Browsing the South China Morning Post website recently I came across a strange sight – what looked to be a MTR train overhanging a building!
Thankfully the photo caption explained what was actually happening:
A mock-up of an MTR train, part of a promotion by Mitsukoshi department store in Causeway Bay in 1985, to coincide with the opening of the MTR’s Island Line. Photo: P Y Tang
Phew!
Footnote
The best known example of a train crashing through a wall and onto the ground below is the Montparnasse derailment of 1895 – better known as the ‘Oh Shit!’ poster.
There are actually a few places in Hong Kong where a MTR train could do the same thing. The first is Tuen Mun station, where the elevated West Rail line ends above a nullah (canal).
The other being the elevated Chai Wan station, eastern terminus of the Island Line.
Both tracks don’t see trains run on them – they exist for the sole purpose of providing an overrun zone for trains that fail to stop at the terminating stations.