were two, four and five accidents respectively which involved Light Rail (LR) passengers falling onto railway tracks. In January and October this year, similar accidents involving blind LR passengers occurred again. Over the years, some organisations have been demanding the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) to provide tactile guide paths and safety gates at LR waiting platforms. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether KCRC has regularly reviewed if the existing facilities on LR platforms are sufficient to safeguard the safety of passengers, especially the visually impaired; if it has, of the outcome of the reviews, and the reasons for successive occurrence of accidents involving passengers falling onto railway tracks; if not, the reasons for that; and
(b) whether KCRC has any plan to provide tactile guide paths and safety gates at LR platforms to prevent the recurrence of such accidents; if it has, of the progress and timetable of such plans; if not, the reasons for that, and the measures adopted by the Government to further enhance passenger safety so as to prevent the recurrence of such accidents?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) always attaches importance to passenger safety. To ensure the safety of passengers awaiting trains at platforms, including those visually impaired, KCRC has adopted the following measures at Light Rail platforms -
(i) yellow tactile lines are installed at all platforms to alert visually impaired passengers that they are close to the front edge of the platform and that they should not exceed the line in order to prevent accidents from happening;
(ii) white lines are painted at platform edges to remind passengers to mind the platform gap;
(iii) buzz warnings are sounded before train doors are closed and broadcast is made inside train compartments to remind passengers that train doors are closing;
(iv) broadcast is made at platforms to remind passengers not to stand beyond the yellow line and to mind the platform gap;
(v) trains are operated at a slow speed when approaching and leaving stations. Drivers will pay extra attention to the conditions at crossings and platforms in order to prepare for any contingencies;
(vi) patrolling by staff at stations is arranged to liaise with the Operation Control Centre so that appropriate assistance can be provided to passengers; and
(vii) platform assistants are deployed during peak hours at those stations with more patronage to assist passengers in boarding and alighting.
According to KCRC, incidents involving passengers falling onto rail tracks were mainly caused by passengers' own conditions (such as feeling unwell or being drunk). There were also cases of passengers accidentally falling onto rail tracks while having disputes at platforms. As regards the two incidents involving visually impaired passengers falling onto rail tracks this year, KCRC's investigation findings revealed that the yellow tactile lines and other facilities at platforms were in good condition at the time of the incidents. Both incidents happened during off-peak hours and the passengers concerned indicated that they were frequent users of the incident stations. KCRC therefore considered that these incidents were accidents that were not caused by inadequate or defective safety facilities at platforms.
(b) Tactile guide paths have already been installed at the 11 stops of the Light Rail Tin Shui Wai Extension. With a view to gauging views from visually impaired persons on the installation of tactile guide paths at all Light Rail platforms, KCRC invited visually impaired groups to a site visit this September. KCRC will conduct a study to examine the feasibility of whether the existing facilities for visually impaired persons could be improved and extended to other Light Rail platforms. The outcome of the study is expected to be available in mid-2007.
KCRC has been liaising closely with disabled groups to listen to their views on railway service. Over the years, KCRC has been proactive in providing various additional facilities in the railway system for their convenience. For example, to address the need of visually impaired persons, braille signage has been provided on the emergency help point inside train compartments and broadcast has been arranged when trains arrive at platforms to enable visually impaired persons to note the route number and destination of that train. Due to geographical constraints and the possible impact on the operation efficiency of Light Rail, KCRC does not intend to install automatic platform gates.
Government attaches great importance to the safe operation of railways. The Hong Kong Railway Inspectorate will investigate safety-related railway incidents and if necessary, request KCRC to implement rectification or improvement measures to minimise risk of accidents to passengers. Furthermore, in order to better understand the needs of disabled persons in using public transport services, the Transport Department regularly convenes the "Working Group on Access to Public Transport for People with Disabilities" to provide a forum for disabled groups and public transport operators (including KCRC) to discuss matters on how to facilitate the use of public transport services by disabled persons. Government will continue to encourage KCRC to enhance its Light Rail facilities for the benefit of disabled passengers.
Ends/Wednesday, November 1, 2006
Issued at HKT 11:41
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