:linkText: Shatin to Central Link

Shatin to Central Link Cross Harbour Section Public Forum

In order to explain in details about different cross harbour alignment options, and to collect views from the public, The Corporation will be holding three public fora on Cross Harbour Section. General public are welcome to join and offer your comments. Details of Cross Harbour Section Public Forum as follows:

In March 2008, the Government approved the further planning and design of the Shatin to Central Link (SCL). The Executive Council decided to adopt a concession approach to enable the Corporation to proceed with the SCL project. The project will be funded by the Government, and the Corporation shall be entrusted with its design and construction. Whilst the development rights of the site of the former Tai Hom Village in Diamond Hill rest with the Government, the Planning Department is reviewing the zoning of the site. The Government sought design funding approval for the project from the Legislative Council in May 2008. Meanwhile, consultation with the community has been taking place.

Project Description

The SCL is a strategic railway line that runs through multiple districts in Hong Kong. It comprises two sections. The first section will extend the existing Ma On Shan Line from Tai Wai to the West Rail Line through East Kowloon. The second section will bring East Rail Line across the harbour to Hong Kong Island. The SCL will strengthen the current railway networks by connecting several railway lines through a number of interchange stations. It will save travelling time and provide the community with faster and more convenient railway services.

Facts

Shatin to Central Link
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Strategic Rail Corridors

Upon completion of the SCL, passengers travelling between East Kowloon, East New Territories and Hong Kong Island North will benefit from significant reductions in travelling time.

The SCL will form two strategic railway corridors, namely the "East West Corridor" and the "North South Corridor".

The existing Ma On Shan Line (MOL) will extend from Tai Wai Station to Hung Hom and link up to Tuen Mun Station of the West Rail Line to form a East West Railway Corridor.

The North South Corridor will extend the East Rail Line from Hung Hom to Admiralty Station via the fourth cross harbour tunnel to form an integrated network across the Territory.

East West Corridor and North South Corridor
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Interchange Stations

The SCL serves the purpose of linking up the railway lines through the provision of six interchange stations, providing a more convenient and faster interchange arrangement for passengers.

Tai Wai Station

Tai Wai Station will become the interchange station in New Territories for the East West Corridor and the North South Corridor. Passengers riding on the Ma On Shan Line will be able to change here for the East Rail Line, and passengers from North New Territories will be able to change trains here directly heading to East Kowloon.

Interchange Arrangement at Tai Wai Station
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Diamond Hill Station

As an interchange station between the SCL and the Kwun Tong Line, Diamond Hill Station will become the railway hub of East Kowloon. Passengers will be able to take trains on the East West Corridor and go from Ma On Shan directly to Diamond Hill without having to change lines at Kowloon Tong, and continue their journeys by interchanging to the Kwun Tong Line for East Kowloon. Passengers on the Kwun Tong Line will be able to change to the SCL northbound to the East New Territories, or southbound to Hung Hom and change there for trips across the harbour.

Ho Man Tin Station

Ho Man Tin Station will be an interchange station between the future Kwun Tong Line Extension and the SCL. Passengers will be able to take trains on the East West Corridor from Ma On Shan via Ho Man Tin and change to Kwun Tong Line for Whampoa and the town centre of Kowloon. Passengers departing from Whampoa will be able to change to the East West Corridor at Ho Man Tin for a direct link to the New Territories, or further change trains on the North South Corridor at Hung Hom Station to Hong Kong Island.

This station will provide an alternative cross-harbour route for passengers travelling between Central Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, avoiding the bottleneck on the cross-harbour section of Tsuen Wan Line or road traffic congestion at the Cross Harbour Tunnel in Hung Hom.

Interchange Arrangement at Ho Man Tin Station
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Hung Hom Station

Upon completion of the SCL project, Hung Hom Station will be transformed into an important railway hub for Hong Kong as an interchange station between the East West Corridor and North South Corridor, benefiting passengers to all destinations in Hong Kong. When the Hung Hom to Admiralty Section is completed, passengers from the boundary at Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau will be able to take trains on North South Corridor to Hong Kong Island directly. Passengers on the West Rail Line and Ma On Shan Line may also change here for trains on the North South Corridor for destinations on Hong Kong Island.

This fast alternative cross-harbour route for passengers from the New Territories and Kowloon will not only save them travelling time, but also relieve the bottleneck at the cross-harbour section of the Tsuen Wan Line and road traffic congestion at the Cross Harbour Tunnel in Hung Hom.

Interchange Arrangement at Hung Hom Station
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Exhibition Station

Exhibition Station in northern Wan Chai will be the interchange station for the future North Island Line and the North South Corridor. Passengers from the New Territories or East Kowloon may change here for all destinations on the Island in the future.

Interchange Arrangement at Exhibition Station
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Admiralty Station

When the South Island Line (East) and SCL are completed, Admiralty Station will become the railway hub for Hong Kong Island. Passengers on the Island Line, Tsuen Wan Line, South Island Line (East) and North South Corridor may change here for all destinations.

Interchange Arrangement at Admiralty Station
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Railway System

As an extension of existing railway lines, the SCL train frequency will be line with the existing urban lines.

Programme

*Note: Scheme gazettal upon endorsement by Government

The Tai Wai to Hung Hom Section will be completed in 2015 while the Hung Hom to Admiralty Section will be completed in 2019, owing to the complicated programme interface with the construction of the Wan Chai Development Phase II and the Central-Wan Chai Bypass.

Funding Arrangement

Concession approach is adopted for the project.

Community Relation

The Corporation considers that participation of the community is important in the development of railway extensions. The Corporation will join the HKSAR Government to consult the local communities and to listen to their views so that the new railway lines will be built to meet the needs of the communities.

Estimated Journey Time

Benefits

The SCL will expand railway services to areas not yet served by railway. It will provide more convenient interchange points for respective lines, allowing more flexibility for passengers to access every corner of the territory. It will generate great value to the community through :

• Savings in travelling time generated by fast and reliable railway service
• Environmental benefits brought about by a reduction in road traffic congestion
• Acting as a catalyst for redevelopment of older districts
• New employment opportunities from potential tourism and commercial development
• Increase in the value of properties along the railway corridor

Transport Benefits

The SCL will provide a fast, reliable and convenient mode of transport running through the eastern, western and northern New Territories, Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.

The SCL will relieve the bottlenecks at the Beacon Hill Tunnel Section of the East Rail Line, the Shek Kip Mei to Prince Edward Section of the Kwun Tong Line and the Nathan Road/cross-harbour section of the Tsuen Wan Line.

All the travelling public, whether using railway or not, will benefit either from the speedy service provided by the railway or from the less congested road network.

Environmental, Health & Safety Benefits

Trains are powered electrically and are emission-free. The rail link will help relieving road traffic congestion, which will lead to improvements in air quality, noise pollution, on-road safety and quality of living at large.

Social & Economic Benefits

The development of To Kwa Wan and Kowloon City has long been constrained by the lack of a mass transit solution. The SCL will remove this constraint and allow these areas to rejuvenate and prosper.

The rail link should support the Kai Tak Development by providing reliable transport service to the area, especially for the travelling public to and from the proposed Multi-Purpose Stadium Complex and other leisure facilities at Kai Tak. Significant new employment opportunities will be generated by improved transportation.

The SCL will carry about one million passengers per day and generate annual transport benefits of HK$4.1 billion in terms of time saving to the travelling public.

Responses to Some Queries

1) Is Government funding justified?

• The Government has a role to play in providing the transport infrastructure for Hong Kong to meet the transport needs and support the economic growth.
• Commuters will benefit from the safe, reliable and speedy service of the railway and the less congested road network.
• The extension will also generate substantial economic and social benefits:
  - urban rejuvenation within To Kwa Wan and Kowloon City areas;
  - enhancement of Kai Tak Development;
  - 11,000 new jobs during construction;
  - annual transport benefit is about HK$4.1 billion.
• Government will receive their returns of the project via concession payment from MTR and the economic benefits generated by the project.

2) Why concession approach? Why not ownership approach?

• The SCL components are extensions of the existing KCR lines i.e. ERL and MOL which have been leased to the Corporation under the Service Concession Agreement.

3) Why is the Tsz Wan Shan station not included in the alignment?

• Previous site investigations by KCRC in year 2003 reveal that the ground conditions of the site identified for Tsz Wan Shan Station are not suitable for station construction. Constructing a deep station (about 70 to 90m below ground) in soft ground is likely to cause significant differential settlement of the housing blocks directly adjacent as these buildings are not founded on rock.

4) Could we make use the existing depot facilities and take away the stabling sidings in Diamond Hill?

• To meet the train service requirement, for SCL, 17 trains will need to stable in urban area. Also the depots at Pat Heung and Tai Wai do not have enough capacity to stable all the trains required for east-west corridor.
• As such, stabling sidings is required.

5) Can you speed up the project such that the cross harbour section can also be completed by 2015?

• The cross harbour section may have to be completed at a later date due to the significant programme and works interfaces with the Wanchai Development Phase II and Central-Wanchai Bypass projects but it shall be targeted to complete by 2019.

6) Will you develop property above the stabling sidings at Diamond Hill?

• Planning Department is reviewing the proposed land use of the stabling sidings site.
• Planning Department will consult District Council and local community on the proposed land use.

7) What will be the impact on other public transport operators?

• Road based transport operators will be affected as some of their passengers will switch to the SCL.
• As the SCL will not be available in 7 to 8 years, it will pose no immediate impact to the existing operators.
• There will be adequate time to carry out any required planning for better co-ordination of transport services to minimize the impact before the railway opens.