Dismayed transport experts, district councillors, residents urge Hong Kong government to rethink decision to scrap Kai Tak elevated monorail project
- Many hoped rail link would add to appeal of revitalised Kowloon East district, ease transport woes
- Technical difficulties, high cost ‘not good enough reasons’ to dump project after more than a decade, expert says
A transport professionals’ group wants the Hong Kong government to rethink its decision to scrap a proposal for a HK$12 billion (US$1.55 billion) elevated rail link cutting across the heart of Kowloon and the massive Kai Tak Development.
Its members are bitterly disappointed that the authorities want to switch to using a mix of traditional modes of transport such as buses, minibuses, ferries, travelators and walkways.
Henry Cheung Nin-sang, chairman of the Association of Hong Kong Railway Transport Professionals, said the group intended to lobby lawmakers to persuade the government to bring back the monorail plan, which had been under consideration for over a decade and cost more than HK$90 million in various studies.
“We are very disappointed,” he said. “The use of walkways and travelators will not meet the growing demand of residents and businesses in the redeveloped area.”
They can’t simply drop the entire plan because of running into technical difficulties. This is an irresponsible attitude
Development chief Michael Wong Wai-lun confirmed on Wednesday the government was dropping the monorail idea because it was too costly and unworkable.
Cheung rejected the explanation of “insurmountable difficulties” such as dealing with a space considered too narrow for the monorail at Hoi Yuen Road in Kwun Tong.