Call for MTR to end excessive noise from 1am trials on South Island Line
SHIRLEY ZHAOshirley.zhao@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 25 July, 2015, 3:45am
UPDATED : Saturday, 25 July, 2015, 3:45am
A resident living near the new South Island Line took this picture of a train being tested at about 1am yesterday. Photo: Sam Chan Dick-sum
The MTR Corporation has been accused of creating excessive noise by testing trains on the new South Island Line after midnight - despite saying it would conduct trials only during the day.
The railway giant said construction of the line, which is expected to be in operation by the end of next year, required trains to be tested at different hours of the day and that it would ensure noise levels fell within environmental protection laws.
However, Sam Chan Dick-sum, who lives in a flat at Ocean Court, near Ap Lei Chau Bridge and the rail line, said the tests started this week and could be heard at around 1am.
"Just imagine going through a tunnel in an MTR train and reduce the noise by half. This is the noise level I have heard," said Chan. "I live above the 20th floor and heard such noise. It won't be hard to imagine the noise people living on lower floors can hear."
Chan said children and elderly people might find the noise unbearable.
There were sections of the line, including at the Ap Lei Chau Bridge, where no noise barriers were built, he said, urging the MTR to set up barriers along these areas.
Kevin Tsui Yuen-wa, a Democratic Party Southern district councillor, said the MTR Corp had told him it would test trains only during the day.
"I've urged the MTR to stop the late-night tests to avoid nuisance, unless it can provide sufficient reasons why the tests must be done at those hours," he said.
Tsui added, however, that he had not received any complaints.
An MTR Corp spokeswoman said the company had been informing district councillors on the tests but had not updated them about the need to test trains at night recently. She said much key construction work took place during the day, making it necessary to conduct the tests at night.
"Safety is the MTR's top priority, so all our trains need to pass comprehensive tests. One of the keys to ensure the trains and railway signal systems are safe and reliable is to conduct tests under different environments."
She said the tests on the eastern section of the South Island Line between Wong Chuk Hang station and South Horizons station started in April but the early morning tests only started recently.
To reduce noise, the MTR Corp installed stabilisers on train wheels and set up noise barriers along the line, based on requirements of an environmental impact assessment report made before the project started, she said.
She said the tests would continue at different hours of the day until the line was put into use.
The 10 three-car trains that will serve the line were purchased in 2011 from Changchun Railway Vehicles Company for over HK$540 million.
The MTR Corp announced on Wednesday it would spend HK$6 billion on its largest-ever order to buy 93 eight-car trains from another mainland manufacturer, CSR Qingdao Sifang.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1843620/early-morning-testing-new-mtr-line-rattles-hong-kong-residents
