A four-and-a-half hour long glitch on the MTR’s East Rail line yesterday afternoon left thousands of passengers stranded well into the after-work rush hour.
The line, which connects Hong Kong to Shenzhen, lost power at 3:11pm yesterday after an overhead cable between Hung Hom and Tai Wai Stations snapped, HK01 reports.
After their train suddenly came to a stop around 400 metres from Mong Kok East Station, 110 passengers had to walk along the tracks to get to the platform. One grandfather taking the MTR with his grandson had to be pushed to the platform in a wheelchair.
For two hours, trains between Kowloon Tong and Hung Hom Stations didn’t run at all, while service between Kowloon Tong and Lok Ma Chau, as well as Kowloon Tong and Lo Wu, were running at reduced frequency.
Free shuttle buses were provided only between Kowloon Tong and Hung Hom.
Last month, a major power cut on the Kwun Tong Line saw eight rush hour commuters — including a pregnant woman — hospitalized for feeling faint and dizzy, and hundreds of passengers made to walk along the tracks after their train stopped between Kowloon Bay and Diamond Hill.
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