“A major inquiry has been launched by the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) after three carriages became detached in a tunnel yesterday, leaving thousands of rush hour commuters stranded in northwest Kowloon,” reported the South China Morning Post on April 28, 1993. “Investigators were last night trying to identify the mechanical problem which caused one of the most serious accidents in the operator’s 14-year history.
An MTR train experienced a major incident on April 28, 1993. reported the South China Morning Post. Photo: SCMP Archives
“Preliminary examinations conducted by officials yesterday morning failed to find any reason for the three rear carriages coming adrift. The incident happened at 8.53am as the eight-car train was in a tunnel approaching the Tsuen Wan station from Tai Wo Hau when one of the couplers detached itself from the last three cars, which were carrying 83 passengers.
“The split was detected by system computers which automatically brought the two parts of the train to a halt in the tunnel about 200 metres from the Tsuen Wan terminus. MTR officials and engineers from both stations rushed into the tunnel to examine the broken section and found it was too weak to support passengers walking across. Firemen stood by at both stations for any evacuation.
Pictured here is the new yellow and black fail-safe locking device installed after the incident that was designed to trigger the emergency brake in case of de-couplings. Photo: SCMP Archives
“The train driver was instructed to drive more than 200 passengers in the first segment, with the faulty coupler trailing behind the open end to Tsuen Wan. The remaining 83 passengers were escorted down the rear segment to walk on the rail towards the Tsuen Wan platform. The rear segment was then driven to Tsuen Wan and normal MTR services resumed at 9.40am.”
On October 16, 1993, the Post reported that “the Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC) is to install a safety device on all its trains to reduce the chances of carriages separating to one in 100 billion. The secondary coupling device will be fitted to all MTR trains by next April – the first anniversary of the worst incident in the company’s 14 years of operation.
John Gretton of the MTRC points out the new yellow and black locking device that were rolled out across all trains following the decoupling incident. Photo: SCMP Archives
“MTRC operating engineer design manager John Gretton said the new safety precaution would cost the company between $3 million and $5 million. But he said it would save the company money in the long term.”
