Hong Kong MTR unveils HK$300 million wheelset centre, boosting efficiency by 80%

Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation has unveiled its first wheelset maintenance centre, set to open in the coming months, cutting the time for the labour-intensive process from more than three days to 10 hours. The rail giant said on Thursday that the new HK$300 million (US$38.3 million) Integrated Wheelset Maintenance Centre, located at the Ho Man Tin siding, would be capable of processing 1,500 wheelsets annually through automation. The capacity is designed to meet growing service demands on the Tuen Ma and East Rail lines. Lee Kim-hung, the MTR Corp’s deputy director of operations engineering maintenance, said the facility represented a comprehensive overhaul of traditional maintenance workflows through the use of cutting-edge technology, while enhancing safety. “Even when our wheels show just a few millimetres of wear and tear, we perform grinding to restore their circular shape. Based on the condition and service life of each wheelset, we also carry out full replacements every few years,” he said. He explained that wheelset repair and replacement were some of the most repetitive and labour-intensive tasks in railway maintenance, noting that a single train carriage contains four 1.5-tonne wheelsets, each comprising two wheels and an axle. “Our goal is to speed up processes, improve effectiveness and boost productivity. The maintenance time for each wheelset will be significantly reduced from the current three to four working days to approximately 10 hours,” Lee said. He added that the company expected to increase productivity by about 80 per cent. “While traditional wheelset maintenance typically requires more than 30 engineering staff members, the centre can be operated by just six employees who focus on remote monitoring and data analysis,” he said. The new facility forms part of the corporation’s HK$65 billion five-year programme to repair and maintain its railway assets through 2027. The centre offers a one-stop automated process in four stages, starting with the dismantling of wheelsets due for replacement. Once placed on a rack and assigned priority through the management system, specialised robotic arms move the components to a replacement station. Cleaning robots then wash the axle while the system prepares new wheels for assembly. This is followed by water-jet cleaning and magnetic particle testing of the axle to ensure structural integrity. After the new wheels are fitted, the completed component undergoes ultrasonic testing and a simulated high-speed run to ensure smooth operation before being returned to the depot for reinstallation. Lee said the automation was managed by three digital systems to enhance speed and safety, allowing engineers to remotely track each wheelset’s real-time progress through the maintenance cycle. He added that the systems coordinated eight custom robotic arms to move 1.5-tonne components, while integrating machinery status for centralised monitoring. He also said safety gates were linked to the system, immediately halting all robotic operations if opened. Data from the centre will be integrated into MTR systems, enabling analysis of wheelset wear patterns to inform long-term maintenance strategies. Lee said the facility would serve the Tuen Ma and East Rail lines, which are expected to require about 900 wheelset changes a year after the cross-harbour extension opened in 2022. He added that the corporation built in buffer capacity when designing the centre. “We hope to reach a maximum of 1,500 sets. As we continue with commissioning and testing, we can identify other areas for optimisation and see how we can make the process even more efficient,” he said. Lee said the corporation would monitor operations to determine whether to extend the centre’s services to other MTR lines, and what workflow or equipment adjustments might be needed.