Hong Kong's MTR warns of 'substantial casualties' if MRT-3 train derails

(Updated 8:37 p.m.) The Hong Kong-based railway operator tasked to do an audit of the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) has warned of the possibility of train derailment resulting in “substantial casualties” if the tracks of the mass railway line are not immediately replaced.

 

According to MTR Corporation's Asset Condition and Capability Assessment Report, the track condition is “most alarming” and in need of immediate attention among the seven systems of the MRT-3 included in the survey.

 

The MTR said the urgency of the situation “is a very clear alarm that the current maintenance strategy is insufficient to halt the growth of the defect.” The auditor noted a four-fold increase in broken rail cases over the past three years.

 

“The cases of broken rail are expected to continue to increase, exacerbating the safety risk,” the Hong Kong railway operator said.

 

MTR warned that a broken rail is a serious threat to the safe operation of the railway that “can potentially cause train derailment resulting in substantial casualties in a high usage system like the MRT-3.”

 

“The fact that broken rail cases in the past had not led to train derailment should not be taken as an indication that it will not happen in the future. If [a] rail break do[es] occur despite the speed restriction to 40 kph and is unnoticed, the derailment risk would still be considerable.”

 

Report out next week

 

Salient portions of the executive summary of the MTR’s report were presented by MRT during the House Metro Manila Development panel hearing Monday on the state of the capital’s transportation plan.

 

The Hong Kong railway operator is expected to submit the full report to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) next week, according to Land Bank of the Philippines Director Tomas de Leon.

 

MTR, known as one of the world’s leading railway operators, was tapped to check the MRT's maintenance record and inspect the physical condition of the rail line last August.

 

The assessment covered the track at the depot and mainline, rolling stock, signaling system, high voltage power supply and catenary system, communications system, stations and all its facilities, as well as depot facilities.

 

The audit was conducted following a series of unfortunate events that happened that month, including the sudden suspension of operations due to a glitch in the communications system, and the derailment that left more than 30 people injured.

Poor condition

Aside from the tracks, the MTR report concluded that the condition of the MRT-3’s rolling stocks or light rail vehicles (LRVs) is unsatisfactory, with traction motors exhibiting failures. The reliability of the door system and automatic train protection equipment also need to be improved, it said.

According to MTR, the limited availability of rolling stock vehicles “cannot meet the availability performance requirement for service in peace hours which is 20 trains or 60 LRVs.”

“The second general overhauling of the LRVs is due by the end of 2014 but there appears to be no apparent plan as of yet,” the MTR said.

The station facilities were rated poor by the MTR, with 10 out of the 46 escalators out of order due to the lack of spare parts as of Aug. 29, 2014.

Under MTR’s five-level grading system “poor” means "major or extensive defect exists" and that "customer requirements are consistently not being met."

Exclusions

Although it noted several and serious glitches in the MRT-3’s assets, MTR clarified that the accuracy of the report, including the assessment and recommendations, is compromised by incomplete information provided by DOTC and APT Global, the current maintenance provider.

“Observations in the report [were] made through visual inspection, interview with personnel, [and the] preliminary and limited information received after the review,” it said.

MTR said the review of the maintenance, as well as the spares consumption and stock level, were specifically asked to be excluded from the scope of the assessment. – VS/BM, GMA News