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Following is a question by the Hon Andrew Cheng and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (June 6):
Question:
Regarding the signalling systems of the railways under the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC), will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
(a) the names, places of manufacture and costs, etc. of the signalling systems currently used by West Rail and Ma On Shan (MOS) Rail;
(b) the respective numbers of signalling failures of West Rail and MOS Rail each year which resulted in disruptions in train service since their commissioning;
(c) whether KCRC has assessed if there is any possibility that signalling failures at certain sections of East Rail, West Rail or MOS Rail may result in a complete suspension of the train service of the three rail lines; if it has and the assessment result is in the affirmative, of the measures taken by KCRC to prevent this from happening;
(d) whether KCRC has requested the Hong Kong Observatory to regularly provide data on lightning strikes along East Rail, West Rail and MOS Rail, so that measures can be adopted to minimise the impact of lightning strikes on the signalling systems; and
(e) whether KCRC plans to unify the signalling systems currently used by East Rail, MOS Rail and West Rail, after the commissioning of Kowloon Southern Link?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The signalling systems currently used in West Rail and Ma On Shan (MOS) Rail is called Seltrac. These systems are provided by a signalling system company in Canada. The cost of the signalling system for West Rail is about HK$400 million, and the one for MOS Rail costs about HK$200 million.
(b) The respective number of signalling failure incidents leading to service delay of 8 minutes or more in West Rail and MOS Rail since their commissioning is as follows:-
Rail/Year 2003 2004 2005 2006
********* **** **** **** ****
West Rail* 0 20 14 12
MOS Rail** Not 0 9 2
Applicable
* West Rail was opened on December 20, 2003
** MOS Rail was opened on December 21, 2004
(c) At present, the central signalling control systems for East Rail, MOS Rail and West Rail are supported by two sets of computer systems. The first set controls normal operations while the second set is constantly in standby mode. If the operating computer system fails to function, the standby computer system would automatically replace the failed system immediately to enable the signalling system to continue to operate. Moreover, the current signalling systems for East Rail, MOS Rail and West Rail are designed to allow bi-directional operation of trains on single tracks. In other words, if signalling failure occurs on one side of the rail track, train services on both directions can still be safely maintained through bi-directional operation of trains on the unaffected track under the signalling system. The signalling system also allows manual operation. As such, although train services may be affected (say in terms of extension in journey time or reduction in train frequency) by signalling failure, the probability of a total suspension of train service of a particular railway line is remote.
(d) KCRC's railway networks are equipped with lightning protection devices to enable normal train operations under adverse weather conditions. The design of these devices commensurates with international standards. The lightning protection system used by East Rail, West Rail and MOS Rail is common to other railway systems worldwide.
At present, the Hong Kong Observatory publicises information regarding thunderstorm and record of lightning location. KCRC has not requested for additional information from the Hong Kong Observatory.
(e) The signalling systems adopted by East Rail, MOS Rail and West Rail are all Automated Train Control Systems which perform the same functions. Since the signalling systems of the three railway lines have been procured by KCRC during different periods of time or from different manufacturers, they cannot be interconnected. Upon the commissioning of the Kowloon Southern Link, the section between Nam Cheong Station and Hung Hom Station will become part of West Rail, and thus will be under the control of West Rail's signalling system. East Rail and MOS Rail will continue to use their respective existing signalling systems.
Ends/Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Issued at HKT 11:51
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