ENG-1978 — Page 240

COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT

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new racecourse at Sha Tin, also enabled main line traffic to be diverted for one month, thus facilitating work on a cutting slip at Ho Tung Lau which was carried out in con- junction with the second phase of the double-tracking project. Special trains to service the new racecourse at Sha Tin on race days began running on October 7.

The construction of the new Beacon Hill Tunnel, which will accommodate two railway tracks with lower approach gradients, began in January. When this new tunnel opens in late 1980, the track capacity between Hung Hom and Sha Tin will be further increased and additional trains will run to serve the increasing population in the New Territories.

Re-laying of the track to new improved standards began in January to facilitate the running of faster and heavier trains. This involves the use of heavier 54-kilogram per metre rails with long welded sections resting on concrete sleepers, replacing the tradi- tional 43-kilogram per metre rails on wooden sleepers. The first completed section of re-laid track in Kowloon Tong was put into use in July and the whole project is expected to be completed by the end of 1980.

Remodelling works on Sha Tin Station and Mong Kok Station commenced and it is expected that the new Sha Tin Station will be ready in late 1980, while the new Mong Kok Station will be completed in 1981. Each station will have a concourse above track level, connected to the platforms by escalators and lifts, and development above the station. Planning work for a new station in Kowloon Tong for passenger interchange with the Mass Transit Railway was also in progress. It is expected that construc- tion work will commence in mid-1979 and will be completed at the end of 1980. Further new stations in Tai Wai and Fo Tan were also being planned. Other stations - Kowloon, University, Tai Po Kau, Tai Po Market and Fanling were also being examined, with a view to improving their facilities or completely rebuilding them to cater for standard platform heights and the much increased volume of traffic and frequency of services when electric trains are introduced.

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At Sheung Shui Station, interim improvement works commenced in February. They include the construction of a passing loop, an additional platform to the west of the station, raising the height of the existing platform, and a footbridge to link the existing platform and the new platform. The project is expected to be completed early in 1979.

Mass Transit Railway

By the end of the year, about 80 per cent of the civil engineering work on the modified initial system of the Mass Transit Railway was complete, while considerable progress had been made on the commissioning and installation of electrical and mechanical equipment.

All the stations and tunnels from Kwun Tong to Shek Kip Mei – about half the length of the 15.6-kilometre modified initial system that will link Central District on Hong Kong Island with Kwun Tong in Kowloon - were structurally complete by the end of the year. This section will open for service in September, 1979, while the rest of line will become operational in March, 1980. In the modified initial system there are 12 stations underground and three overhead.

The railway is being constructed by the Mass Transit Railway Corporation, an independent public statutory body wholly owned by the government.

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