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Friday, July 19, 2019, 09:07
Sha Tin-Central link's first section to open early 2020
By Kathy Zhang
Friday, July 19, 2019, 09:07 By Kathy Zhang

Citizens wait in queue at Tai Wai station on 17 Sept, 2019 in Hong Kong. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)

The section of the Hong Kong's Sha Tin-Central Rail Link between Tai Wai and Kai Tak will begin service in the first quarter of next year while the remaining portion of the railway has to wait till faulty work at one of its stations is fixed, the government said.

Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan made the announcement at a media briefing after the Mass Transit Railway Corp, the city's sole railway operator, had confirmed the feasibility of the opening in its two final reports relating to the scandal-plagued Hung Hom Station extension of the link project.

At the initial stage, called Tuen Ma Line Phase 1, trains will stop at three stations, Hin Keng, Diamond Hill Extension and Kai Tak, Chan said.

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Tuen Ma Line will connect Tuen Mun in the New Territories West through the existing West Rail Line to Ma On Shan in the New Territories East

Tuen Ma Line will connect Tuen Mun in the New Territories West through the existing West Rail Line to Ma On Shan in the New Territories East.

Of the three stations, Hin Keng and Kai Tak are newly constructed. After the first section's opening, more public transport service will be provided to residents who live near To Kwa Wan, a densely populated residential and commercial area of Kowloon that has never been connected to the rail network, Chan noted.

Chan also said the section from Tai Wai to Hung Hom is expected to open on or before the end of 2021.

According to the submitted report, the MTRC insisted that there is no need to demolish and rebuild the Hung Hom Station extension. Only reinforcement work is needed to ensure structural integrity.

Last June, the project's main contractor Leighton Contractors (Asia) was found to have changed the supporting diaphragm walls of Hung Hom Station extension without authorization. It had also improperly cut the reinforcement bars so that they could be fitted into the couplers.

Early this year, it was also found that 40 percent of key documents relating to materials provided by the contractor to the Hung Hom Station extension were missing.

The MTRC said it considered the extension station was structurally safe for the purpose of the ongoing construction activities. It also said it would carry out a series of measures and works at and near the Hung Hom Station extension to meet the codes of practice and comply with contract requirements.

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The reports have been accepted by the government and submitted to the Commission of Inquiry in charge of the probe into the construction scandals at the Sha Tin-Central Link. The government-appointed panel consists of judges and engineering experts.

MTRC Chief Executive Officer Jacob Kam Chak-pui said the corporation will pay the estimated US$2 billion costs associated with the incident related to extension line.


kathyzhang@chinadailyhk.com

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