Blocked train tracks urge tourists to take a taxi

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Eunice Lam

Tourists had to resort to taxis and buses to visit Victoria Peak as the Peak Tram has been out of service since an uprooted tree fell onto its tracks during heavy Sunday rain.

The Peak Tram company said yesterday that services remained suspended to allow government services to clear the slope of the fallen tree.

It promised to keep people informed “when our tram service can resume as soon as possible.”

The tree, measuring at least a meter in diameter, fell onto the Peak Tram tracks on Barker Road in Mid-Levels at midday on Sunday as the Amber Rainstorm Warning was hoisted. It blocked off an area of ​​10 by 20 metres, suspending tram services all day that day.

Due to the suspension, city bus line 15C, which runs between Central Pier and the tram terminus, was also out of service yesterday.

City bus route 15, which runs between Central Pier and The Peak, yesterday added a bus stop at the tram station to help visitors and residents.

At one point, about a hundred people were waiting for the bus amid the rain, including an Indian tourist Gaurav, who said they were unhappy about not being able to experience the tram ride.

Another tourist, a mainland woman named Huang, said, “We walked quite a distance to get here, but there was no (Peak Tram) back then. But it’s still nice to be able to experience the bus ride !”

The Development Agency said yesterday that government departments and contractors had immediately deployed staff to remove fallen trees after the rains. “In cases where it takes time to clear or prune trees, departments have fenced potentially dangerous trees to protect the public,” the report said.