The Electrical & Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) has reviewed the MTR Corporation’s report detailing the causes of three incidents in May concerning the East Rail Line and accepted the findings.

The Automatic Train Supervision System (ATS) blackout and signal passed at danger (SPAD) incidents of the East Rail Line took place on May 23. Another incident occurred two days later when the interlocking system of the rail line shut down.

These incidents took place in the early morning non-traffic hours during the testing of the new signalling system of the East Rail Line.

The EMSD said recommendations it made on the incidents have been agreed on and completed by the MTRC as reflected in the report.

Investigations revealed that the three incidents on May 23 and 25 were independent events and not related to system safety.

The automatic train protection system of the signalling system was functioning normally during the ATS blackout on May 23 and the interlocking system shutdown on May 25. There was sufficient safety distance between all the trains.

The SPAD incident on May 23 was caused by the train captain’s mishandling and not related to the safety of the signalling system.

The EMSD added that it will closely monitor the MTRC in implementing the improvement measures recommended in the report and their effectiveness.