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FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 1993
PUBLIC VIEWS SOUGHT ON RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT STUDY
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OF
THE GOVERNMENT IS INVITING PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE FINDINGS THE RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT STUDY, WHICH PRESENTS PROPOSALS FOR THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE RAILWAY SYSTEM IN HONG KONG UP TO 2011.
SPEAKING AT A PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY (FRIDAY), THE SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT, MR MICHAEL LEUNG, EMPHASISED THAT THIS WAS A LONG-TERM PLANNING STUDY AND THE GOVERNMENT WOULD ONLY TAKE A VIEW ON THE FINDINGS AFTER THE PUBLIC HAS BEEN CONSULTED.
THE STUDY PROPOSES THAT PRIORITY SHOULD BE GIVEN TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF A WESTERN CORRIDOR FROM LO WU VIA KAM TIN TO THE URBAN AREA, AND A MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY (MTR) EXTENSION TO TSBUNG KWAN
0. BOTH LINES ARE RECOMMENDED FOR COMPLETION BY 2001.
THE WESTERN CORRIDOR WOULD ACCOMMODATE THREE RAIL SERVICES:
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A FREIGHT LINE RUNNING FROM LO WU, THROUGH KAM TIN AND TSUEN WAN, TO A RAIL FREIGHT STATION IN KWAI CHUNG. THE LINE WOULD FACILITATE TRANSPORTATION OF CONTAINERS BETWEEN THE BORDER AND THE CONTAINER PORT, THUS RELIEVING THE ROAD SYSTEM;
* A NEW LONG DISTANCE PASSENGER SERVICE ΤΟ CHINA ΤΟ BE CONNECTED INITIALLY TO LO WU AND LATER POSSIBLY TO LOK MA CHAU. THIS WOULD REDUCE JOURNEY TIMES FOR TRAVEL TO CHINA AND WOULD PROVIDE EASIER ACCESS TO HUANGGANG AND FUTIAN IN SHENZHEN; AND
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A SUB-REGIONAL LINE FROM TIN SHUL WAI AND YUEN LONG TO URBAN AREA. THE NEW LINE WOULD PLACE YUEN LONG WITHIN MINUTES TRAVELLING TIME OF CENTRAL AND TUEN MUN ABOUT 40 50 MINUTES, USING THE LRT AS A FEEDER SERVICE.
THE 30
ΤΟ
THE STUDY EXAMINED AN ALTERNATIVE COASTAL ALIGNMENT FOR A PASSENGER SERVICE CONNECTING TUEN MUN AND TSUEN WAN, BUT THIS WAS FOUND TO BE A FAR LESS COST-EFFECTIVE OPTION.
BECAUSE OF THE DIFFICULT TERRAIN, THE CONSIDERABLY LONGER COASTAL LINE WOULD COST MORE THAN TWICE AS MUCH AS THE RECOMMENDED ALIGNMENT TO YUEN LONG. MOREOVER, A COASTAL SERVICE WOULD NOT BE ABLE ΤΟ SHARE THE SAME TRACK WITH CROSS BORDER FREIGHT AND PASSENGER SERVICES.
WITH REGARD ΤΟ THE PROPOSED MTR EXTENSION FROM LAM TIN TO TSEUNG KWAN O, THE PROGRAMME DEPENDS ON THE POPULATION BUILD-UP OF TSEUNG KWAN 0.
BASED ON CURRENT DEVELOPMENT PLANS, THE TSEUNG KWAN O EXTENSION SHOULD BR JUSTIFIED IN 2001 WHEN THE POPULATION OF THE NEW TOWN IS EXPECTED TO REACH 250,000, WITH PLANS TO REACH 360,000 BY 2011.
FOR THE EASTERN PART OF THE TERRITORY, A NEW EAST KOWLOON ROUTE MIGHT BE BUILT IN THE LONGER TERM, LINKING MA ON SHAN, ΤΑΙ WAI, DIAMOND HILL, AND THE PROPOSED SOUTHEAST KOWLOON RECLAMATION.
/THE ROUTE