Thirteen thousand jobs will be created by yesterday's Executive Council go-ahead for the $64 billion West Rail project.
But residents who fear they will be overrun by traffic were last night considering taking the Government and the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) to court.
Exco yesterday authorised the construction of the project's first phase, a 30.5km, electrified, double-track railway, from West Kowloon to the heart of Tuen Mun via Yuen Long. It is expected to be completed in 2003.
About 45 per cent of the line will be built on viaducts and 40 per cent underground. The remainder will be at ground level.
KCRC chairman Yeung Kai-yin said the jobs would include 11,000 construction workers, 1,000 posts at the corporation's West Rail division, and 1,000 jobs for consultants and contractors.
The project will produce 40,000 flats from the 10 sites along the West Rail alignment.