HK Unveils New Blueprint for Railway DevelopmentA new blueprint for railway development for Hong Kong up to 2016, "Railway Development Strategy 2000", was unveiled uesday.A government spokesman said that Hong Kong will continue to invest to expand the railway network after the six railway lines now under way are completed in the coming five years. The 2000 Strategy maps out a blueprint for planning and implementing the next phase of railway expansion program for completion between 2008 and 2016. This will help provide the Hong Kong public with convenient access to the railway system and much faster and reliable travel throughout Hong Kong, reducing their reliance on road-based transport, the spokesman said. The railway expansion program will increase the current railway network by at least 70 percent to over 250 kilometers. More than 70 percent of the residents and 80 percent of the employment will then be within walking distance from the railway stations. The rail share in the public transport patronage will increase to about 45 percent. Investment in this new phase of railway expansion amounts to some 80 billion HK dollars (about 10 billion U.S. dollars) to 100 billion HK dollars (12.8 billion U.S. dollars) at today's prices, he said. |
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