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The Environment, Transport and Works Bureau announced today (July 12) the Government's assessment on the investigation report by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) on the East Rail underframe equipment mounting cracks.
The assessment was conducted by the Government's expert team comprising members from the Hong Kong Railway Inspectorate (HKRI), the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) and the Highways Department (HyD). An international railway expert, Lloyd's Register Rail, was engaged to provide advice to the Government.
"The Government's expert team and the international railway expert have carefully examined the KCRC's report. The team considered that the scope of KCRC's investigation was comprehensive and that the KCRC had taken a scientific approach in identifying the root causes of the East Rail underframe equipment mounting cracks," the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, said.
"Based on the data and test results, we accept KCRC's explanation that excessive vertical vibration experienced by trains and consequently the material fatigue causing cracks to appear in the underframe equipment was one of the dominant causes. This excessive vertical vibration was caused by a combination of three factors, namely, the undulation pattern on the rail top of a particular batch of rails with a longitudinal pitch of 3.1m and a vertical profile of less than 1 mm; the train speed of 70-90 kph and the natural frequency of 7- 9 Hz of the car body," Dr Liao said.
"The inferior quality of welding at the equipment brackets, for example, poor welding fusion, could be another dominant cause of the fleet-wide problem.
"While the Government's expert team has reckoned that KCRC's day-to-day maintenance practices, including maintenance frequency, are consistent with those practised by railways internationally, it has also examined KCRC's maintenance regime to find out why maintenance activities have missed the cracks on the compressor and those that appeared fleet-wide with a view to recommending improvement measures for the Corporation.
"It is concluded that the hairline cracks were unlikely to have been identified within the limits of visual inspection and prevailing conditions for maintenance inspection and underframe overhaul.
"However, during overhaul of the equipment, when the equipment is removed from the train, the paint is removed and inspection takes place in the workshop under good lighting, it is reasonable to expect that workshop staff should notice if large cracks are present although the equipment overhaul procedure does not specifically point the staff to inspect for cracks.
"While KCRC's day-to-day maintenance practices are consistent with those practised by railways internationally, we consider that the Corporation should improve its procedures for inspections and overhauls, and staff training so as to enhance the effectiveness of cracks detection.
"KCRC Management should also expedite the development of a formal and integrated asset-management system. This will enable the KCRC to more effectively detect and prevent recurrence of major fleet-wide problems, which require immediate and massive efforts from all parties," Dr Liao added.
Dr Liao said the Government made 18 recommendations to the KCRC for improvement as the Government attached great importance to railway safety and reliability. These include enhancing crack identification and management during maintenance, ongoing monitoring of the conditions of the trains and tracks, and expediting the development of a formal and fully integrated asset-management system. HKRI will monitor the implementation of the required improvement measures by KCRC and require the Corporation to regularly report the work progress. A list of Government's recommendations to KCRC for improvement is attached at the Annex.
Separately, the Review Panel on the Reporting of East Rail Incidents appointed by the Government submitted its report to Dr Liao this morning. Dr Liao thanked the panel for its hard work and the completion of a thorough review with recommendations on enhancing the notification procedures and processes between KCRC and the Government.
"The Government places great importance on the notification of railway incidents because there should be transparency for the public to monitor whether the adopted measures are appropriate, apart from the need for the Government to be notified.
"We are glad that the Review Panel reaffirms the importance of having the railway corporations notify Government of railway incidents," Dr Liao said.
"We are glad that the Review Panel has identified areas for improvement to the notification procedures and processes. The Government will actively follow up the Panel's recommendations," Dr Liao said.
Chaired by Mr Herbert Hui Ho-ming, members of the Review Panel are Mr Stanley Hui Hon-chung, Mr Vincent Lo Wing-sang and Mr Otto Poon Lok-to.
The full reports by the Government's expert team and the Review Panel can be accessed on the website of the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau at www.etwb.gov.hk.
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Annex
List of Government's recommendations to KCRC for improvement
Recommendation 1 : should work out the detailed design for strengthening the equipment mountings and enhancement of the suspension system.
Recommendation 2 : should consider replacing the worst sections of the rails with undulations on a priority basis.
Recommendation 3 : should explore whether rail grinding technology is readily available to detect and remove the undulations.
Recommendation 4 : should explore feasibility and cost-effectiveness of increasing the stiffness of the car body during the regular overhauls.
Recommendation 5 : should work out the implementation details of the train-based and track-based instruments for surveillance of the wheel-rail interaction.
Recommendation 6 : should monitor the running rails at various locations throughout the tracks.
Recommendation 7 : should maintain vigilance on other aspects of the rolling stocks that may be susceptible to vertical vibration mode.
Recommendation 8 : should monitor wheel roundness and wheel balancing process.
Recommendation 9 : should revise the procedures and training for inspections and overhauls to incorporate crack detection and management.
Recommendation 10 : should conduct training on recognition of poor weld quality for all workshop staff.
Recommendation 11 : should review underframe cleaning methods.
Recommendation 12 : should increase the frequency for the replacement of resilient mounts to occur at each overhaul.
Recommendation 13 : should specify a maximum level of vibration as part of the acceptance criteria for rotating equipment after overhaul.
Recommendation 14 : should carry out vigilant maintenance in other trains and railway lines of KCRC.
Recommendation 15 : should consider including stricter requirements on manufacturersĄŻ process control and quality control for new trains and rails.
Recommendation 16 : should consider including stricter requirements on the process of acceptance in future procurement of new trains and rails, e.g. by instructing the appointed inspection to conduct sample checking of items in factory and during acceptance stage, and setting comprehensive instructions for the appointed agent to conduct the inspection using the latest technology.
Recommendation 17 : should expedite the development of a formal and integrated asset management system.
Recommendation 18 : should conduct a review of the linkage of the safety management system from Corporate to Departmental levels.
Ends/Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Issued at HKT 15:41
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