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developed by the MTR in conjunction with local property developers) which would involve major civil engineering works because they required the excavation of deep holes to provide access to the bored tunnel.
4u On timing, Black said that the MTR would hope to issue tender specifications for the civil engineering works in September 1981 inviting bids by the end of the year. Contract awards would take place in January/February 1982.
5. The issue of specifications for the E and M contracts would probably be delayed until 1982 but Black gave us some encouraging news about the prospects for British manufacturers.
It appears that the Mass Transit Authority have looked again at the economics of introducing chopper control on the Island Line and decided that by a reshuffling of their existing rolling stock and the trains ordered for the Tsuen Wan extension, they can probably manage by ordering trailer cars (ie. without traction) for the Island Line extension. In other words, the introduction of chopper control is being postponed (until metro-fits become necessary) and METCAM will probably be invited to negotiate a contract for the sale of trailer cars. While this means that GEC Traction will not be required to bid as the new carriages will be interspersed with the existing traction engines, it does mean that METCAM will have a clear run without risk of Japanese competition. Black suggested that as GEC Rectifiers had performed well on the Initial System and the Tsuen Wan Extension, they were in a good position to secure further orders. In respect of other contracts, the MTR will wish to remain with Cubic Western Data of the United States for the supply of the automatic fare collection system but unfortunately there was a serious doubt over the future of the Westinghouse signalling contracts - you will recall that they were able to negotiate contracts for the Tsuen Wan Extension.
6. It appears that since the takeover of Westinghouse by Hawker- Siddeley International, the performance on signalling equipment for both the Initial System and the Tsuen Wan extension has fallen below par.
Black said that the removal of Eric Harris of Westinghouse Brake and Signal to other duties within the Hawker-Siddeley group had meant that they no longer had the personal attention which had
As led them to negotiate the contract for the Tsuen Wan extension. a result the MTR were currently investigating the availability of alternative signalling equipment from the United States. One of the reasons why Norman Thompson, Chairman of the MTR, is currently in the United Kingdom is to tell Sir Arnold Hall, Chairman of Hawker-Siddeley International, that unless the Westinghouse operation is brought up to scratch they will lose the signalling contract for the Island Line Extension. Gordon Manzie took this point on board and will be following it up on his return to the United Kingdom. I am sure that the MTR are not bluffing and that unless Hawker-Siddeley make a major commitment on the Tsuen Wan Extension, Westinghouse will lose the contract for the Island Line and any future expansion of the MTR system.
7. Finally, we asked Black for his estimate of the likely financial cost of the Island Line. He said that the MTR estimated that the total cost would be HK$10 billion compared with the HK$16 billion for the Initial System and the Tsuen Wan Extension. They believed that they might be able to finance the new extension without recourse
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