30 passengers stranded on train
The Light Rapid Transit (LRT) service was suspended for about two hours on Easter Sunday due to a malfunction of its electricity supply system, which caused a train to stall on the track near the Jockey Club Station, leaving about 30 passengers stranded until LRT staff arrived to escort them to the station.
In a statement on Sunday, the government-owned LRT operator, Macau Light Rapid Transit Corporation Limited (MLM), deeply apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers, pledging to further examine the rail system and improve its method of announcing incidents and informing prospective passengers about ongoing breakdowns and other incidents.
According to the statement, the malfunction of the LRT’s electricity supply system began shortly after 11 a.m. on Sunday, causing the service between Taipa Line’s Barra Station and Union Hospital Station to be suspended, while the section between East Asian Games Station and Taipa Ferry Terminal Station remained in service.
The services on Seac Pai Van Line and Hengqin Line were not affected by the malfunction, the statement said.
The LRT service on the Taipa Line gradually resumed at 1:11 p.m., the statement said.
He LRT statement did not reveal for how long the passengers remained trapped during the malfunction.
The Fire Services Bureau (CB) said in a statement on Sunday that after receiving reports shortly before 11:30 a.m. about LRT passengers being trapped in an LRT train on the track near the Jockey Club Station, several fire engines and ambulances were sent to the scene.
When firefighters arrived at the station, the statement said, the passengers who were trapped in the train had already been safely escorted by LRT staff to the station’s platform. About 30 passengers were stranded during the period.
A local man in his fifties felt unwell while he was trapped in the train, but his condition improved after being rescued by LRT staff, the statement said, adding that he declined to be taken to hospital.
Sunday’s malfunction of the LRT system came after it was affected by a breakdown in September last year and another one in October.
This photo shows the LRT train stalled on the track near the Jockey Club Station on Sunday. – Photo courtesy of TDM
