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Extension of HK's East Rail Commences
A ground-breaking ceremony was held Monday in Hong Kong, marking the planned Ma On Shan Rail, an extension of Hong Kong's East Rail, has entered the construction phrase.
"The commencement of construction of Ma On San Rail represents another step forward of the implementation of Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation's new railway construction," said K.Y.Yeung, chairman and chief executive of KCRC at the ground-breaking ceremony.
Leung Chun-ying, convener of the Executive Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commented the railway is a fast and environmentally friendly transport system and the government has given top priority to railway development.
"In the next 15 years, the government will spend 200 billion HK dollars (25.64 billion U.S. dollars) to build 12 railways, and this will bring better integration of the KCR and MTR systems in the process to develop a complete railway network, " Leung said.
KCRC now operates two passenger railway systems in Hong Kong, East Rail and Light Rail, which carry 1.1 million passengers per day.
To match the government's policy to make railway the backbone of the transport system, KCRC is expanding its railway network by constructing West Rail and adding three extensions to East Rail, namely, Ma On San Rail, Tsim Sha Tsui Extension and Lok Ma Chau Spur Line.
Ma On San Rail is a mass transit railway system specially catered for the 400,000 population in Ma On San. The railway is expected to be completed in 2004.
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