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SCMP Reporter

TIN Shui Wai has been deliberately planned as a dormitory town. Apart from a few jobs in shops, restaurants and schools, the majority of the projected population of 140,000 will have to travel to work.

  Because of this, good public transport to and from the new town is critical if Tin Shui Wai is not to be home to a mass of frustrated commuters.

  The two nearest locations for residents to find work are Tuen Mun and Yuen Long. The 2.7-kilometre Tin Shui Wai extension of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system links the new town to Tuen Mun and Yuen Long.

  Route 721 began operating to Yuen Long on January 10, and starting tomorrow a second route, 722, will operate a service to Siu Hong in Tuen Mun, where connections can be made to the hovercraft terminal for ferries to Central.

  The Tin Shui Wai extension has four stations - Tin Shui, Locwood, Tin Yiu and Hang Mei Tsuen - conveniently located alongside the public and private housing estates.

  Two-coach trains operate at eight-minute intervals during peak hours, and single unit trains run every 11 minutes at other times.

  This service is designed to cope with 23,000 passengers each day. As the passenger load increases the LRT will expand its service by introducing more two-coach trains.

  The track runs in a straight line from the south, but plans allow for it to be extended in a loop around the northern end of the town, together with an additional four stations.

   LRT public relations manager Ms Ida Leung said two new stations on an 800-metre extension would ''hopefully'' be built next year.

   The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp (KCRC) is not obliged to complete the full loop, and acting LRT director Mr Li Yun-tai said: ''Any decision will depend on the Government's railway development study which will be available for public discussion in April.If we decide to go ahead with the loop construction, it would take about two years.''   A circular road has been built around the town, with two main access roads linking up with Castle Peak Road, between Tuen Mun and Yuen Long.

  Hung Tin Road, a single carriageway to Castle Peak Road, will be upgraded to dual carriageway and extended to link up with the Yuen Long to Tuen Mun Eastern Corridor. This work is scheduled for completion in 1995.

  The second main access route, Long Tin Road, is already a dual carriageway, and will link Tin Shui Wai to Yuen Long and the Eastern Corridor, when it is finished later this year.

  KCRC feeder bus 653 between Tin Shui Estate and Siu Hong, a full day operation due to be replaced by LRT route 722 tomorrow, will continue to operate for a limited period because of a shortage of LRT coaches.

  Kowloon Motor Bus will operate to MTR stations. Route 64M is an eight-minute service during peak hours only between Tin Yiu Estate and Tsuen Wan, and 69M runs through the day at 12-minute intervals between Tin Shui Estate and Lai King. Both services provide air-conditioned and regular services.

  Citibus provides a bus service for residents of the private housing. Route 901R runs at 10-minute intervals between Kingswood Villas and Tsuen Wan MTR station, and 902R operates a similar service to Sheung Shui KCRC station.

  Citibus also runs a peak-hour service to Connaught Road Central.

  These KMB and Citibus services are sufficient to meet the existing demand, but as Tin Shui Wai fills up, additional KMB routes, some with limited frequencies, are proposed to Jordan Ferry, Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry, Lam Tin MTR station, Sheung Shui KCR stationand Central.

  Citibus is also considering additional routes to Lam Tin MTR station and China Hongkong City.

  Scheduled minibuses will not be allowed to operate in Tin Shui Wai, at least until the end of this year, and unscheduled services will not be allowed.

 Journeys by car to Kowloon and Central are likely to be quicker via Sheung Shui and Tolo Harbour Road, than by the Tuen Mun highway.

   The construction of Route 3 will help road traffic, since there will almost certainly be a link from Yuen Long.

  The KCRC's concept of a railway line from Kwai Chung to Lok Ma Chau could benefit people living in the northwestern New Territories, as long as a suitable station or LRT route is constructed.



New transport arrangements will keep commuters moving