Some thoughts about Express Rail Link

Some thoughts about Express Rail Link
There is a letter titled 'Who is the Express Rail Link (ERL) for?' in my mail box. I got it from MTR Club this morning. It serves as a 'kind reminder' to its user on some facts regarding the ERL, which is currently under heated debate in town, that might have been 'ignored' or have not been 'properly informed about'. As a 'socially responsible corporation', the MTR feels that it's its obligation to, as I perceive, enlightened the public by reiterating the obvious and substantial advantages that the rail project could possibly bring to the general public at large. The project is not at all making sense, let alone mentioning the benefits.

I would like to put forth a point that this letter is no more than a note from the government in the name of a user community of its subsidiary MTR Corporation(over 76% of the its share owned by HKSAR Government). As a utility which profess in railway operation, I really expect that the MTRC could bring up some interesting points to enrich the reference base for discussion. To my disappointment, the 'facts' it stated are just rephrasing those already suggested by government officials, which are not only weak in argument but innocent to the complete view of the issue.

Here are my doubts regarding these points:

Point#1:
Well, we are literate, and we have common sense as much as the professionals. I bet that they dare not propose this without thoroughly surveying and studying all these issues, and I would not reject the possibility that this proposal might be a state of the art as far as the architects and engineers are concerned. I even don't have any question about the mighty $70B might be at a bargain price considering the vast scale of construction the project has to take. We could, however, save every penny of it, on the contrary, if we realize that this whole project is nothing more than a white elephant. More, not only the construction cost would have to be covered, we, Hong Kong tax payers have to bear the operational expenses annually, until we could strike a balance like a few decade later, only if we could milk enough cash out of the ERL. IF we could.

This issue could be put forward to a little bit conspiratorial. To a large part of it, the ERL might serves as a 'Face Project' show that Hong Kong is willing and able to join the 'China Metropolitan Club'. Guangzhou has a stop. Shenzhen has a stop too. So here comes Hong Kong proudly presented its rail section, whatever it costs.

Point#2:
Another conspiracy theory, I suppose, sounds. The notorious West Kowloon Cultural District, which has been proposed over 10 years ago, is still under heavy debate as to what extent it should serve as a cultural centre. Numerous designs and plans have been proposed, and rejected by the general public while new proposals are yet to be announced for public consultation. What we could see in the nearby area are skyscrapers, which has emerged one after another, disapproved by the public of their brutally destroy the view of landscape, 'privatize' the view of Victoria Harbor, deteriorating the already severe air pollution in the city by the so-called 'screening effect', etc. Look at the way the Government urge for a green light on the West Kowloon Cultural District a few years back, and the way the ERL project, whose terminus located exactly by the cultural district, is proceed. One can easily associate that these two public assets have already been promised (or sold, in a way) as a 'package' to the array of private housing development in the proximity. A decade has passed, maybe now it's time for the Government to cash the cheque. Yes, this is an accusation of collusion between the Government and property magnates. Yet the association is way too obvious. It would never be too careful when it comes to this kind of decision.


Point#3:
The scope issue has long zoomed away from the Choi Yuen Village. In fact, the ERL project has tremendous effect to the HKSAR at large, as the letter has stated at the very beginning, why bother drug this point out to fill in the page?

Without an official hyperlink form MTR to this letter, I have to cite the following source
http://www.hkreporter.com/talks/viewthread.php?action=printable&tid=862625


Below attached the letter from MTR Club dated 13th Jan, 2010.
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Dear,

Who is the Express Rail Link for?

We would like to share our views with you regarding recent discussions about the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (Express Rail Link).

The Express Rail Link was not designed for an impractical and grand purpose. It was designed with the general public's needs and convenience at heart. Upon completion, it will cut short commuting time between Hong Kong and many mainland cities drastically by linking our city directly to the national express rail network on the mainland. For example, it will take only 48 minutes and 14 minutes to go from downtown Hong Kong to Guangzhou and Shenzhen respectively. This means if you commute across the boundary for work, you could easily be home in time for dinner on a regular weekday even if you work in Guangzhou. On weekends, you could get to Hunan to enjoy genuine Hunan cuisine within a few hours. So you can see that the Express Rail Link offers many invaluable advantages for Hong Kong other than its economic and strategic benefits.

There could never be a "perfect" plan for an Express Rail Link. As a socially responsible corporation, we hope to temper the heated debate surrounding this project by present the following three facts:

I) The budget for the Express Rail Link is over HK$60 billion. This sum was arrived at following in-depth geological, civil and electromechanical works, land surveying, demographic research and design blueprints. The design for the link includes tunnels all along the route and places the terminus underground to affect the fewest possible households and reduce environmental and ecological nuisance.

II) The plan for locating the terminus on Kam Sheung Road is an idea pending further in-depth study. The terminus here is small and does not include other supporting facilities. A high-speed railway that does not reach downtown areas is unlikely to be an effective transport solution. There are very few cases of successful rail links that do not reach central areas anywhere in the world.

III) There are a number of villagers in Choi Yuen who oppose the project. But over 80% of Choi Yuen villagers have registered to consider government compensation and/or other arrangements. If the Kam Sheung Road plan is approved, construction of the terminus will entail land requisition, which will affect several times more residents than those in Choi Yuen Village.

Whatever views you have, if you would like more people to be aware of these facts, just forward this email to your friends, and help more people learn about the Express Rail Link and appreciate what it will mean for all of us in the future.

Thank you.


Yours sincerely,

MTR Club