Hong Kong faces rush hour travel chaos after train derails
A commuter train derailed in Hong Kong this morning, injuring several passengers and triggering delays during the city’s busy rush hour.
Train authorities said that one of its vehicles derailed as it departed a station in the Kowloon area, in a rare episode of travel chaos for the Asian city’s usually seamless transport network.
Read more: Chill out about HKEX’s bid for the LSE
Local media images show MTR staff standing at the site of a derailed train, which remained upright but had been split across tracks.
MTR said in a statement today that the train had “deviated from the rail” at Hung Hom station.
According to Reuters, nearby stations were overcrowded with a backlog of trains unable to move and trains which normally run at two minute intervals were delayed to run at 12 minute intervals.
Hong Kong’s transport system has become the target of vandalism and mass demonstrations in the last 100 days amid anti-government protests across the city.
Protesters have accused MTR Corporation, the operator of the city’s network, of attempting to prevent demonstrations by closing some of its stations.
Read more: Moody’s downgrades Hong Kong’s outlook to negative
MTR’s share price tumbled 1.1 per cent in trading, in line with the broader Hang Seng Index which edged down one per cent.
Photo credit: ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty Images