Smart Regulation of Railway Safety in Digital Age
In view of the serious railway incidents happened in the past two years, new regulatory tools, including the Project Safety Review process in assessing railway operators’ applications for new railway projects; Comprehensive and Direct Assessment of the Safety Management System and Asset Management System for major railway systems (including rolling stock, signalling system, permanent way and power distribution system), etc., have been introduced to tighten the regulation of railway safety with a view to reducing the number of railway incidents.
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the world and given us insights into how to manage the challenges of maintaining business going forward. It has given rise to a “new normal” where the Government and the railway industry have embraced more online tools and I&T solutions for meetings, training and the delivery of services to meet rising public expectations for greater convenience. Under this new normal, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) has promoted wider application of innovation and technology for achieving the goal of safety regulation in a smarter way via real-time monitoring, AI and predictive maintenance. EMSD led by example and collaborated with the railway industry to develop a series of I&T applications for enhancing railway safety.
Ir. Cheung Kim Ching is the Chief Engineer of the Railways Branch at the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department. His duties include management and administration of the regulatory functions related to overseeing the safe operation of existing railway lines in Hong Kong. Ir. Cheung graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic in 1987 and subsequently obtained the Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 1997.
Ir. Cheung is a Chartered Engineer and Corporate Member of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers and the Institution of Engineering and Technology in the United Kingdom.
Ir. HO Wai Yip has 29 years of working experience in the Government. He is now a Chief E&M Engineer (Ag.) in the Railways Branch of Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) and is responsible for safety regulation of railways. Ir. HO has also been working in the Energy Efficiency Office and Electricity Legislation Division of EMSD for promotion of energy efficiency and enforcement of electrical safety.
Ir. HO obtained the Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the Hong Kong Polytechnic in 1991. He is a member of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE).