New rail projects will keep public transport system right on track
Anthony Cheung says the seven projects to enhance our rail network will help move millions around the city efficiently and reliably, building on the policy of making railways the backbone of Hong Kong's public transport system
The government's new railway development strategy provides a blueprint for planning the expansion of Hong Kong's network up to 2031. It is based on a consultancy review of the 2000 development strategy, taking into account views collected in two rounds of public engagement in 2012 and last year. Seven railway lines, extensions and station schemes, at an estimated total cost of HK$110 billion in 2013 prices, are proposed - namely, the Northern Link and Kwu Tung Station, Hung Shui Kiu Station, Tuen Mun South Station, Tung Chung West Station, the East Kowloon Line, South Island Line (West) and North Island Line.
By 2031, the combined network will be more comprehensive, with an increase in total railway length from 270km in 2021 to over 300km, with 114 stations.
Rail's share of public transport will increase to 45-50 per cent, and that of cross-harbour movements, highly constrained by road capacity, to 77 per cent. About 75 per cent of the population and 85 per cent of job opportunities will be within 1km of a station, releasing further development potential to support economic and social activities.
A range of factors has been carefully considered when coming to these proposals - transport demands and patterns; travel quality and efficiency; enhanced network coverage, linkages and accessibility to jobs, residential centres and social opportunities; serving key development areas and facilitating land-use planning; environmental impact; engineering and operational feasibility; and cost effectiveness. Network expansion will also help to relieve crowding and improve connectivity within the city.
Two schemes consulted upon during the public engagement are not recommended for implementation before 2031 - the coastal railway between Tuen Mun and Tsuen Wan and the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Express Line. For the present planning time frame, the coastal railway, estimated to cost HK$65 billion, has only modest transport demands given the dispersed population along the coastline, and thus lacks financial viability.
Nonetheless, the northwest New Territories will see continuous growth in the coming decades, especially as the government plans to develop Lantau and Tung Chung. Depending on future planning circumstances and population changes, as well as increases in transport demands, the need for a railway link may have to be re-examined. We will closely monitor traffic patterns and demand in the region. As for the western express line, while there is some support for enhancing rail links with western Shenzhen, given its high cost - exceeding HK$110 billion - the cost-effectiveness of an airport-to-airport link, as originally conceived, is in doubt.
However, the government is prepared to separately explore the need for and financial viability of an express rail link to Qianhai , subject to any significant changes in cross-boundary transport demand in future, in tandem with the special economic zone's development.
It should be noted that the strategy provides only indicative time frames for planning purposes. Detailed feasibility and technical studies have to be conducted on each of the recommended schemes before the community's support and relevant authorisation are sought regarding routing, environmental impact, construction and other issues such as land resumption and clearance. Funding arrangements have to be worked out.
Some may find that the strategy falls short of their expectations; others might wonder if it implies further domination of our public transport system by railway.
Let us be clear about how Hong Kong can be best served in transport terms. Our limited road capacity, resulting in increasing congestion and carbon emissions, poses great constraints on mobility and connectivity. Our challenge is to find the means to "move millions" efficiently and reliably every day.
At present, more than 12 million passengers, or 90 per cent of our daily patronage, use public transport, a much higher proportion than in Singapore, Shanghai, London, New York and Tokyo.
Such an achievement is possible partly due to the policy of making railways the backbone of Hong Kong's public transport system, implemented following the third comprehensive transport study of 1999, enabling our rail network to take up 40 per cent of public transport passenger trips. Indeed, the MTR is rated internationally as one of the world's safest and most reliable railway systems.
Franchised bus services still account for over 30 per cent of our public transport system. We have been pursuing bus route rationalisation to achieve better use of road space, and reduce congestion and carbon emissions.
There's no doubt that railways are a capital-intensive investment. With a network that will cover 70 per cent of the population when current new lines are completed, further expansion will not give similar rates of return to those of previous projects connecting to large development areas that were not yet served by a rail line. So the benefits of the next generation of railways have to be evaluated in terms of broader social and economic gains - higher-quality transport in terms of relieving crowding on existing lines and more route choices, facilitating land-use development, opening up economic and job opportunities, and promoting a greener transport environment.
Some would ask whether our construction industry can cope with a large number of capital works projects as we pursue infrastructure expansion - in transport, housing, new town development and the proposed third runway. No doubt we will need to phase project time frames prudently to avoid inflating contract prices. We must also overcome the shortage of labour and professional resources in pragmatic but innovative ways.
Because of the recent spate of train service incidents and rail project delays, sceptics question the MTR Corporation's capability to deliver if it is given the task of taking up the new projects.
Taking lessons from those incidents, the corporation is already conducting reviews and improvements at both the governance and operational levels. Should it find itself unable to take up all the new projects, alternative options will be explored. In any case, we must not let the MTR Corp's temporary setback prevent us from taking a visionary view of the city's long-term public transport future. The government is alive to the concern of whether the corporation will monopolise public transport. This will not be the case.
As we proceed with railway development, we will also conduct a public transport strategy study to look into important issues relating to other public transport modes, to foster a system where buses, minibuses, taxis and ferries all have a role to play to ensure transport accessibility and choice.
