In his letter headlined 'Single track shuttle service is feasible' (South China Morning Post, December 18) P. A. Crush asked about the operation of 'rail services to the Lowu border station 24 hours a day'.
It has been an established practice for KCR East Rail to operate overnight train services between Hunghom and Sheung Shui during festive periods and long holidays.
East Rail can operate bi-directional traffic which allows trains to run on one line while the other line is closed to traffic. However, single-line operation is not possible while certain essential maintenance activities are in progress.
These activities, which require occupation or a power shutdown at both lines include point machine maintenance and section insulator maintenance at crossovers, and are conducted on a regular basis.
Any proposal to operate 24-hour boundary crossing railway services on a long-term basis must be implemented under the premise that it will not compromise passenger safety and proper railway maintenance.
We need to maintain a high standard of overnight maintenance work at various sections of the railway to ensure the safety and reliability of train services used by more than 800,000 passengers a day.