The KCRC yesterday admitted defeat in its battle to build a rail line across the ecologically sensitive Long Valley, saying it would not seek a judicial review of the appeal board decision which blocked the project on Monday.
Instead, the company will start working on other options - including the costly alternative of building a tunnel beneath the wetlands, home to half the bird species in Hong Kong.
The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) said yesterday it had accepted the decision of the Appeal Board, which dismissed the company's appeal against a government decision to block the project on environmental grounds.
The company said it had 'taken careful note of the Government's reaffirmation of its commitment to building the Lok Ma Chau spur line'. 'The corporation is also determined to build a second railway crossing to the mainland to relieve congestion at Lowu,' the statement said.
'We are now holding discussions with the Transport Bureau on the best way to take the project forward, having regard to the comments made by the Appeal Board.'
The announcement means the KCRC has decided against the option of coming up with a new environmental impact assessment and pressing ahead with the Long Valley proposal.
There are only two alternatives left to the KCRC - a northern link and an underground line, as identified by the Appeal Board in the ruling. But the tunnel option, which goes under the Long Valley wetland, would increase construction costs by up to $1.4 billion, according to KCRC estimates tendered during the appeal hearing.
