Green groups were last night celebrating victory in the Lok Ma Chau spur line controversy after an appeal board ruled in favour of ecology over rail development in the Long Valley.
The Environmental Impact Assessment Appeal Board dismissed the appeal by Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) against a decision to reject the project last September on environmental grounds.
It ordered the KCRC to pay the estimated $50 million legal costs.
The rail company said yesterday it was disappointed and would study the verdict before deciding how to proceed.
A government spokesman said: 'The Government is committed to the spur line project. The Transport Bureau will urgently discuss with the KCRC the best way forward for the project, having regard to the comments and observations in the judgment of the Appeal Board.'
The proposed $8 billion spur line, from Sheung Shui station to Lok Ma Chau, features a 700-metre-long viaduct across Long Valley, where at least 210 species of birds have been recorded.
