CHRISTY LEUNGchristy.leung@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 28 November, 2015, 12:02am
UPDATED : Saturday, 28 November, 2015, 12:02am
MTRC operations director Dr Jacob Kam Chak-pui outlines new service initiatives. Photo: Dickson Lee
The MTR Corporation is to spend HK$1 billion adding an extra car to existing seven-car West Rail Line trains to cope with a surge in passenger numbers.
A total of 28 trains will be converted into eight-car trains over the next 30 months to meet demand driven by the future East-West Corridor of the Sha Tin to Central Link.
The railway company said it will take one month to convert a train as each individual carriage will need to be unlinked and the new one added in the middle, with more than 1,000 cables having to be reconnected.
An eight-car train from the East Rail Line will provide temporary cover.
The MTRC's Allen Ding outlines progress in installing platform gates on the Ma On Shan line. Photo: May Tse"Eight-car trains will be operating alongside seven-car trains during the conversion period," said Dr Jacob Kam Chak-pui, MTR operations director.
"When all eight-car trains are in service in 2018, overall capacity on the West Rail Line will be enhanced by about 14 per cent."
The new trains will include new features such as a dynamic route map and gangway displays showing the station names.
When asked if the HK$1 billion cost would be projected onto ticket fares, Kam said: "An increase … will be based on the Fare Adjustment Mechanism."
The East-West Corridor of the Sha Tin to Central Link is expected to open in 2019 at the earliest. Hung Hom station will be an intersection between the Link and the West Rail Line.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1884264/hk1b-mtr-upgrade-add-eighth-car-hong-kongs-west-rail-line
