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Following is a question by the Hon Tam Yiu-chung and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, at the Legislative Council meeting today (June 17):
Question:
Some members of the public have relayed to me that at present, the platforms of many of the phase 1 Light Rail (LR) stops have partial covers only, causing inconvenience to passengers who are waiting for trains at such stops, especially during rainy days when they often crowd together under the covered parts of the platforms, and hence accidents are prone to occur. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
(a) the existing number of LR stops with partial covers only, as well as the names of such stops;
(b) if the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation and the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), which has taken over the operation of LR services since December 2, 2007, had compiled statistics on the numbers of passengers of such LR stops in the past three years; if so, of the relevant numbers, as well as the differences between such numbers and the numbers of passengers on which the design of the LR stops concerned was based; and
(c) if MTRCL has any plan to carry out extension works to extend the covers to the entire platforms of such LR stops, so as to improve the environment for waiting passengers and enhance passengers' safety; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) There are platform shelters at all Light Rail platforms. The length of the shelter is determined having regard to the patronage and the utilisation of platforms. At present, there are 68 Light Rail stops with 159 platforms over 80% of which, i.e. 132 platforms, have shelters that can fully cover or almost fully cover the entire platform. The shelters at the remaining 27 platforms can cover almost half of the platform. The 27 platforms are at 18 stops including Melody Garden, Butterfly, Tsing Wan, Siu Hei, Goodview Garden, Kei Lun, Siu Hong, Tuen Mun Swimming Pool, Siu Lun, Town Centre, Sam Shing, Ping Shan, Shui Pin Wai, Fung Nin Road, Hong Lok Road, Tai Tong Road, Locwood and Tin Wing.
(b) The pre-merger Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation Limited (KCRC) and the post-merger MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) have been monitoring the patronage at Light Rail stops with a view to ensuring that its Light Rail service as a whole including stop facilities ties in with the community development and changes in patronage. The patronage at these 18 stops is relatively low and has been so since the rail merger.
(c) To tie in with the community development, the pre-merger KCRC completed in 2000 the works of extending platform shelters for 83 platforms so that those shelters can fully or almost fully cover the platforms. In deciding the stops covered in the works programme, KCRC has taken into account the geographical environment, patronage and technical feasibility. The patronage at the 18 stops mentioned above is relatively low, during peak hours, the average number of passengers waiting at any one time at each of the 18 stations is less than 20, which is much lower than the average number of 100 passengers waiting at other Light Rail stations. MTRCL has indicated that the shelters at these stops covering almost half of the platform can meet the needs of the passengers. MTRCL will continue to take note of the community development and any change in patronage and passenger travelling pattern to ensure that Light Rail stop facilities can cater for the needs of the passengers.
Ends/Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Issued at HKT 12:31
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