Out on the MTR Light Rail system you can find an interesting piece of trackside infrastructure – a speed camera! So why do they exist?
The story starts in 2013, when a light rail vehicle derailed at the junction of Kiu Hung Road and the Ping Shan section of Castle Peak Road in Yuen Long, injuring 62 passengers.
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The investigation found excessive speed was the cause of the crash, and blamed the driver.
MTRCL has completed inspection of the concerned LRV, including its braking system, to confirm its normal operation. MTRCL also inspected all LRVs which were manufactured during the same period. All were found to be in good condition.
A detailed inspection was carried out in the affected section to confirm its signalling system and the infrastructure equipment, including the track and overhead lines, were in normal working condition. In addition, no foreign object was found on site which might have affected safe Light Rail operations.
The on-board data recorder, also known as the “black box”, on the concerned LRV indicated that it was travelling at a speed of 40.9 kilometres per hour (kph) when it made a left-hand turn at the rail junction. The stipulated speed limit for all points of rail junctions in the Light Rail network is 15 kph. It is believed that three of the LRVs’ four sets of wheels came off the rails as a result of its travelling speed.
The concerned LRV captain will not be responsible for driving duties, until the Police have completed their investigation.
With the driver found guilty in 2015 of causing the crash.
A Light Rail driver failed to convince a magistrate on Friday that he had blacked out just before the train he was driving derailed in Yuen Long two years ago.
Fung Chung-man, 30, was found guilty of committing a negligent act that endangered the safety of his 82 passengers when the train derailed as he attempted to make a turn at the junction of Kiu Hung Road and the Ping Shan section of Castle Peak Road.
In Tuen Mun Court, Deputy Magistrate Michael Chan Pik-kiu noted that after the incident, Fung did not tell paramedics at the scene, or later doctors at the hospital, that he had passed out.
He said Fung’s version of the event was a “fabrication” before handing down a guilty verdict.
The court earlier heard that the route 761P train, which runs between Tin Shui Wai and Yuen Long, was travelling at 41km/h when it derailed on May 17, 2013 – more than double the 15km/h maximum speed for turning.
The MTR’s response to the crash – installing speed cameras on the approach to major Light Rail junctions.
First as a trial, then a larger rollout.
Last May, a light rail train turned left when passing the junction at Yuen Long, and derailed due to suspected excessive speed. MTR subsequently installed speed cameras at the scene of the incident and two other locations to conduct on-site testing of the speed detection effectiveness of the speed cameras. A MTR spokesperson said that the relevant tests were recently completed with ideal results, so plans are underway to install snapshot cameras at other suitable locations on the light rail network. The tender process will be launched in May this year, but the exact installation locations have not yet been announced.
It is understood that in addition to continuing to use the three installed speed cameras, MTR will purchase at least seven more speed cameras. They will be placed mainly at the location where a straight track leads into a junction, which is similar to the track layout where the derailment accident occurred. Because the train maintains a high speed on a straight road, if the conductor does not slow down and enter the switch, the train will easily derail. Therefore, a speed camera is installed to have a deterrent effect.
MTR also pointed out that in addition to installing speed cameras, the company also has measures to ensure effective monitoring of light rail speeds, including supervisory personnel patrolling at different times and on different routes, using portable speed laser guns to measure train speeds. Currently, there are 140 speed inspections per week, and it is known that an average of less than ten speeding cases are discovered each year. The police have not prosecuted any cases of speeding on the Light Rail in the past two years.
But they rejected the installation of any technical measures to prevent overspeeding in the first place.
Liang Zhigang, chairman of the Hong Kong Railway Staff Union, said that he had suggested that MTR install anti-collision devices on light rail trains. The principle is that when a train passes through the sensor at too high a speed, a warning signal can be sent to the train to remind the driver to slow down. If the train fails to slow down in the end, the system can bring the train to an emergency stop. “Anti-collision devices can prevent the conductor from fainting or sudden death, but he still held the control lever tightly and accelerated!” However, he said that MTR was concerned about cost and did not accept the suggestion.
However a few years later their opinion had changed, with work started on the development of the “Integrated Speed and Position Supervision System” (iSPS), with trials commencing in 2018.
An innovative “Integrated Speed and Position Supervision System” (iSPS) developed for Light Rail by MTR engineers has been put on trial on three Light Rail routes in Tin Shui Wai, enabling real-time speed monitoring of Light Rail vehicles (LRV) and including other advanced features to further enhance the operational safety and efficiency of Light Rail services.
MTR Corporation strives to provide a safe and reliable service to customers and always seeks continuous improvement. Through a rigorous process of research, design, production and testing, MTR engineers successfully combined the mature and widely-used technology of Global Positioning System (GPS) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to develop the award-winning iSPS. The system operates with in-train GPS receivers and RFID readers as well as RFID tags installed in track areas.
During operation, the speed data as well as the position of LRVs will be relayed back to the Light Rail Operations Control Centre via a mobile communications network for real-time monitoring. Train captains would receive an audio reminder from the system when the speed of the LRV is about to reach the limit of the section being traversed.
The system also has other useful features including reminders for train captains to perform platform duty, and alerts when passing through designated junctions and turnouts.
“As there is no commonly adopted solution for Light Rail speed monitoring in the market, our engineers had to innovate and develop one on our own. Our team had assured the stability of the system in GPS position accuracy, reception and RFID detection through rigorous tests and assessments before it was adopted for service. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department has also rendered great support to the Corporation on launching iSPS to enhance railway safety,” said Mr Lu Wong, General Manager – Rolling Stock Fleet.
The iSPS system has been put on trial in the Tin Shui Wai area (Route 705, 706 and 751P) with promising results. The Corporation targets to launch the system in the whole LR network progressively from Q2 2019.
The system consists of two parts – a small panel on the dashboard of each Light Rail Vehicle.
And RFID tags installed on the tracks.
The initial rollout of the system was completed in 2019, with an upgraded version providing additional safety features deployed in 2021.
Version 1.0 of iSPS developed by the MTR operations engineering team is patented in Hong Kong and has been adopted across the whole Light Rail network since 2019.
The team has been continuing developing an upgraded version 2.0 which provided additional functions of “Gap between trains” and “Alerts for the coming train” to ensure the safe distance between trains.
The new function of “Gap between trains” can monitor the position and speed of LRVs and calculate the distance between two LRVs, as well as remind train captain when necessary in order to avoid or reduce potential touch. The new function of “Alerts for the coming train” can prioritize LRVs sequence at the junction or turnout zone to ensure safety distance.
iSPS version 2.0 was launched in end 2021 and patent was also granted in Hong Kong.
In all an interesting system tailored for light rail systems with vehicles driven on sight, which cannot be fitted with the same kind of automatic train protection heavy rail systems use in conjunction with their failsafe signalling systems.
