MTR report on Hong Kong high-speed rail link derailment points finger at track design failings by consultants Ove Arup & Partners
Rail operator stops short of accusing firm of negligence, but boss Francis Li says it wrongly calculated forces track could stand
An investigation into a train derailment during testing of Hong Kong’s cross-border high-speed rail link has said a consultancy firm erred when calculating the lateral forces the track could sustain.
The inquiry, conducted by an independent panel of experts appointed by MTR, said the engineering company Ove Arup & Partners made assumptions in its design work for a maintenance track that contributed to the incident last month.
On April 3, depot staff found four wheels on the last carriage of the train had “shifted out of position” on a maintenance track during an inspection, causing mounting concerns over the express trains’ safety. Some critics said the incident would undermine public confidence in the rail link, expected to open in September.
While Francis Li Shing-kee, the high-speed rail operating chief, said the design consultant had wrongly calculated the forces the tracks could stand, the MTR stopped short of accusing the contractor of negligence.
The panel’s findings were revealed on Monday, as the rail operator submitted its findings to the government and Legislative Council about the derailment, which happened just two days after the HK$84.4 billion (US$10.7 billion) infrastructure project started its trial runs on April 1.
