Club must pay for a Happy Valley station
The Jockey Club will have to put up HK$1.3 billion if it wants a South Island Line station on its doorstep.
Secretary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng Yu-wah said yesterday that the government had ruled out construction of a Happy Valley racecourse station - not only because patronage would be insufficient but because the extra stop would make the extension less efficient.
'The number of residents [in Happy Valley] is only about 19,000,' she said. 'The government does not see a need for a railway to reach that area.'
Tang Pak-hung, the MTR senior engineer co-ordinating the project, said building the station would require extending the 7km line by 2km.
This would add 2.5 minutes to journey times between the four stations in the Southern District and Admiralty, he said. On the route currently planned, journeys between the South Horizons terminus and Admiralty will take an estimated nine minutes, compared with 25 to 45 minutes by road.
Mr Tang said building a Happy Valley station might create a nuisance to residents because of the nature of the soil.
A Jockey Club spokeswoman said the club had not heard of the HK$1.3 billion request until yesterday and it would consider seriously whether to contribute to construction costs.