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Update | More delays for MTR passengers just hours after lightning sparked chaos on West Rail line

Services on the MTR's Kwun Tong line delayed on Wednesday by signalling system problem, after West Rail line was disrupted yesterday by lightning

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Services on the MTR's West Rail line were disrupted for more than six hours yesterday, after lightning damaged the railway's signalling system. Photo: Sam Tsang

Services on the MTR's Kwun Tong line were delayed on Wednesday morning due to a problem with the electronic signalling system, just a day after the West Rail line was disrupted for more than six hours after lightning damaged the same system.

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The problem on Wednesday affected the line between Choi Hung and Kowloon Bay after 9am and was fixed by 11am, MTR Corporation said. Train journeys between the two stations were extended by two to three minutes.

During Tuesday's major disruption, some passengers said they had to wait up to an hour for a train, while others said trains took more than an hour to pass just a few stations. They criticised the MTR for not arranging shuttle buses to help ease the situation for commuters.

It was the latest in a series of service disruptions to hit the troubled MTR Corporation in recent months.

The MTR said lightning struck the signalling system between Yuen Long and Tuen Mun at about 4.15pm, forcing services to operate more slowly than usual. Services from Hung Hom to Tin Shui Wai ran every six minutes, instead of every 3-1/2 minutes. Services from Tin Shui Wai to Tuen Mun ran only every 12 minutes.

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The Observatory reported 6,207 lighting strikes between 2pm and 5pm yesterday. Photo: Hoho Lam/Facebook
The Observatory reported 6,207 lighting strikes between 2pm and 5pm yesterday. Photo: Hoho Lam/Facebook
Full service was not restored until about 10.45pm.
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