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Following is a question by the Hon Tang Ka-piu and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (October 29):
Question:
It has been learnt that the assemblies triggered by the Occupy Central movement since the 28th of last month have caused traffic congestion on several major trunk roads and affected the operation of many bus routes, and quite a number of members of the public have therefore switched to travelling by the railway. On October 7 (i.e. the day when classes of secondary schools in Wan Chai as well as Central and Western Districts resumed after the occurrence of the Occupy Central movement), passengers in the MTR Admiralty Station had to wait for several trains before they could board a Chai Wan-bound train. Furthermore, in reply to an urgent question raised at the Legislative Council meeting of October 15 this year, the Secretary for Transport and Housing advised that the two-minute peak headway for various railway lines at present had already reached the limit of the existing signalling system, and that train services being provided in other hours of the day-time were quite close to that limit as well. The risk of service disruption would naturally increase if the situation persisted. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
(1) the statistics concerning each railway line except the Disneyland Resort Line (the same exception applies below) during the two periods from September 1 to 27, 2014 and from September 28, 2014 to the present in respect of: (i) the daily average patronage, (ii) the average patronage during morning peak hours, and (iii) the average patronage during afternoon peak hours (set out in Table 1);
Table 1
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From September 1 From
to 27, 2014 September 28, 2014
to the present
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Railway Line (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii)
-----------------------------------------------------
Kwun Tong Line
Tsuen Wan Line
Island Line
Tseung Kwan O Line
East Rail Line
West Rail Line
Ma On Shan Line
Tung Chung Line
Airport Express
(2) the following information in respect of each of the railway lines set out in Table 2: (i) the design capacity (calculated on the basis of accommodating up to six persons (standing) per square metre (ppsm)), and for the period from September 1 to 27, 2014, (ii) the respective patronage, loading at six ppsm and loading at four ppsm per hour per direction during morning peak hours for critical links, (iii) the respective patronage, loading at six ppsm and loading at four ppsm per hour per direction during afternoon peak hours for critical links, and (iv) the number of times when the capacity was reached during the said period; and for the period from September 28, 2014 to the present, (v) the respective patronage, loading at six ppsm and loading at four ppsm per hour per direction during morning peak hours for critical links, (vi) the respective patronage, loading at six ppsm and loading at four ppsm per hour per direction during afternoon peak hours for critical links, and (vii) the number of times when the capacity was reached during the said period;
Table 2
-----------------------------------------------------
From September 1 From
to 27, 2014 September 28, 2014
to the present
-----------------------------------------------------
Railway Line (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii)
-----------------------------------------------------
Kwun Tong Line
Tsuen Wan Line
Island Line
Tseung Kwan O Line
East Rail Line
West Rail Line
Ma On Shan Line
Tung Chung Line
Airport Express
(3) if there were occasions when the MTR signalling system was unstable during the period from September 28, 2014 to the present; if there were such occasions, whether wear and tear of the mechanical parts caused by a drastic increase in patronage was one of the causes; and
(4) the concrete measures adopted by the MTR Corporation Limited at present to cope with the additional passenger throughput, including the number of extra trains running during the peak hours, the implementation criteria for and content of crowd control measures, as well as the detailed working arrangements for the newly added staff?
Reply:
President,
Since the beginning of the "Occupy Central" movement, extensive road transport services in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon have been severely affected by road closure and traffic diversion. With regard to railway services, the highest daily patronage of heavy rail during the past month was recorded on October 3 (Friday) with about 5.8 million. This is 13 per cent higher than a normal relatively busy Friday with daily patronage of about 5.1 million. Train compartments are very crowded and passengers usually have to wait for several trains and spend more time for boarding. The average weekday daily patronage of heavy rail from September 28 to October 25 (except Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays) is about 5.34 million. This is 10 per cent higher than that from September, 1 to 27 of about 4.85 million.
My reply to the various parts of the Hon Tang Ka-piu's question is as follows:
(1) The weekday patronage of MTR heavy rail network from September 1 to 27 and September 28 to October 25 is at Annex 1.
(2) The weekday carrying capacity and loading of MTR heavy rail network from September 1 to 27and September 28 to October 25 is at Annex 2.
(3) There were five cases of service disruption of eight minutes or above related to signalling system within the MTR heavy rail network during the past four weeks from September 28 to October 25. The MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) made announcements in stations and train compartments during the incidents. MTRCL also informed passengers of service arrangements and urged passengers to allow sufficient time for travelling through channels such as mobile phone apps and MTR website.
Indeed, the increase in patronage in MTR heavy rail network recorded since September 28 has placed additional burden on the facilities, machines and components of the railway system. Despite MTRCL having deployed additional staff to enhance railway inspection and maintenance to ensure safe and smooth system operation during the period, the risk of service disruption will naturally increase if the current situation persists.
(4) Without compromising railway safety and apart from continuing to run at two-minute peak headway from 7.15am to about 9.15am (the end time of morning peak hour of individual railway line varies given the difference in patronage), MTRCL has also enhanced train services during other hours as necessary. MTR heavy rail network has added about 70 train trips on average per day from September 28 to October 25.
Given that the two-minute peak headway for Kwun Tong Line, Tsuen Wan Line and Island Line has already reached the limit of the existing signalling system and that train services being provided in other hours of the day-time are close to the system limit as well, the risk of service disruption will naturally increase if this situation persists.
Regarding staff deployment, on top of the 2 800 frontline operations staff rostered on duty each day, MTRCL has deployed about 400 additional staff, including temporary staff and staff from other departments, to strengthen passenger service and handle disruption due to unforeseen circumstances. Most of them are at stations with higher volume of passenger flow to assist passengers and maintain station order. Having regard to the actual situation, MTRCL has also implemented further passenger flow management measures including maintaining single direction passenger flow at station exits and concourses, limiting number of passengers waiting at platforms, and diverting passengers to less crowded areas of platforms and concourses to ensure smooth train operation and passenger safety.
In addition, MTRCL's Infrastructure Maintenance Rapid Response Unit and Rolling Stock Rapid Response Unit have deployed additional manpower to station in different positions of the railway network strategically. They can be the first on the scene of any equipment failure to start recovery work with a view to minimising impact of any disruption.
Ends/Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Issued at HKT 16:55
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