********************
Following is a question by the Hon Albert Ho Chun-yan and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (April 9):
Question:
Recently, the occurrence of incidents one after another involving the railway systems of the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), coupled with the press reports that some of the newly procured MTR trains may contain materials harmful to the human body, have aroused public concerns about the safety of railway systems. Regarding the monitoring of the safety of railway systems, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the details of the follow-up actions taken by the Railways Branch of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) last year in respect of each railway incident (including whether it accepted the reports submitted by MTRCL, and whether it conducted further investigations into the contents of these reports, etc.), and set out such information in a table;
(b) apart from inspecting the trains before their formal commissioning and monitoring through the government representatives on the Board of Directors of MTRCL, whether the Government has, at present, requested MTRCL to provide, on a regular basis, information on the quality of the newly procured trains (including the technical problems encountered in the tests conducted at the manufacturing sites); if it has not, whether it will consider requesting MTRCL to provide such information; and
(c) given that the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) is expected to be commissioned in 2015, whether the Government knows the present progress of the procurement of XRL trains (including whether technical or design problems have been identified in the tests on the trains); if it knows, of the details; if not, whether the Government will request MTRCL to allow the direct participation of or supervision by EMSD staff in the tests on the trains conducted outside Hong Kong?
Reply:
President,
The operation of a safe, reliable and efficient railway service is paramount to the public transport system in Hong Kong. With respect to train service reliability, the number of incidents of 8 minutes or above caused by equipment failure or human factors of the railway network (MTR) operated by the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) was 143 last year, the lowest since the rail merger in December 2007. Despite not showing any downward trend in the safety and reliability of MTR train service in accordance with the overall statistics, the Government considers that, under the service-oriented premise, immediate and in-depth investigation into every train service incident must be carried out by MTRCL, followed by improvement measures to prevent future recurrence. Being the railway safety regulator, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) will also conduct investigations and follow up with MTRCL.
As the causes of the recent major service disruption incidents were respectively attributable to the installation of overhead lines and the quality of insulators used, the successive occurrence of these incidents may be a sign of systemic defects of the overhead line system. As such, we believe that an in-depth review by an independent expert is necessary for public reassurance. The Government agrees with MTRCL's engagement of an overseas independent expert to conduct a comprehensive review on the MTR overhead line system, covering technical specifications, procurement, quality control, installation and repairs/maintenance.
In parallel, EMSD will actively participate in MTRCL's tests of the insulators and verify the findings. EMSD will also engage an independent expert to evaluate the outcome of the MTRCL's expert review. The participation of double independent experts in the review will ensure an in-depth, comprehensive, objective and professional study. Upon the completion of the two expert reports, the Government will, having regard to the findings, decide whether there is a need to expand the scope of the review to cover other areas of the MTR network.
Regarding the news reports on possible asbestos content on MTR trains, it is specifically stated in MTRCL's procurement contracts that no material containing asbestos can be used in the manufacture of trains. To ease public concerns, MTRCL has followed the Environmental Protection Department's guidelines on asbestos testing and arranged a Hong Kong laboratory to conduct tests on 22 trains newly purchased from the Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd. and 10 trains to be operated along the future South Island Line (East). The test results confirmed that the trains are asbestos-free. MTRCL will continue to strive for good quality control of its trains, to ensure compliance of the contractual requirement of no asbestos content on trains. The factory-based MTR personnel will from time to time remind the manufacturers to adhere strictly to such requirement.
My reply to the various parts of Hon Albert Ho's question is as follows:
(a) Whenever there are incidents concerning railway safety requiring investigation, the Railways Branch (RB) of EMSD will carry out inspections to find out the causes, identify appropriate improvement measures to prevent recurrence, and ensure that MTRCL has duly and fully implemented them.
Under the Mass Transit Railway Regulations (Cap. 556A), MTRCL shall report to RB all safety-related incidents that take place within the railway premises. MTRCL submitted 671 investigation reports on railway incidents (Note) to RB in 2013, describing details of the incidents, assessment by MTRCL and follow-up actions taken. RB will review all incident investigation reports and, if necessary, seek additional information from MTRCL. In case of major railway incidents that may undermine railway safety, RB will make further investigations. In 2013, RB issued to the MTRCL a total of 20 recommendations, mainly on improvements to station equipment, rail tracks, tunnels, trains and power systems. MTRCL has accepted and followed up on all these recommendations.
The above mentioned railway incidents can be correlated to equipment and human factors of staff members, passenger or public behavioural factors as well as external factors. The breakdown of last year's incidents categorised by their causes is as follows:
Causes of incidents Number of incidents in 2013
------------------- ---------------------------
Equipment failure 17
Staff behaviour 44
Passenger or 578
public behaviour
External factors 32
--------------------------------------------------
Total 671
Among these incidents, over 90% were caused by passenger or public behaviour and other external factors, including passengers requiring transferring to hospitals due to sicknesses, passengers making last-minute entry/exit being caught by the closing train doors, trespassing on railway tracks, and train operation being affected by fallen trees during typhoon. The remaining cases (less than 10%) are attributable to the failure of railway equipment and staff behaviour.
(b) All along, MTRCL adopts rigorous quality management procedures for testing newly purchased trains to validate their compliance with performance standards. Such tests include the basic quality checks, dimensional checks, functional tests (e.g. tests on braking and traction systems, train door operation, communication function, train control function and watertightness, etc.), and running operational tests to confirm that the trains are manufactured according to the design and relevant standards. All new trains will only be put into service after they have passed all the required safety and performance tests and received approval from EMSD and the Transport Department.
MTRCL staff are deployed to oversee the key production processes in the factories of system suppliers and manufacturers. Suppliers are required to submit test results to MTRCL, and MTRCL will attend and witness functional tests of different systems and components, such as the traction system, train doors, braking system, pantographs and trainborne signalling system, etc. MTRCL also appoints international experts as independent safety auditors to verify the designs and testing processes of safety-related equipment and systems, including train doors, traction system, couplers, trainborne signalling system, interface of signalling system, wheels and axles, etc. This is to ensure that the procedures comply with international safety specifications.
Upon arrival in Hong Kong, new trains are subject to the static and dynamic tests to validate that their operation integrates with the existing infrastructure and railway system.
The various tests as set out above are conducted by MTRCL on newly purchased trains to identify any irregularities for immediate rectification. EMSD will also pay close attention to participate timely in on-site tests conducted in Hong Kong. Trains are put into service only if their safe operation is confirmed after stringent validation.
(c) MTRCL has been entrusted by the Government to implement the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL). Construction of the Hong Kong section of XRL commenced in January 2010 and is targeted for completion in 2015. Thereafter, testing and trial runs of the railway systems (taking six to nine months in general) will be conducted to ensure safety and reliability of the railway service before the XRL is open.
Railway safety has always been our top priority in taking forward the XRL project. The regulation of various aspects of railway safety in Hong Kong is based on relevant international standards, including EN15227 (the European Union standard on crashworthiness for trains). MTRCL is required to submit relevant information to EMSD to prove that when the train is operating in actual conditions, its safety performance can achieve the safety level of international standards. The trains of the Hong Kong section of XRL are manufactured by CSR Qingdao Sifang Co., Ltd. MTRCL has been supervising closely the design and manufacturing process of the trains and signalling system; and has introduced monitoring measures and independent expert assessments throughout the various processes so as to ensure compliance with international safety standards and Mainland railway safety requirements.
Prior to the opening of the Hong Kong section of the XRL, new trains will have to pass multiple testing, including factory acceptance test, system integration test and on-site test, to ensure that the trains have achieved the required safety level in accordance with international standards. EMSD will assess the test reports submitted by MTRCL and take part in the on-site test in Hong Kong before approving the operation of the new trains.
The first XRL train has been assembled and is undergoing testing in the Mainland. Main-frame assembly of the second and third XRL trains commenced in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Note: Excluding incidents involving escalators, lifts and other facilities outside the platform and track areas.
Ends/Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Issued at HKT 15:22
NNNN
