Hong Kong's MTR Corp may face HK$19.2 million fine for 5-hour service disruption
Lawmaker Gary Zhang Xinyu said on Friday that a delay of more than three but less than four hours would incur a fine of HK$9.6 million, with each of the following hours costing HK$4.8 million, citing the penalty mechanism for rush hour delays after a train fault.
'This would come to about HK$19.2 million, which is my estimate,' Zhang said, adding that 'part of an hour would also be charged as an hour' given the delay was just over five hours.
'I know that the engineering staff took a long time to decipher what went wrong. To improve on this, we could use more real-time data analysis and more sensors that provide real-time data to help staff identify problems faster,' he said.
Rail operator the MTR Corporation said on Thursday its preliminary investigation found that the breakdown was triggered by a displaced overhead cable component in a tunnel section that led to a short circuit.
The incident had caused long queues outside Tiu Keng Leng station, with hundreds of passengers waiting for shuttle services. Crowds also packed pavements outside North Point station as commuters waited for public buses and taxis.
The suspension also resulted in lengthy traffic jams between Wan Chai and Island East, and between the Eastern Harbour Tunnel and Kai Tak.
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