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WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 1992
NOT
$5.3
THERE WOULD BE A LOSS OF REVENUE BECAUSE THE RAILWAY WOULD SERVE TUNG CHUNG. THIS LOSS COULD AMOUNT BY 2010 ΤΟ ABOUT BILLION (1991 PRICES), REPRESENTING 25 PER CENT (IN 1997) AND 32 PER CENT (IN 2011) OF TOTAL AIRPORT RAILWAY REVENUE.
IN ADDITION, THE MTRC WOULD LOSE $800 MILLION (1991 PRICES) IN PROFITS FROM ASSOCIATED PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT AT TUNG CHUNG.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF TUNG CHUNG AS A NEW TOWN WOULD BE ADVERSELY AFFECTED AND ADDITIONAL STRAINS WOULD BE PUT ON ROAD LINKS FROM TUNG CHUNG TO URBAN AREAS VIA THE NORTH LANTAU EXPRESSWAY AND LANTAU FIXED CROSSING,
MOREOVER, CONSTRUCTION OF THE TUNG CHUNG STATION AND LAYING OF ASSOCIATED TRACKS AT A LATER DATE WOULD CAUSE DISRUPTION TO TUNG CHUNG RESIDENTS AND INVOLVE ADDITIONAL COSTS.
IT HAD ALSO BEEN SUGGESTED THAT THE FOUR TRACKS BETWEEN LAI KING AND TSING YI STATIONS SHOULD BE REDUCED TO TWO.
THE SPOKESMAN SAID WHILE THIS WOULD ACHIEVE SAVINGS OF AROUND $300 MILLION (1991 PRICES), IT WOULD REDUCE BOTH THE FREQUENCY AND RELIABILITY OF THE TRAIN SERVICE BECAUSE OF OPERATIONAL CONSTRAINTS.
JOURNEY TIMES FOR AIRPORT PASSENGERS WOULD BE MORE UNCERTAIN AND LIABLE TO DISRUPTION, WHICH COULD AFFECT THE VIABILITY OF THE AIRPORT EXPRESS.
CROSS PLATFORM INTERCHANGE BETWEEN THE TSUEN WAN LINE AND LANTAU LINE AT LAI KING STATION WOULD BE LESS EFFICIENT AND PLATFORMS WOULD BE MORE CROWDED.
THIS WOULD REDUCE THE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS USING THE INTERCHANGE AND DEFEAT ONE OF THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE LANTAU LINE THE RELIEF OF CONGESTION ON THE MTR'S NATHAN ROAD CORRIDOR.
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A SUGGESTION HAD ALSO BEEN MADE THAT THE AIRPORT RAILWAY'S ON- COSTS SHOULD BE REDUCED FROM 18 PER CENT TO THE LEVEL OF 16.5 PER CENT USED. WHEN THE ISLAND LINE WAS BUILT.
THE SPOKESMAN SAID IT WAS NOT VALID TO COMPARE THE TWO SYSTEMS BECAUSE THE COMPLEXITIES OF DESIGNING AND SUPERVISING THE AIRPORT RAILWAY ARE GREATER THAN THE ISLAND LINE.
THE AIRPORT RAILWAY HAS TO HAVE AN INTERFACE WITH THE OTHER NINE PROJECTS IN THE AIRPORT CORE PROGRAMME PROJECTS, AND REQUIRES FASTER TRAINS FOR BOTH THE AIRPORT EXPRESS AND THE LANTAU LINE.
IT ALSO HAS TO MEET THE NEW AND HIGHER ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION STANDARDS OF TODAY.
MANY CHALLENGING CIVIL ENGINEERING WORKS ARE ALSO REQUIRED. IT IS THEREFORE UNREALISTIC TO EXPECT ON-COSTS TO BE AT THE SAME LEVEL AS THOSE FOR ISLAND LINE AND TSUEN WAN LINE.
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