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Following is a question by Dr Hon Fernando Cheung and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (January 30):
Question:
Some members of the public have relayed to me that, every day during commuting hours, many passengers wait for trains at Hung Hom MTR Station's train platforms and a large number of passengers use the escalators in the Station to shuttle among various platforms to change trains, making the platforms very congested and chaotic. Moreover, the pedestrian walkways and footbridges connecting the Station's Exits A, B and D are pathways necessary for access to the cross-harbour tunnel bus and minibus stops, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Hong Kong Coliseum, and therefore are also very crowded. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of (i) the respective pedestrian flows at the Hung Hom MTR Station, the bus stops at the Kowloon entrance of the Cross Harbour Tunnel, as well as the aforesaid pedestrian walkways and footbridges, (ii) the number of accidents caused by overcrowding at such locations, and (iii) the number of complaints received by the relevant authorities from members of the public about overcrowding at these locations, in each of the past five years; the respective measures taken by the relevant government departments, the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) and various franchised bus companies at such locations to maintain order and to facilitate the crowd flows;
(b) of the designed hourly loading capacity of the escalators in the Station connecting the various train platforms; (i) the average hourly flow of commuters using the escalators during peak hours, (ii) the number of complaints received by the relevant authorities from members of the public about overcrowding on the escalators in the Station, and (iii) the number of accidents of passengers falling onto the rail tracks in the Station, in the past five years; whether MTRCL will install additional escalators in the Station to connect the platforms, and when platform screen doors will be retrofitted at the Station; and
(c) given that the Station has been in use for more than three decades and the facilities there are insufficient, whether the authorities will review if the Station is suitable for use as the terminus for the East Rail and the West Rail Lines, and whether they have any plan to use the East Tsim Sha Tsui Station as the terminus instead?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the various parts of the question raised by Dr Hon Fernando Cheung is as follows:
(a) Pedestrian flow at MTR Hung Hom Station, walkways of the station, bus stops near the Cross Harbour Tunnel (CHT) portal and connecting footbridges, as well as figures on incidents due to overcrowding and relevant complaints according to the Transport Department (TD) and the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) are at Annex.
MTRCL keeps a close watch over the operation of Hung Hom Station. Observation shows that the station is generally in good order with smooth pedestrian flow, providing train services and station facilities that meet commuters' needs as a whole. Meanwhile, crowd control and safety measures are implemented at station platforms, connecting walkways and footbridges. Such measures include (i) deploying platform assistants to maintain order and assist passengers at the platforms; (ii) installing closed-circuit television systems to effectively monitor and manage pedestrian flow; and (iii) displaying various pedestrian signage to guide commuters to nearby destinations and waiting areas of other public transport means.
At present, the footbridge linking Hung Hom Station and the Polytechnic University is relatively congested during peak hours, mainly due to passengers queuing up along the footbridge section between station exits and the staircases leading to cross-harbour bus stops for rail-bus interchange.
TD has been monitoring the pedestrian flow at the aforesaid location. Appropriate improvement measures have been implemented in consultation with other Government departments and public transport operators. Such measures include (i) liaising with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department to curb hawking activities and repositioning litter bins on the footbridges; (ii) liaising with MTRCL and franchised bus companies to install additional directional signs and line-up markings on walkways, footbridges and bus stops to help maintain order of queuing passengers; and (iii) working with franchised bus companies to improve queuing arrangements to facilitate pedestrian flow. In addition, the franchised bus companies have relocated three bus regulators' kiosks to spare more queuing space for passengers. Special arrangements are also made, such as operating special bus trips during peak hours, allowing passengers to board via both the front door and rear exit to speed up boarding and deploying additional field staff to maintain order at bus stops and connecting footbridges nearby.
According to recent inspections by TD, queuing at the aforesaid bus stops is generally in good order. The environment of the walkways and footbridges connecting Hung Hom Station has been improved.
(b) Currently, there are altogether 24 escalators at Hung Hom Station linking the concourse and the platforms. MTRCL does not have on-site statistics of passenger flow on the escalators. Based on an operational speed of 0.6 metre per second, each escalator handles a load of 130 commuters per minute. In the past five years, MTRCL received no complaint about overcrowding on the escalators inside the station but there was one accident* in which a passenger fell onto the track in Hung Hom Station. MTRCL has no plan for the time being to install additional escalators at the platforms of Hung Hom Station but will later on consider such installation during the detailed design of the Shatin to Central Link (SCL) project.
As for the retrofitting of automatic platform gates (APGs), according to the plan of MTRCL, the retrofitting works at the platforms of the East Rail Line (EAL) stations (including Hung Hom Station) will be implemented in tandem with the SCL project to achieve synergy. It is expected that the APGs of the EAL will be put into service upon commissioning of the North South Corridor of the SCL in 2020. As regards the retrofitting of APGs at the Ma On Shan Line, this will also be implemented in tandem with the SCL project to achieve synergy. It is expected that the APGs will be put into service in 2017, one year ahead of the original plan.
(c) The Government has no plan to develop East Tsim Sha Tsui Station (East TST Station) into an interchange station. With the design of only two platforms, it cannot provide sufficient space for train shunting, thus not fit for use as an interchange station. In addition to its existing four platforms, Hung Hom Station is equipped with two platforms for intercity through trains and a freight platform. Compared with East TST Station, Hung Hom Station is adjacent to the CHT and served by well-developed supporting transport facilities, including the Cheong Wan Road public transport interchange and tunnel toll plaza where boarding and alighting facilities for cross-harbour buses are available, making it an ideal site for interchanging between trains and other land transport alternatives.
Upon commissioning of the entire SCL, two strategic railway corridors, namely the East West Corridor and the North South Corridor, will be formed. The East West Corridor connects Ma On Shan Line with West Rail Line, enabling passengers to travel directly from Wu Kai Sha Station to Tuen Mun Station; the North South Corridor extends the existing EAL from Hung Hom Station across the harbour to Admiralty Station. In future, passengers of both corridors may interchange at Hung Hom Station.
To cater for the operation of the SCL upon completion, major extension and improvement works will be carried out at Hung Hom Station, including the construction of additional platforms to provide greater convenience for passengers interchanging between railway lines.
When the North South Corridor is open, passengers may travel across the harbour directly via the EAL, thus reducing the rail-bus interchange demand at Hung Hom Station. This will help relieve the congestion there.
* The accident took place on February 26, 2011 in which a blind passenger slipped at the platform and fell onto the track.
Ends/Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Issued at HKT 12:27
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