TNAG-0770-FCO40-974-Construction-of-underground-railway-system-in-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 146

4.4

The final phase of the strategy involves the construction of an

underground route throughout the corridor between Whitty and

Chaiwan. This would lead to a further increase in service

levels, an increase in public transport capacity and the release

of road space for other uses. There are several possible ways

[

of dividing this phase into smaller segments, depending on

circumstances, since a large additional capital investment would

be required. Also depending upon the timing of this phase the

initial LRV's could be used as trains or the line could be

restocked with rail rapid transit vehicles. If smaller tunnels

enable side by side construction in Western, a substantial

saving in cost may be possible compared with maintaining MTR

standards. In any event smaller tunnels and stations should

enable some saving in cost to be achieved. The capacity provided

would also be less than that provided by full MTR standards.

This is perfectly consistent with all previous demand forecasts.

However a decision could be made during phase 1 as to whether

or not to build larger diameter tunnels in phase 2.

The Principal Advantages of the Strategy

4.5

The Study Team would stress that they are recommending a strategy for public transport development in the Corridor rather than an end state plan for a particular year. This is considered to be important given the circumstances described earlier in this report

and is seen to have the following advantages;

(i) an early improvement is obtained in public transport

in the corridor followed by a further significant

improvement all within 6 years;

(ii) Maximum use is made of existing public transport

infra-structure including early use of the interchange

facilities being constructed now at Admiralty and

Pedder;

(iii) Costs are spread over a period of time and can be

controlled relative to changing conditions in the

corridor. This will ensure that the operators remain

financially viable with lower risk and without very

large fare increases. This in turn will allow for a

more gradual redistribution of the travel market

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