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Keeping noise down: Hong Kong tram lines coated in rubber to reduce ding ding din in busy areas

HK$1.5m renewal programme starts at Shau Kei Wan terminal, with work also planned in Causeway Bay and Wan Chai

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Trams trundle along the tracks at Shau Kei Wan terminus where residents complained about the noise. Photo: Dickson Lee

A HK$1.5 million renewal of tram tracks using a rubber coating to minimise noise in some neighbourhoods gets under way on Monday.

Starting with a 100-metre stretch at Shau Kei Wan terminus, Hong Kong Tramways will cover parts of the tracks with a layer of elastic rubber before embedding it in concrete.

“We picked this junction because residents here often complained about traffic noise,” said the company senior engineering manager Steven Chan Si-yiu.

Made in Belgium from recycled tyres, a metre of rubber costs around HK$9,000 and another HK$5,000 for maintenance.

The company’s managing director, Emmanuel Vivant, said the cost would not be passed on to the commuters right away, but did not rule out the possibility of a fare rise in the future.

“We have a lot of improvement projects that we are working on. Sooner or later with all the costs increased, we might have to do so,” said Vivant. “But we have no immediate plan at the moment.”

Chan said the eco-friendly rubber reduced friction between the wheels and the tracks, minimising noise and vibration caused by the tram’s movement.

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