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Following is a question by the Hon Andrew Cheng and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Transport, Mr Kevin Ho, in the Legislative Council today (May 31):
Question: The Railway Development Strategy 2000, announced two weeks ago, proposes that a Shatin-Central rail corridor be built under a project comprising the Tai Wai to Diamond Hill Link, the East Kowloon Line and the Fourth Rail Harbour Crossing. Both the Mass Transit Railway Corporation and the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation will be invited to submit proposals to develop this project. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the anticipated phased completion date of each rail line of the rail corridor;
(b) of the date on which the selection of the railway corporation to undertake the project is expected to complete; and
(c) whether, in deciding to accept the proposal of a railway corporation, it will place emphasis on balancing the competitiveness of the two railway corporations in the future railway transport market, as well as consumers' right to choose?
Reply :
Madam President,
Government has announced on the 16th of this month the Railway Development Strategy 2000 which maps out a blue-print for the expansion of the railway network in the next 15 years. The Strategy also sets out an indicative programme for the completion of the various new railway lines and recommends that the actual implementation timing of individual new railway projects would depend on the growth of transport demand. To better match the actual transport demand, some of the railway projects can be completed in phases. The Shatin to Central Link is one of the six new railway projects recommended in the Strategy. This will be a new strategic railway corridor formed by three railway line sections, namely the Tai Wai to Diamond Hill Link, the East Kowloon Line and the Fourth Rail Harbour Crossing. This strategic corridor will increase significantly the cross-harbour and Shatin-Kowloon rail capacities, and redistribute the flows better on the other railway lines in Hong Kong and Metro Kowloon.
At this stage, Government has not made a final decision on whether the Shatin to Central Link should actually be completed in phases. From transport planning perspective, the Fourth Rail Harbour Crossing will be needed first to meet the demand. However, the actual implementation will be affected by the prrogramme of the Central and Wanchai Reclamation. As for the East Kowloon Line, its implementation has to integrate with the Southeast Kowloon Development. I note that the Southeast Kowloon Development consultation yesterday has received very positive response. We hope that an early agreement can be reached on the development plan to enable the East Kowloon Line to integrate with the development.
Lastly, for the section of the existing East Rail between Tai Wai and Kowloon Tong, the RDS-2 consultant forecasted that it would become saturated in 2011 and the new Tai Wai to Diamond Hill Link will be needed then. Nevertheless, we are mindful of the strong wish of the residents in Shatin District for an early second link from Shatin to Kowloon and the additional pressure which will be brought by the Fourth Rail Habrour Crossing. We therefore feel we should adopt a pragmatic and open approach on the timing of the Tai Wai to Diamond Hill Link. In addition, the implementation programme will be affected by the proposals of the railway corporations. On the other hand we shall also take into account their proposed timing in making a final choice on the operator.
As the Shatin to Central Link is a new project, which is not a natural extension of any existing railway line, we will invite both Corporations to bid for the Link on a level playing field basis. We will also welcome proposals from any other parties to take part in the bidding. In order to better time the provision of the Link to serve the planned developments, we will start the bidding process as soon as practicable. Given the importance of the Link to the railway network development and the travelling public, comprehensive bidding proposals will be vital, which reasonable time has to be allowed for its preparation and assessment. Our preliminary programme is to complete the bidding process and select the operator around the end of next year with a view to a completion date of 2008.
In deciding on the bidding proposals, we will consider all relevant factors based on the guiding principles of maximizing the benefits of the entire rail network to the community and the cost-effectiveness of the investment. To this effect, the bidding proposals will be assessed in terms of the operational aspects (including integration with the existing KCR and MTR network, and convenience of interchanges with public transport), ease of construction, capital cost, financial arrangement and fare level etc. Our assessment will also take into account any better alternative proposal and the consideration of healthy competition.
End/Wednesday, May 31, 2000
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