01 Investigation
Written by: Chen Jingqi
2020-11-18 07:30
Last update date: 2020-11-18 07:30
Under the Shazhong line project, in order to cope with the future extension of the East Rail Line across the sea to Admiralty Station, the new signal system of the East Rail Line was originally scheduled to be put into service on September 12 this year.
However, "Hong Kong 01" previously reported exclusively that the system suspected a "wrong line" problem during the exercise. The government believed that it would seriously affect the reliability of the railway service and decided to stop the plan the day before it was put into service.
MTR subsequently announced the establishment of an investigation committee to thoroughly investigate the incident.
It is understood that the new signal system of the East Rail Line is still being tested during non-traveling hours after the planned braking.
"Hong Kong 01" learned that during the exercise from mid-October to early November, the new system failed at least three times and misjudged the train's flashing lights. The control center once asked all trains to stop, but in fact no "false flashing lights" occurred on the trains. accident.
MTR responded to the enquiry saying that it has notified relevant government departments of the relevant situation in a timely manner, and will conduct in-depth analysis and follow-up with the contractor.
The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department stated that the MTR has notified the relevant test and abnormal conditions.
Into the wrong line, stop the new system
The East Rail Line was originally scheduled to activate the new signal system on September 12, but the previous day, "Hong Kong 01" exclusively disclosed the wrong line accident and the MTR emergency stop plan.
"Hong Kong 01" once again received exclusive news that at least three incidents occurred during MTR's testing of the new system in October and November.
On September 11, MTR held an emergency press conference to suspend the new signal system of the East Rail Line that was originally scheduled to be activated the next day.
(Profile picture / Photo by Liang Pengwei)
The system shows that "flashing the lights" to stop the whole line
The first accident occurred on October 18th. At that time, the train had not yet started to move. The train control center found through the system that the train was flashing lights, but the actual light signal was yellow, indicating that the train could move forward.
After the control center learned about the driver involved, in order to avoid any disputes in the future.
Since then, train drivers must take pictures of the front lights before driving while testing the new signal system.
The second accident and the third accident occurred in the early hours of October 28 and November 6 respectively. During the running of the train, the train control center found that the system showed that the train was on the light, and immediately stopped all the trains. After finding the problem in this accident, it was found that there was no light flashing in the actual situation.
Railway signal engineer: The system recognizes the error of train position and involves railway safety issues
Regarding the misjudgment of "fake lights" by the new signal system, Zhang Niansheng, vice president of the Hong Kong Branch of the Institute of Railway Signalling Engineers, said that it is believed that problems with the system design and data errors caused the control center to identify the position of the train and the actual situation.
He emphasized that even if the train does not actually turn on the lights, "the error observed by the control center will affect the railway safety problem. Do you believe in a good system?" So he reiterated that the MTR must review the system design. For risk assessment and data analysis, it is estimated that it will take at least three to six months to fix the related problems.
A MTR staff familiar with the relevant procedures also revealed that this problem is caused by an error between the system’s computer calculation and the actual distance, depending on whether the contractor can fix it.
If the problem is not resolved, once the system is put into service and the train "false red lights" is identified, the train control center will require all trains to temporarily stop and confirm the actual situation for safety reasons, and the railway delay situation will worsen.
Zhang Niansheng, vice president of the Hong Kong Branch of the Society of Railway Signalling Engineers, said that it is believed that the design of the new signal system has problems, which caused the control center to identify the position of the train and the actual situation. It is expected that it will take at least three to six months to repair the system.
(Online picture)
The first accident occurred on October 18, Chen Fan attended the Legislative Council meeting but was not announced
As for the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Chen Fan, who attended the Legislative Council meeting on October 21, once responded to the question of Tian Beichen, Member of the Legislative Council of the Actual Political Roundtable, about the new signal system of the East Rail Line. However, regarding the above, at least three incidents occurred between mid-October and early November. Chen Fan did not disclose the "fake lamp" accident.
The Secretary for Transport and Housing, Chen Fan, attended the Legislative Council meeting on October 21. In response to the question of Tian Beichen, Member of the Legislative Council of the Political Roundtable, he did not disclose that three incidents occurred in the new signal system of the East Rail Line from October to November.
(Information Picture/Photo by Li Zetong)
EMSD: MTR has notified
"Hong Kong 01" contacted the MTR and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department for the three incidents mentioned in the news.
MTR’s reply stated that the “mentioned in your enquiry” belongs to the new signal system of the East Rail Line and undergoes different pre-condition tests. During the period, the situation will be analyzed and followed up with the contractor, and relevant government departments will be notified.
The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department stated that the MTR Corporation has notified the relevant test and related irregularities.
In fact, all the test trains did not have any flashing incidents during the non-travel time test period in October and November.
However, the reporter further asked the MTR and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, when did the relevant accident actually occur and when it was notified to the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, and when was the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department notified?
Why did Chen Fan fail to explain the incident while attending the Legislative Council on October 21?
There was no direct response from all parties involved. The Transport and Housing Bureau reiterated that the MTR Corporation has notified the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department of the relevant test. During the test, there were no railway safety incidents that must be reported in accordance with the Hong Kong Railway Regulations.
The new signal system of the East Rail Line was originally scheduled to be launched on September 12, and the 12-car train will be changed to 9-car, but the day before it was activated, the system had been in the wrong line and stopped.
(Information Picture / Photo by Zhang Haowei)
Tian Beichen: Three cases of "how serious are they" within a month
Tian Beichen, a member of the Legislative Council of the Real Political Roundtable, said that three "fake flashing lights" accidents occurred within a month. "How serious is it that it is not ideal. The next time the system sees flashing lights, it will not stop."
He continued to point out that the trains are equipped with automatic protection systems, which have little impact on the actual railway safety, describing that "this is a problem that disturbs the people because the trains must be stopped depending on the actual situation," which is expected to increase railway delays.
However, he continued to point out that from government sources, the issue of "wrong line entry" has not yet been resolved, and the contractor has to wait for a solution. Together with this "fake lights" accident, it was once excited that the "cross-sea section opened to traffic" The date is such a big problem, I'm so worried."
Tian Beichen, a member of the Legislative Council of the Practical Political Roundtable, said that the three "fake lights" incidents in a month were "how serious."
(Profile Picture / Photo by Gong Jiasheng)
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(Information Picture / Photo by Zhang Haowei)
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