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A spokesman for the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau said today (January 15) that after an initial analysis, the Bureau considered that the Kowloon Canton Railway Corporation's (KCRC) proposal just announced to reduce the loading of the cracked equipment located underneath the trains, including using manual operation to temporarily replace the Automatic Train Operation System so as to reduce the pressure when the brake is applied, is acceptable in principle.
However, the spokesman pointed out that at the present stage, all possible causes had to be studied and improvement measures had to be implemented as soon as possible to ensure rail safety.
Replacing the Automatic Train Operation System will have an impact on train frequency. The Transport Department is now waiting for KCRC's full details of the affected service in order to make the necessary arrangements and adjustment of public transport services, so that the inconvenience caused to the public can be minimised.
Once the Administration and KCRC have agreed on the relevant arrangements, they will be implemented and announced. The spokesman called on the public and East Rail passengers to pay attention to the relevant announcements.
Ends/Sunday, January 15, 2006
Issued at HKT 01:32
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