TUESDAY, MAY 8, 1979
THIS WAS ESSENTIAL TO PERMIT VERY RAPID ENTRY AND EXIT OF PASSENGERS IN THE SHORT STATION STOP TIMES. EXISTING STATIONS WOULD NEED ENTIRELY NEW FACILITIES TO CATER FOR THE ANTICIPATED MASSIVE INCREASES IN TRAFFIC VOLUME TO BE HANDLED.
IN THE DETAILED DESIGN -- NOW WELL ADVANCED THE DISABLED HAVE NOT BEEN OVERLOOKED.
THE NEEDS OF
+IN SHORT, ALL EXISTING STATIONS WILL BE COMPLETELY REBUILT AND THREE NEW STATIONS WILL ALSO BE CONSTRUCTED, NAMELY AT TAI WAI, FO TAN AND KOWLOON TONG, WHERE THERE WILL BE A THREE-LEVEL INTERCHANGE WITH THE MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY, SAID MR. HOWES.
THE INTERCHANGE WAS ONE OF THE KEY INGREDIENTS OF THE ELECTRIFICATION PROJECT, CREATING AN ESSENTIAL INTEGRATION BETWEEN THE KCR AND MTR, HE ADDED.
MR. HOWES ALSO MENTIONED SOME OF THE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ELECTRIFICATION SCHEME.
THE BIGGEST SINGLE PROBLEM WAS THAT OF TOTALLY REBUILDING THE RAILWAY IN SITU WHILE KEEPING THE EXISTING RAILWAY FUNCTIONING AND MAINTAINING A QUALITY OF SERVICE.
HE WARNED THAT DURING THIS PERIOD THERE WILL ON OCCASIONS BE IMPEDIMENTS TO TRAIN OPERATIONS AND ON POSSIBLY RARE OCCASIONS CLOSURE OF THE LINE FOR LIMITED PERIODS FOR MAJOR WORKS.
A MAJOR AREA OF CONCERN, MR. HOWES WENT ON TO SAY, WAS THE FACT THAT THE PRESENT RAILWAY IS LARGELY UNFENCED,
+THIS IS WHOLLY UNSATISFACTORY FROM THE SAFETY STANDPOINT AND AS PART OF THE PROJECT, I HAVE INSISTED THAT THE RAILWAY MUST BE COMPLETELY FENCED THROUGHOUT, HE SAID.
+THE COST WILL BE HIGH SINCE IT ALSO MEANS BUILDING MANY ADDITIONAL GRADE SEPARATED' PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS, BUT IT IS AN ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL PRE-REQUISITE TO THE NEW RAILWAY.+
MR. HOWES DESCRIBED THE END PRODUCT OF THE PROJECT AS +A FAST, FREQUENT AND RELIABLE PASSENGER SERVICE WHICH WILL CATER FOR THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY FOR THE NEXT 15 OR MORE YEARS.+
15.