Railways are a long-term investment
I refer to the article ('Battle to bring rail line's price below HK$60b', September 17), concerning the cost of the proposed express rail line to Guangzhou.
Similar arguments were heard more than 100 years ago about the cost of constructing the original KCR line, now known as East Rail. At the time the cost of construction of the KCR raised some concern because it was proving to be one of the most expensive railway projects of its time.
To quote from a speech justifying the project made to the Legislative Council in 1908 by the then governor, Sir Frederick Lugard: 'It was not a question of whether the undertaking would be an immediately remunerative concern; it was not a question of whether the railway should pay interest . . . or even if it would at once pay working expenses. It was a question of preserving the predominance of Hong Kong.
'It was a question of seeing that the final outlet of the main trunk railway should be at Kowloon, and at no other place.'
Plus ca change, plus c'est la m?me chose - the more things change, the more they remain the same.
Railways are built to meet demand for 50 years or more, not to satisfy immediate requirements. Most in Hong Kong today would probably agree that the construction of the original KCR line proved to have been a good investment.
