The new South Island MTR line experienced a power failure on Thursday, a day after its launch. Train services returned to normal after around 35 minutes.

The MTR Corporation said that there was a power fault near Wong Chuk Hang Station at 2:15pm. The incident affected the whole line and caused a major disruption to train services.

South Island Line power fault

During the incident, an escalator of Admiralty stopped, and staff members had to restart it. At Lei Tung station, the Fire Service Department received report at 2:21pm that passengers were trapped in an elevator, reported Apple Daily.

South Island Line power fault

Crowd control measures were implemented at the Admiralty station to prevent passengers entering South Island Line platforms.

The new South Island Line connects Admiralty to South Horizons through Ocean Park, Wong Chuk Hang and Lei Tung. It is the only line, aside from the Disneyland Resort Line, to use driver-less cars.

South Island Line power fault
Photo: MTR.

On Wednesday, around 150,000 trips were made on the South Island Line on its first day of service.

Kris Cheng is a Hong Kong journalist with an interest in local politics. His work has been featured in Washington Post, Public Radio International, Hong Kong Economic Times and others. He has a BSSc in Sociology from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Kris is HKFP's Editorial Director.