:linkText: South Island Line (East)

In response to the Government decision to proceed with preliminary planning and design for the South Island Line (East), the Corporation will commence the preliminary design for the project.

Key Information

MTR Corporation consulted the public on the initial proposal of the South Island Line (East) during the first round of public consultation held from March to June 2008, and feedback was passed to the design team for consideration in the preliminary design.

MTR Corporation will again seek public views on the revised proposal of the South Island Line (East) at the second round of public consultation from Sep 2008.

Alignment

The South Island Line (East) will be a medium capacity system and will run from South Horizons, via Lei Tung, Wong Chuk Hang, Ocean Park to Admiralty. This line serves not only the resident population in the south but also tourists heading to the major existing and future tourist attractions located in the southern part of the Island.

South Island Line (East)
Please click the image for enlargement

Interchange at Admiralty

The South Island Line (East) will interchange with the MTR Tsuen Wan Line and Island Line at Admiralty station. The platforms for the South Island Line (East) will be built at the eastern end of Admiralty station and will be connected to the existing platforms.

Railway System

The South Island Line (East) will be a medium capacity system. Compared to the design capacity of up to 85,000 passengers per hour on the existing MTR system, a medium capacity system with capability of 20,000 passengers per hour per direction, provides a more cost-effective alternative to accommodate the ultimate ridership on the South Island Line (East).

Preliminary calculations show that a typical 3 to 4-car medium capacity train with a length of about 60m operating at intervals of 2 to 4 minutes will meet the service requirements.

Compared to other MTR stations, the shorter medium capacity trains require shorter platforms which will reduce the size of stations, thus reducing both construction and maintenance costs.
Typical Layout of Existing MTR Station

Proposed Layout of Medium Capacity Station

Design & Construction

The proposed SIL(E) will run from Admiralty in tunnel to Nam Fung Road of Aberdeen, then on viaduct to Ocean Park and Wong Chuk Hang, crossing the Aberdeen Channel to Lei Tung. The section between Lei Tung and South Horizons will be underground according to the topography.

Programme

Public Consultation

The Corporation considers that the views and support of the community are important in the development of railway extensions. The Corporation launched a public consultation programme in conjunction with the preliminary design which commenced in Dec 2007 to gather the views of the public on the railway scheme to ensure that it will best suit the needs of the community.

The public consultation programme consists of 2 rounds which are scheduled in March and Sepember respectively. The public consultation includes public forums, resident meetings and a series of roving exhibitions.

Journey Time

The South Island Line (East) will provide a fast, reliable and convenient mode of transport between Southern District, the north shore of Hong Kong Island and cross harbour destinations. The estimated journey time from South Horizons to Admiralty will be 9 minutes, Ocean Park to Admiralty will be 4 minutes and Ocean Park to Tsim Sha Tsui will be 10 minutes.

Benefits

The South Island Line (East) will create value to society and Government in monetary and non-monetary terms. The benefits include:

The South Island Line (East) will provide a fast, reliable and convenient mode of transport between Southern District, the north shore of the Island as well as cross harbour trips, via the interchange with the existing railway network at Admiralty Station.

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.

The shift to the railway will relieve traffic congestion at critical bottlenecks and therefore journey times on the Island will be significantly reduced. The estimated journey time from South Horizons to Admiralty will be approximately 9 minutes only.

Environmental, Health & Safety Benefits

Trains will be emission free as they are powered electrically.

The railway where it is above ground will comply with the Noise Control Ordinance.

The South Island Line (East) will result in a reduction in road traffic, which will lead to improvements in air quality, noise pollution, on-road safety and living quality at large.

The railway will not need reclamation.

The railway will provide a positive contribution to sustainable development on HK Island.

Social & Economic Benefits

The development of Southern District has long been constrained by the lack of a reliable mass transportation system. The South Island Line (East) will remove this constraint and allow the district to rejuvenate and prosper. Significant new employment opportunities will be created as new businesses will be benefited from the improved transport. For example, it is estimated that the rejuvenation of Wong Chuk Hang alone will generate more than 20,000 permanent new jobs and the construction phase will create an addition of 2,500 job opportunities and 2,100 operational positions.

In particular, provision of the South Island Line (East) will be highly beneficial to the development of Ocean Park as a future major tourist attraction in Hong Kong.

The provision of the South Island Line (East) to Southern District will also increase the value of properties along the railway corridor.

Responses to Some Queries

1. Does Southern District urgently need a railway ?

• The proposal for South Island Line (East) is in response to long standing calls from local residents of Southern District for improved transport, as well as a choice of transport services; benefits which most other districts of Hong Kong already enjoy.
• The current transport problems affecting Southern District are constraining development and urban renewal. Employment in the former industrial and godown areas of Wong Chuk Hang has declined, despite the fact that this district is relatively close to the Central Business District. Provision of improved transport would make this district ideal for office and hotel developments which will generate significant new employment opportunities in the long run.
• Most developed cities have learned that it is not possible to solve transport problems by building more roads. Congestion along the north shore of Hong Kong Island is the root cause of the congestion at the Aberdeen Tunnel for Southern District. Building a rail link will allow commuters to bypass this congestion and allow an overall reduction in road based vehicles.

2. Can the MTR Corporation substantiate the patronage forecast and financial viability of South Island Line (East)?

• The forecast patronage has assumed that full competition from other public transport will continue. Railway provides a reliable and faster transport services with much reduced and more predictable journey times, unaffected by weather and traffic conditions. In addition, South Island Line (East) will provide convenient interchange with existing MTR network.
• The Corporation has an obligation to its shareholders to ensure that all proposed projects are assessed utilizing prudent commercial assumptions to meet the required rate of return.
• Railway like South Island Line (East) is a large scale infrastructure project requiring substantial investment. Financial support from the Government is required to bridge the funding gap.
• After preliminary design, we will have a better picture of the amount of funding gap.

3. 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. The Government has a choice of road or rail. For many reasons, rail is better and will be cheaper for the Government than new roads.
• Commuters will benefit from the safe, reliable and speedy service of the railway and the less congested road network.
• The community at large will also be benefited from the external and social benefits that the project will generate, including:
  • urban rejuvenation within Southern District;
  • enhancement of the living quality in Southern District;
  • promotion of tourism developments;
  • at least 20,000 new jobs as a result of the increased business activities and an addition of 2,500 job opportunities during construction and 2,100 operational positions.
• Financially, the Government’s income will also be benefited from the increased land and property values (land premium, property tax, stamp duty), and more economic and tourism activities in the Southern District.

4. What will be the impact on other public transport operators?

• In pursuing South Island Line (East), the impact to other public transport operators will be reduced.
• Given it takes six to seven years for the project to complete, it will pose no immediate impact to the existing operators.
• Franchised bus operators will be affected as some of their passengers will switch to South Island Line (East). However, it is expected that the franchised buses will remain viable and will compete effectively with South Island Line (East) to deliver good transport services to the public.
• With the increase in economic activity, the overall transport demand will increase significantly compared to today. The tourism and commercial development stimulated by the South Island Line (East) will be good business for the taxi and minibus trade.
• There will be adequate time to carry out any required planning for better co-ordination of transport services in the Southern District, to minimize the impact before the railway opens.
• Reduced traffic congestion on roads will benefit all road users, particularly public transport operators.
• Greater transport demand from tourism development and increased business activities will also benefit other public transport operators, particularly taxis and minibuses.