XN000022-1979-05-08 — Page 4

TUESDAY, MAY 8, 1979

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500,000 KCR PASSENGERS A DAY BY EARLY 1990'S

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HONG KONG AND ITS COMMUNITY WILL HAVE A SUBURBAN RAIL SERVICE OF A STANDARD EQUAL TO ANY IN THE WORLD WHICH WILL PLAY ITS FULL PART IN THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TERRITORY.

THIS WAS THE FORECAST OF MR. BOBBY HOWES, GENERAL MANAGER OF THE KOWLOON-CANTON RAILWAY, WHEN HE ADDRESSED THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY CONVOCATION THIS (TUESDAY) EVENING.

PROJECTIONS ON TRANSPORT NEEDS, HE SAID, INDICATED THAT FROM THE OPENING OF THE FULL ELECTRIC SERVICE, KCR WOULD BE CONVEYING 120,000 TO 140,000 PASSENGERS A DAY AND THIS COULD RISE TO 250,000 BY THE MID-1980'S.

+WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO HANDLE UP TO 500,000 A DAY BY THE EARLY 1990'S, + MR. HOWES SAID.

ELECTRIFICATION WILL ALSO ENABLE KCR TO RUN MANY MORE FREIGHT TRAINS AND TO HANDLE NOT LESS THAN THREE TIMES THE CURRENT LEVEL OF FREIGHT BUSINESS, HE SAID.

MR. HOWES ALSO SPOKE ON THE PRESENT TRAIN SERVICE THE TRAFFIC GROWTH DURING THE PAST 10 YEARS, DOUBLE TRACKING, AND THE MODERNISATION AND ELECTR IF ICATION OF KCR.

THE OVERALL KCR PROJECT, INCLUDING ELECTRIFICATION, MEANT COMPLETELY REBUILDING THE RAILWAY IN EVERY ASPECT, HE EXPLAINED.

IT WAS DESIGNED TO MEET THE LONG-TERM NEEDS OF THE NORTHEAST CORRIDOR OF THE NEW TERRITORIES, ESPECIALLY THE EXPANDING NEW TOWN POPULATIONS IN SHA TIN, TAI PO AND FANLING, AND TO MAKE PROVISION FOR FURTHER SUBSTANTIAL EXPANSION OF FREIGHT TRAFFIC.

+THE WHOLE ROUTE WILL BE ELECTRIFIED WITH THE SYSTEM WHICH IS NOW THE GENERALLY ADOPTED STANDARD ON MOST SURFACE RAILWAYS, INCLUDING BRITISH RAIL AND MORE RECENT SUBURBAN ELECTRIFICATIONS, HE SAID.

THE NEW PASSENGER TRAIN SERVICE WILL BE OPERATED BY THREE-CAR ELECTRIC MULTIPLE UNIT SETS WITH ULTIMATELY TRAINS OF UP TO 12 CARS,

THE INTERIOR DESIGN WILL PROVIDE A STANDARD OF COMFORT COMPATIBLE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF SEATING AND STANDING PASSENGERS IN A FAST, FREQUENT SERVICE WITH A SHORT JOURNEY TIME. ALL VEHICLES WILL BE AIR-CONDITIONED.

PLATFORMS WILL HAVE TO BE RAISED AT BOTH THE EXISTING AND NEW STATIONS TO A HEIGHT OF 1.06 METRES, I.E. THE HEIGHT OF THE FLOOR OF THE ELECTRIC TRAINS.

THIS WAS ESSENTIAL