wyliepoon
Senior Member
While we here in Toronto (and across North America) are looking at various high-speed rail plans, in Hong Kong the project to bring high-speed rail from China into the city is mired in controversy, the biggest one involving the clearance of a village for an emergency station...
*****
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=89364&sid=25754048&con_type=3
Last stop Exco
Patsy Moy
Monday, October 19, 2009
The controversial Express Rail Link between Hong Kong and Shenzhen will be tabled at the Executive Council tomorrow, with planners eager for the green light to start on the project almost immediately.
But the project faces more problems than its cost - HK$54 billion, or HK$14.5 billion beyond the original estimate.
For just as Exco members are reviewing the project, hundreds of villagers who stand to lose homes and land will be gathered outside the Central Government Offices to clamor against the line's route.
The government hopes to start building the 26-kilometer West Kowloon- Shenzhen section of the 140km link to Guangzhou by the end of the year.
If it does not run on that schedule, an insider warned yesterday, the cost could escalate further. The original estimate was HK$39.5 billion.
Delay and derailment are exactly what villagers from Choi Yuen Tsuen have in mind.
Under the government plan, the line will pass Choi Yuen Tsuen, which will become an emergency station. That will mean the clearance of 150 households - or around 500 villagers.
Resisting the plan, more than 400 villagers, relatives, friends and supporters of the activist groups staged a protest at Choi Yuen Tsuen yesterday.
They put up banners and chanted "No removal, No tearing down" and "We won't give up our homes for money." They also tore up fake banknotes.
An elderly resident, who identified herself as Madam Wong, said she spent her savings to build houses on her land. "We want t
o pass our land and houses to our next generation," she said.
"This is our home. The air here is fresh and the area is spacious - something we cannot find elsewhere."
Villagers caused chaos and confrontation last Tuesday when Secretary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng Yu- wah attended a public consultation in Choi Yuen Tsuen over the line. Cheng held separate meetings with residents of Wang Toi Shan and Choi Yuen Tsuen in Shek Kong and Pat Heung in Yuen Long. They too will be affected by the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.
Accompanying her was Heung Yee Kuk chief Lau Wong-fat, who said he will help villagers find suitable alternative farmland.
At Choi Yuen Tsuen, about 20 protesters in green chanted slogans to interrupt Cheng's speech, saying they would never leave the village.
Yet if villagers do not move out voluntarily, another government official revealed, the land will simply be taken under the Railways Ordinance.
"We plan to start construction by the end of the year," the official added, "but we can wait until the second half of next year to clear Choi Yuen Tsuen. Once Exco has given the go-ahead, the government will move on, no matter what."
Half of the families in Choi Yuen Tsuen have supposedly registered with the government to put on record they live there, and officials are confident most will move without a fight.
"Besides compensation, various families have their own special requests," the official said.
"The government will try to satisfy them as long as the demands are reasonable."
Villagers and their supporters estimate that only seven families are prepared to move out, but Lau believes at least half are willing to accept compensation - likely to be increased from an average of HK$200 per square foot for farmland to more than HK$500 psf.
Those who do not own land or a home but have lived there for 10 years could receive up to HK$430,000 for a family living in a 400-square-foot home.
The government is also considering compensation of between HK$3,000 and HK$10,000 for squatter hut residents not eligible for public housing.
*****
Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link Project Description (MTR Website)
The proposed project scheme in Hong Kong comprises the underground West Kowloon Terminus (WKT), and dedicated tunnel of 26km in length from WKT to the Hong Kong / Shenzhen Boundary. There will be no intermediate station in the Hong Kong Section.
Stations
Hong Kong Section - West Kowloon Terminus
Mainland Section - Futian, Longhua (New Shenzhen), Humen and Shibi (New Guangzhou)
Stabling Sidings
A stabling sidings and maintenance facility in Shek Kong with an emergency rescue station
Route Length
Approximately 26km (Hong Kong section only - 142km if including section in Mainland China)
Train Frequency
Approximately 3 minutes peak hour headway (ultimate)
Train Speed
Maximum operating speed at 200km/hour
Maximum Passenger Capacity
10,000 passengers per hour per direction
*****
Criticisms of the project:
1. Clearance of Choi Yuen Tsuen village to make way for emergency station.
2. Estimated cost of the project is HK$54 billion, or HK$14.5 billion beyond the original estimate. This is to be built by the HK government using tax dollars, and then turned over to be managed by subway operator MTR (which itself is profitable).
Some have said that it would be cheaper if the construction on the HK side was constructed by the same crew building the Mainland China section of the route, using cheaper labour and materials.
3. The proposed route is already served by many transportation options including conventional inter-city trains and ferries, which perform almost as well on such a short route (142 km)
4. There will only be one HSR terminal in Hong Kong at West Kowloon in the heart of the urban area. As there will be no intermediate station in suburban Hong Kong, suburban passengers will be forced to commute into the city (a 0.5hr trip by train), then backtrack into the suburbs on the HSR.
5. On the other end of the route, New Guangzhou Station is a suburban station. Passengers wishing to go into central Guangzhou will need to take a 40-minute trip on the Guangzhou Metro.
6. Some say that the HSR will be a white elephant project (don`t people say that about all projects?)
*****
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=89364&sid=25754048&con_type=3
Last stop Exco
Patsy Moy
Monday, October 19, 2009
The controversial Express Rail Link between Hong Kong and Shenzhen will be tabled at the Executive Council tomorrow, with planners eager for the green light to start on the project almost immediately.
But the project faces more problems than its cost - HK$54 billion, or HK$14.5 billion beyond the original estimate.
For just as Exco members are reviewing the project, hundreds of villagers who stand to lose homes and land will be gathered outside the Central Government Offices to clamor against the line's route.
The government hopes to start building the 26-kilometer West Kowloon- Shenzhen section of the 140km link to Guangzhou by the end of the year.
If it does not run on that schedule, an insider warned yesterday, the cost could escalate further. The original estimate was HK$39.5 billion.
Delay and derailment are exactly what villagers from Choi Yuen Tsuen have in mind.
Under the government plan, the line will pass Choi Yuen Tsuen, which will become an emergency station. That will mean the clearance of 150 households - or around 500 villagers.
Resisting the plan, more than 400 villagers, relatives, friends and supporters of the activist groups staged a protest at Choi Yuen Tsuen yesterday.
They put up banners and chanted "No removal, No tearing down" and "We won't give up our homes for money." They also tore up fake banknotes.
An elderly resident, who identified herself as Madam Wong, said she spent her savings to build houses on her land. "We want t
o pass our land and houses to our next generation," she said.
"This is our home. The air here is fresh and the area is spacious - something we cannot find elsewhere."
Villagers caused chaos and confrontation last Tuesday when Secretary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng Yu- wah attended a public consultation in Choi Yuen Tsuen over the line. Cheng held separate meetings with residents of Wang Toi Shan and Choi Yuen Tsuen in Shek Kong and Pat Heung in Yuen Long. They too will be affected by the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.
Accompanying her was Heung Yee Kuk chief Lau Wong-fat, who said he will help villagers find suitable alternative farmland.
At Choi Yuen Tsuen, about 20 protesters in green chanted slogans to interrupt Cheng's speech, saying they would never leave the village.
Yet if villagers do not move out voluntarily, another government official revealed, the land will simply be taken under the Railways Ordinance.
"We plan to start construction by the end of the year," the official added, "but we can wait until the second half of next year to clear Choi Yuen Tsuen. Once Exco has given the go-ahead, the government will move on, no matter what."
Half of the families in Choi Yuen Tsuen have supposedly registered with the government to put on record they live there, and officials are confident most will move without a fight.
"Besides compensation, various families have their own special requests," the official said.
"The government will try to satisfy them as long as the demands are reasonable."
Villagers and their supporters estimate that only seven families are prepared to move out, but Lau believes at least half are willing to accept compensation - likely to be increased from an average of HK$200 per square foot for farmland to more than HK$500 psf.
Those who do not own land or a home but have lived there for 10 years could receive up to HK$430,000 for a family living in a 400-square-foot home.
The government is also considering compensation of between HK$3,000 and HK$10,000 for squatter hut residents not eligible for public housing.
![p.jpg](http://simg.sina.com.hk/cp/0/0042/8715/2/p.jpg)
*****
Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link Project Description (MTR Website)
The proposed project scheme in Hong Kong comprises the underground West Kowloon Terminus (WKT), and dedicated tunnel of 26km in length from WKT to the Hong Kong / Shenzhen Boundary. There will be no intermediate station in the Hong Kong Section.
Stations
Hong Kong Section - West Kowloon Terminus
Mainland Section - Futian, Longhua (New Shenzhen), Humen and Shibi (New Guangzhou)
Stabling Sidings
A stabling sidings and maintenance facility in Shek Kong with an emergency rescue station
Route Length
Approximately 26km (Hong Kong section only - 142km if including section in Mainland China)
Train Frequency
Approximately 3 minutes peak hour headway (ultimate)
Train Speed
Maximum operating speed at 200km/hour
Maximum Passenger Capacity
10,000 passengers per hour per direction
![xrl_map.jpg](http://mtr.com.hk/eng/projects/images/xrl_map.jpg)
*****
Criticisms of the project:
1. Clearance of Choi Yuen Tsuen village to make way for emergency station.
2. Estimated cost of the project is HK$54 billion, or HK$14.5 billion beyond the original estimate. This is to be built by the HK government using tax dollars, and then turned over to be managed by subway operator MTR (which itself is profitable).
Some have said that it would be cheaper if the construction on the HK side was constructed by the same crew building the Mainland China section of the route, using cheaper labour and materials.
3. The proposed route is already served by many transportation options including conventional inter-city trains and ferries, which perform almost as well on such a short route (142 km)
4. There will only be one HSR terminal in Hong Kong at West Kowloon in the heart of the urban area. As there will be no intermediate station in suburban Hong Kong, suburban passengers will be forced to commute into the city (a 0.5hr trip by train), then backtrack into the suburbs on the HSR.
5. On the other end of the route, New Guangzhou Station is a suburban station. Passengers wishing to go into central Guangzhou will need to take a 40-minute trip on the Guangzhou Metro.
6. Some say that the HSR will be a white elephant project (don`t people say that about all projects?)