The good times are gone for Hong Kong's metro rail development, and the blistering pace of rail development on the mainland is sowing serious problems that are likely to emerge in the years ahead, say rail experts.
'In Hong Kong, the golden days [of metro] are gone' said Lee Kang-kuen, head of the Hangzhou project for MTR Corporation, the Hong Kong-listed firm that builds and operates all metro rail systems in the city. 'Despite the good development of metro, we have come to a critical stage. There are major bottlenecks facing Hong Kong metro in the next decade. Politically, the government assigning land to the MTR has become hot politically. It's no longer viable to subsidise railway projects in Hong Kong [with property development].'
Lee's warning was seconded by others at the recent China RailWorld Summit in Beijing, and the outlook was also cloudy for the mainland, though the issue there was the future consequences of rapid development.
There was now more political activism in Hong Kong, said another transport consultant, who asked not to be named.
'Some opposition politicians will complain the cost of an MTR project is too much or some local residents may lose out,' he said. 'It's not a strictly transport point but a political point. Even mundane issues are becoming increasingly controversial.'
Transport projects were costly, and their benefits took years to come, said the consultant.