Hong Kong 2005
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Chapter 13: Transport*
   
 
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Introduction
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Public transport in Hong Kong is fast,
safe, convenient and affordable and
90 per cent of the 11 million commuter
trips made every day are on public buses,
trains and trams. The city also has one of
the safest road networks in the world,
with the number of fatal accidents in
2005 falling to 139, the lowest in the
past 47 years.

With a growing population and continuous development, moving people and goods around Hong Kong has always been a great challenge, and it is made greater by the Government's commitment to sustainable development. The Government responds by ensuring that, as it plans, expands and improves the transport infrastructure, it places a particular emphasis on railways and promotes and encourages the use of public transport by maintaining quality and improving coordination. It also manages road use to reduce congestion and promote safety, and continues to support environmental improvement measures in transport-related areas.

There were significant achievements in railway development in 2005. The Disneyland Resort Line of the Mass Transit Railway Corporation Limited (MTRCL) was completed and opened in August 2005 to serve Hong Kong Disneyland. Meanwhile, construction of the Sheung Shui to Lok Ma Chau Spur Line (the Spur Line), which will help meet the growing demand from cross-boundary passengers and ease congestion at Lo Wu, continued throughout the year. The new line is scheduled to be completed by 2007. Construction of the Kowloon Southern Link, which will connect East Rail with West Rail at the southern tip of the Kowloon Peninsula, started in September and will go into operation in 2009.

Several other railway projects are in the planning stage. The Sha Tin to Central Link will extend East Rail across the harbour to Central and West Rail to Ma On Shan. The Government is examining the scheme for the link which is included in the report jointly submitted by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) and the MTRCL on a possible merger. The MTRCL also submitted a project proposal for the West Island Line in February and the Government invited it to proceed with the preliminary planning and design of the project in June. The Government is, in addition, studying the feasibility of the Northern Link and the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and is examining the reports on these two proposed projects submitted by the KCRC in June and July respectively. The Government is examining the option of using the existing West Rail, the proposed Northern Link and the Kowloon Southern Link now under construction to form the Hong Kong section of the Express Rail Link.

During the year, work started on improving the San Tin Interchange, which is a major road project. There were also further developments in the planning of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge that will link Hong Kong with Pearl River West. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Advance Work Coordination Group, set up by the governments of Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macao, has established a project office in Guangzhou and has substantially completed the feasibility study on the bridge.

The implementation of the comprehensive Intelligent Transport Systems Strategy continued during the year. The strategy sets out a plan for the deployment of advanced information and telecommunication technologies to enhance the safety, efficiency, reliability and user and environmental friendliness of the transport system in Hong Kong. It features two core projects — the Transport Information System, which is under development, and the Journey Time Indication System, which has been put into operation.
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