SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1977 ·
DOUBLE TRACKING OF RAIL TO BE EXTENDED TO UNIVERSITY
STATION ****
WORK WILL BEGIN SHORTLY ON THE DOUBLE TRACKING OF THE KOWLOON- CANTON RAILWAY FROM SHA TIN TO A POINT NEAR THE UNIVERSITY STATION AT MA LIU SHUT.
TENDERS FOR THE WORK ARE INVITED BY THE RAILWAY DIVISION OF THE P.W.D.'S CIVIL ENGINEERING OFFICE.
THE WORK WILL CONSIST OF THE LAYING OF A SINGLE TRACK OF THREE AND A QUARTER KILOMETRES, THE RECONSTRUCTION OF AN EXISTING K.C.R. BRIDGE OVER THE FO TAN NULLAH, THE WIDENING OF TWO EXISTING BRIDGES WITHIN THE FO TAN AREA, THE CONSTRUCTION OF RETAINING WALLS AND ANCILLARY WORKS.
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MR. LEUNG MIN-SUN, ACTING CHIEF ENGINEER OF THE RAILWAY DIVISION, SAID THAT THE WORK FORMED THE FIRST PHASE OF TRACK WIDENING BETWEEN SHA TIN AND TAI PO MARKET.
WORK WOULD BEGIN NEXT MONTH AND TAKE ABOUT 14 MONTHS TO COMPLETE.
HE SAID THAT THE DOUBLE TRACK ING WORK BETWEEN HUNG HOM AND SHA TIN WAS NOW VIRTUALLY COMPLETE.
WITH THE COMPLETION OF THE TRACK WIDENING WORK BETWEEN SHA TIN AND TAI PO MARKET, PASSENGER AND FREIGHT TRAIN SERVICES WOULD BE GREATLY IMPROVED.
MEANWHILE, WORK ON THE MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR NEW SHA TIN RAILWAY STATION HAS BEGUN.
THE STATION, WHICH WILL RIVAL THE HUNG HOM TERMINUS IN DESIGN AND FACILITIES, FORMS THE FIRST STAGE OF THE REDEVELOPMENT. IT AIMS TO COPE WITH THE EXTRA RAIL TRAFFIC RESULTING FROM THE GROWTH OF THE SHA TIN NEW TOWN.
MR. LEUNG SAID THAT IN THE FIRST STAGE THE NUMBER OF TRACKS PASSING THROUGH THE STATION WOULD BE INCREASED FROM THREE TO FOUR,
HE SAID THAT TWO MORE COVERED ISLAND PLATFORMS WOULD ALSO BE BUILT TO PERMIT MORE CONVENIENT ACCESS TO TRAINS, AND IMPROVE PASSENGER SAFETY BY SEGREGATING THEM FROM THE TRACKS.
IN THE NEXT STAGE, A NEW STATION WILL BE BUILT ON A REINFORCED CONCRETE PODIUM EXTENDING OVER THE PLATFORMS AND RAILWAY TRACKS.
MR. LEUNG SAID THAT THE STATION CONCOURSE WOULD BE LARGE ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE 2,600 PASSENGERS AND WOULD PROVIDE FACILITIES TO RIVAL THOSE AVAILABLE AT HUNG HOM.
IT WOULD INCORPORATE BOOKING AND STATION-MASTER OFFICES, A PUBLIC RESTAURANT AND BAR, A BOOKSTALL, A MINI-BANK AND A CANTEEN AND CHANGING ROOMS FOR K.C.R. STAFF.
THE NEW STATION COMPLEX IS EXPECTED TO BE COMMISSIONED TOWARDS THE END OF 1979.
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