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Noise nuisance at the airport railway station
The following is a question by Dr the Hon Huang Chen-ha and a written reply by the Secretary for Works, Mr James Blake, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
Regarding the prevention of noise nuisance at the airport railway station at Cheung On Estate (Tsing Yi North), will the Government inform this Council:
(a)
(b)
(c)
whether it is planned to adopt a design of total enclosure or other noise prevention facilities for the airport railway station at Cheung On Estate; if not, what the reasons are;
of the respective construction costs of noise prevention measures for total enclosure and semi-enclosure designs and their respective effects in reducing the noise level; and
whether the Government will consider further consulting members of the Kwai Tsing District Board, Area Committees and Mutual Aid Committees and Legislative Council member of the district concerned about the noise prevention facilities at the Tsing Yi North airport railway station?
Reply:
Mr President:
(a)
The criteria for the design of the Airport Railway with respect to the environment were established in the Airport Railway (AR) Environmental Impact Study(EIS), the final report of which has been endorsed by Environmental Protection Department and the Advisory Council on the Environment. The EIS has assessed the worst case operating noise of the AR on the basis of rolling stock noise, train length, operating speed and frequency and the distance separation of the AR from sensitive receivers. The noise prevention facility recommended by the EIS and ultimately to be adopted for the northern side of the AR viaduct facing Cheung On Estate is the provision of a 1.4m high absorptive track side barrier extending from the western end of the Tsing Yi Station to a point 180m long.