Lawmakers decry failure to provide underpass link
Although the Kowloon Southern Link to open next year connects East Rail to West Rail, the new station at Austin Road fails to provide direct and convenient passage to the Airport Express and Canton Road.
The MTR Corporation confirmed there was no plan for an underpass to link the new Austin station to Canton Road and the Hong Kong-Macau ferry pier at China Hong Kong City.
Commuters at East Rail station going to the airport by railway would have to make a transit at Hung Hom station and then carry their luggage up a footbridge and walk to the Kowloon station of the Airport Express.
Lawmakers said this was totally unacceptable. 'I don't know if you think Hong Kong people would accept this kind of transit arrangement. I can tell you no one will take this route, especially when it is such a long footbridge,' the Civic Party's Ronny Tong Ka-wah said.
Lau Kong-wah, vice-chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said it was impossible for luggage-laden West Rail passengers to walk from Austin Road to the China Hong Kong City pier at Canton Road on the ground because there was no proper pedestrian path.
'KCRC promised to build a web of underpasses between Austin station and Canton Road, but when the [MTR Corp] took over KCRC's project you refused to fulfil its promise.'
The 3.8km extension connects West Rail's Nam Cheong station to East Rail's East Tsim Sha Tsui station. The KCRC, the link's original planner, had wanted to build a station at the Harbour City shopping complex, but it was moved to Austin Road after negotiations with mall owner Wharf (Holdings) fell through.
MTR Corp senior manager for projects and property communications Maggie So Man-kit said the MTR Corp would follow up on the issue to see if anyone had 'overlooked' any promise made previously.
She said the underpass was never part of the blueprint when the MTR Corp took over the project from the KCRC after the merger last December. But there would be an underpass network connecting East Tsim Sha Tsui station to Canton Road.
