******************************************
Following is a question by Dr the Hon Elizabeth Quat and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (March 25):
Question:
Some Tseung Kwan O residents have relayed to me that at present they mainly take MTR, franchised buses and public light buses to travel to and from Tseung Kwan O. As both the passenger throughput of the MTR Tseung Kwan O Line and the vehicular flow of the Tseung Kwan O Tunnel have already reached their maximum capacities during the morning and evening commuting peak hours, everyday those residents have to wait for several MTR trains before they can board the train, and road traffic congestion also results in a much longer journey time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has devised plans to alleviate the traffic congestion at the Tseung Kwan O Tunnel prior to the commissioning of the Tseung Kwan O - Lam Tin Tunnel; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) whether it has assessed, according to the current progress, if the Tseung Kwan O - Lam Tin Tunnel and the Cross Bay Link, Tseung Kwan O projects can be completed on schedule in 2020; if they cannot be completed on schedule, of the reasons for that; and
(3) given the continuous increase in the population of LOHAS Park in recent years, whether the Government will request the MTR Corporation Limited to study the construction of a railway extension to directly link up LOHAS Park Station with the Kwun Tong Line, with a view to cancelling the "2+1" train service arrangement; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the various parts of Dr the Hon Elizabeth Quat's question is as follows:
(1) The Government has been closely monitoring the road traffic conditions in all districts. The Tseung Kwan O Tunnel is the trunk road connecting Tseung Kwan O New Town with Kowloon. The current volume/capacity ratio at the tunnel during peak hours is about 1.13, indicating that traffic during this period is relatively slow with mild congestion but the situation is still acceptable.
We expect that the traffic conditions at Tseung Kwan O Tunnel will be further improved upon the commissioning of the Tseung Kwan O - Lam Tin Tunnel. In the short term, as other roads connecting Tseung Kwan O and Kowloon are very circuitous, they can hardly have a significant effect on diverting the existing traffic flow at Tseung Kwan O Tunnel. Thus, improvement of the traffic conditions could only made upon the commissioning of the Tseung Kwan O - Lam Tin Tunnel. In any case, the Transport Department will continue to closely monitor the traffic condition at the Tseung Kwan O Tunnel.
(2) The detailed designs for the Tseung Kwan O - Lam Tin Tunnel and the Cross Bay Link, Tseung Kwan O projects have already commenced and are in progress as scheduled. Subject to the smooth work progress and the Legislative Council's funding approval for the construction works, according to the current assessment, the proposed Tseung Kwan O - Lam Tin Tunnel is expected to be commissioned in 2020 at the earliest. We hope that the commissioning date of the Cross Bay Link, Tseung Kwan O could dovetail with that of the Tseung Kwan O - Lam Tin Tunnel.
(3) To plan our future railway development as early as possible, the Government commissioned a consultant to conduct a study for the Review and Update of the Railway Development Strategy 2000 in 2011. Having considered the comments collected in the two rounds of Public Engagement exercise in 2012 and 2013 respectively, and the consultant's subsequent overall recommendations, the Transport and Housing Bureau announced the Railway Development Strategy 2014 in September 2014. Having regard to transport demand, cost-effectiveness and the development needs of New Development Areas and other new developments, we recommended seven new railway projects be completed in the planning horizon up to 2031, including the Northern Link and Kwu Tung Station, Tuen Mun South Extension, East Kowloon Line, Tung Chung West Extension, Hung Shui Kiu Station, South Island Line (West) and the North Island Line. At present, the Government has no plan to study the construction of a railway extension to directly link up LOHAS Park Station with the Kwun Tong Line.
To increase the overall carrying capacity of the Tseung Kwan O Line during peak hours, the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) has implemented a new "2+1" train service arrangement on the Tseung Kwan O Line since December 2014. Under this arrangement, for every group of three trains to North Point, the first two trains will depart from Po Lam Station and the third from LOHAS Park Station. This can help relieve crowdedness along the busiest section between Yau Tong and Quarry Bay stations during the morning peak hours. Meanwhile, the frequency of train service between LOHAS Park and North Point stations has also been reduced from 10 minutes to seven minutes. Since its implementation, the "2+1" train service arrangement on the Tseung Kwan O Line has generally received favourable response from passengers. The MTRCL will continue to closely monitor the passenger demand for train service on the Tseung Kwan O Line, and review its train service arrangements from time to time having regard to actual train operation.
Ends/Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Issued at HKT 12:00
NNNN
