HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s metro trains suffered delays on Tuesday (Oct 16) due to an unprecedented simultaneous signaling glitch on four of its major lines, causing chaos at stations and inconveniencing thousands of commuters in the morning peak-hour rush.

Earlier, the Asian financial hub’s rail operator, MTR Corp, said three lines had to be operated manually early on Tuesday, slowing down trains and extending journey times by as much as 40 minutes. Later, it announced that a fourth line had been hit by delays as well.

Mr Lau Tin-shing, director of operations for MTR, told reporters that such a move reduces the frequency of the trains to once every 12 to 15 minutes.

“It only provides around 20 to 30 per cent of the services we normally provide during peak hours,” Mr Lau said, apologising to the public.

MTR called on commuters to use other forms of public transport due to the extended the total journey times on the Island Line, Tsuen Wan Line, Kwun Tong Line and Tsueng Kwan O Line

At some stations, the operator halted escalators to curb further inflow of passengers into crowded platforms, as people waited for more than 30 minutes with umbrellas in hands and hunched over their mobile phones. 

The delays resulted in packed trains, forcing commuters to look for buses and taxis. 

More than 100 passengers were stuck on the platform at Choi Hung. Although the operator had earlier said that Kwun Tong line services would run every 12 to 15 minutes, no train was in sight for about half an hour.

When one finally arrived, passengers attempted to squeeze into the already full carriages.

Ms Fung yee-ling, a clerk, said she worried that her boss might blame her for being late for work.

“If the next train comes and I still fail to get on it, I will go to take other modes of transport. But I’ve heard people who are taking buses are also stuck in traffic jams,” she said.

The train disruptions had a knock-on effect on road traffic, with the drive from Argyle Street in Mong Kok to the Eastern Harbour tunnel taking 83 minutes instead of the usual 25 minutes at about 11am.

Other areas such as Ho Man Tin also faced peak-hour congestion.

Ride-hailing service Uber saw heavy demand, with a trip to Causeway Bay from Ho Man Tin costing HK$220 (S$38.60), double the normal charge.

Tram services were also affected, with hundreds of people queuing up at tram stations in North Point. The queue was so long that it reached the next stop.

Ms Li Wai-yu, a 45-year-old marketer on her way to Kwun Tong from Choi Hung, said she believed taking the MTR would still be faster despite the delays.

“The MTR problems caused serious traffic jams on the road. I have no choice,” she said.

At 9.25am, MTR announced that normal train service was gradually resuming on the Island Line as the signalling system fault there had been resolved. Train service between Kennedy Town Station and Chai Wan Station would be maintained at six to eight minutes intervals.

MTR also asked passengers who plan to cross the harbour to transit in Hung Hom to take a bus instead of using the Island Line. Large crowds were seen at the Hung Hom Station as commuters headed for the buses instead.

Mr Lau said the team had noticed the signalling failure at about 5.30am on Tuesday as it started to prepare services for the three lines.

"As a result, the command [for] train speed cannot be passed to trains [on the] Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan and Island Lines," he said. "Because of the safety first principle, [we could] only operate the service in a manual operation with slow speed."

Mr Lau said the company could provide only 20 per cent to 30 per cent of the services normally provided during peak hour and called on other public transport operators to provide extra services.

He said this was the first time in his recollection that three MTR lines had been affected by such delays at the same time, adding that company would conduct a review on the incident.

Mr Lau said MTR Corp issued a red alert at 6.20am to inform relevant departments and other public transport providers about the situation.

Speaking separately after a radio show, Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan said officials had already called on other public transport providers to beef up their services while the fault was being repaired.

Asked if the MTR would face tougher penalties for the service delay because three of its lines broke down at the same time, Mr Chan said the government would follow up on the "special" situation with the railway operator and make the decision subsequently.

Speaking before her Executive Council meeting on Tuesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam called on employers to not penalise late staff, noting that the MTR delay was not something workers had control over.

“If the railway malfunction has made workers late for work… I call for employers to be considerate,” she said.

Ms Lam said she would urge the MTR Corp to improve preventive measures against breakdowns but conceded that she did not know what had caused the fault.

“I don’t know what today’s issue is – is it mechanical? Or manpower?” she said.

The MTR is the backbone of the city’s transportation, carrying an average of about 5.8 million passengers on a weekday, according to the company’s website.

Singapore, another Asian city known for its efficient public transport services, received a knock in August last year when faulty signaling resulted in disruptions. AGENCIES