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Following is a question by Hon Alan Leong and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, at the Legislative Council meeting today (October 24):
Question:
In June 2002, the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) was awarded the development right for the Shatin to Central Link (SCL). In August 2002, KCRC submitted a revised scheme proposing to add a station at Tsz Wan Shan; then in September 2004, it submitted a draft final proposal offering to provide an automated people mover (APM) system linking the Diamond Hill Station of SCL and the Tsz Wan Shan area instead; and yet in July 2005, it submitted a new scheme in which the proposed facilities were abandoned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the reasons for each revision of the SCL scheme made by KCRC;
(b) whether it has estimated the respective increases in SCL's construction cost (expressed at today's prices) and time arising from the provision of the Tsz Wan Shan Station and APM system; and
(c) given that it has undertaken to finalise the SCL within six months after the legislative procedure for the rail merger is completed, whether it will take steps to enable the residents in Tsz Wan Shan to learn about the details as well as the merits and demerits of different options before the scheme is finalised; if it will, of the relevant details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) In August 2002, the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) submitted a revised proposal on the SCL, which includes a station in the Tsz Wan Shan district. Owing to alignment design, the station would have to be located at some 80m below ground. Thereafter, KCRC conducted detailed site investigations in the area and found that the geological stratum is highly variable with soft and hard layers, and fault zones have been in existence. Construction of the station would entail extremely high risks. In particular, the structural integrity of the nearby buildings may be affected. Furthermore, the embedment of the station deep inside the slope mass would also make the formulation of a strategy for emergency evacuation for railway operation extremely difficult. In September 2004, when KCRC submitted the SCL revised proposal, it suggested providing an elevated Automated People Mover (APM) system connected to the Diamond Hill Station to serve the Tsz Wan Shan area.
During the discussion on the rail merger, the KCRC and the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) jointly reviewed the SCL scheme with the aim of formulating a scheme suitable for implementation after the merger, including consideration such as better interchange arrangements. After the review, both Corporations considered that it would not be technically feasible to construct the Tsz Wan Shan Station. They also pointed out that, due to the topography of the area and the limitation of the APM to climb at a gradient of not more than 7%, a station could only be provided at the southern part of Tsz Wan Shan near the Tsz Lok Estate, resulting in a limited service catchment. Residents who live farther away from the system would still need to take feeder transport services or walk some distances to access the APM station, hence a majority of residents in the Tsz Wan Shan area would have difficulty directly assessing the APM system. Furthermore, during previous public consultation, some residents in the area also raised concerns about the visual intrusion and other environmental impacts, especially the noise generated by trains in the evening, which the APM system may cause during its construction and operation.
The railway corporations have also pointed out that there is already a network of Green Mini-buses and franchised buses providing feeder services to the MTR Wong Tai Sin Station and Diamond Hill Station. In view of the foregoing, they suggested that other alternatives be considered to address the transport connection needs for the Tsz Wan Shan area.
(b) & (c) The estimated construction cost of the Tsz Wan Shan Station is about $2 billion and that of the APM is about $1 billion. The answer in part (a) has already pointed out the considerations of whether or not to proceed with the two proposals.
The Administration is now working in earnest to examine the SCL proposal so as to formulate a scheme and implementation timetable for the project for further public consultation early next year. In July 2007, the Administration reported to the Legislative Council on the progress on the planning of the SCL. Thereafter, we have been in close dialogue with different sectors of the community and discussed with them various issues regarding the railway. We will continue to listen to their views with the aim at formulating a better scheme for the SCL.
Ends/Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:50
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