bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Tens of thousands of people living and working along the controversial new cross-border high-speed railway - including many living in multimillion-dollar luxury apartments - face years of noise pollution. 
An MTR Corporation  environmental impact assessment report produced this year says that at least 65 commercial and residential buildings will be hit by noise during the construction of the line, which will last until 2015.
Most of the affected buildings are in West Kowloon, Nam Cheong and Shek Kong,  with noise coming from the massive drilling and blasting works required to complete the line's underground stations and tunnel.  
Developments worth more than  HK$10,000 per square foot in The Arch,  another in The Waterfront  and one  block in the Sorrento  above Kowloon Station  will all face noise levels above the acceptable 75 decibels  during construction,  despite sound-proofing measures.
Engineers say 70 to 75dB of noise is  equivalent  to having a busy road directly outside an apartment.
The 26-kilometre Hong Kong section will be built entirely underground and run from the West Kowloon terminus to the mainland via Mong Kok,  Kwai Tsing District, Tsuen Wan  and Mai Po.  
Despite construction getting under way by the end of the year, residents in the areas to be affected have not received information about the potential noise impact. 
The Executive Council has given  approval to the cross-border express railway  with a price tag of HK$65.2 billion. Land owners from Tsoi Yuen Tsuen  first drew the public's attention to the railway  when they began protesting about the demolition of  their homes to make way for a  depot.
The MTR Corp's environmental impact assessment report named several areas - described as noise-sensitive zones - that would most likely be affected by noise. The report shows public housing estates, homes for the elderly, village houses, schools and luxury flats within the zones.
It recommends that for homes for the elderly, construction noise, after mitigation measures, should not exceed 70dB,   the equivalent of the noise generated by a vacuum cleaner. It also sets the daytime  construction-noise maximum for schools at 65dB  during examinations and 70dB  during normal school hours. 
However, the report predicts that Ying Wa College, Sham Shui Po, will suffer noise of up to 70dB;  Yaumati Catholic Primary School up to 74dB; and that noise pollution at HKIVE Haking Wong Waterfront Annex  on Lai Chi Kok Road  may exceed the recommended maximum by 3dB to 7dB  for about 34 months. 
Luxury developments in West Kowloon are not to be spared. Sky Tower at The Arch will have noise levels of up to 70dB, while its neighbouring Moon Tower  will suffer  up to 76dB. Tower 3 of The Waterfront on top of Kowloon Station will hear  levels of up to 78dB. 
The report also points out that after the line opens the residents of Shui Hong Nursing Home  at Cheung Shan Estate,  Kwai Chung,  will face continuing noise from a ventilation shaft about 75 metres away. Chan Wing-hung, a social worker at the home,  expressed concern for the health of the 100 residents aged 60 to 96. 'I have not yet received any notice about the rail. We will study the impact if we are informed and, if problems affect us, we will speak out.' 
Ying Wa College has 1,200 pupils and its primary section, Ying Wa Primary School,  has 1,000. But principal Roger Lee Chee-wah  said he had little  information on how the project would affect the school. 
'Our school has not yet received any consultation on the railway. I have not yet received phone calls or letters,' he said. 'The predicted noise of 70 decibels falls within the criteria. But ...  the standard should be stricter for schools. Students need a quiet environment for learning.' 
The situation was somewhat different at HKIVE Haking Wong,  a vocational training school. Principal Winnie Ngan Shuk-yin  said the annex on Lai Chi Kok Road was used as an electrical workshop. 'Representatives of related parties had meetings with us. We also agreed that the construction works would be temporarily suspended if needed. Actually, students do drilling at the workshop, which also creates noise. So the rail works would not affect us much.' 
Fu Cheong Estate,   across the road from Ying Wa College,  has two blocks  expected to be affected by construction noise. But  nine of 10 residents interviewed said they had no idea on how construction work would affect their lives.  
Leung Kin-hoi, 25, who lives with her husband and child at the estate, said she was worried about the impact on health.  'I have not heard of construction works near my estate. I worry that it might affect my child's studies and health. Noise would disturb my child's sleep,' she said.
Kenny Wong Kai-ming, 22, who lives in Tower 1 of The Waterfront,  said he did not know the location of the railway but was concerned that the  noise might disturb his studies.  
The report said  the contractor should liaise with schools and avoid noisy construction work during examinations. It also recommended that mitigation measures such as silencers and mufflers be used on construction equipment. 
Peter Wong Yiu-sun,  a former president of the  Institute of Engineers,  said that the heavy machinery used in the early stages of construction would be quite noisy.
'Preparation of the construction site, especially moving heavy machines or drilling the first hole in the ground, will cause noise,' he said. 
'But the impact also depends on ambient noise and the distance of affected parties from the source of the noise.' 
Maggie So Man-kit,  senior manager of projects and property communications at the MTR Corp, said equipment and site practices would aim to keep noise to a minimum. However, there would be times when noise would be unavoidable.
She said the contractors would be instructed to work with schools and community facilities such as nursing homes, and that public forums and meetings with  owners committees had been organised. The committees of the properties on top of Kowloon Station had been informed via their management offices. 
MTR Corp general manager of the express rail link, Paul Lo Po-hing,  pledged the company would take all measures possible to reduce environmental noise and vibration from the project. 
'We have to submit the environmental assessment report before the construction. We have to get the permit before starting construction. In the permit, we would outline  the measures to be taken,' he said. 
Meanwhile, the Transport and Housing Bureau  said it would ensure  the project complied  with the conditions on the environmental permits.



Thousands to feel the noise from rail link construction