http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr280/ericishim/MTR%20SIL-E%20Construction/2011-12-12001.jpg

Wow, a Nissan Leaf (didn't know it has already made it to Hong Kong) :)

Objector pays for MTR case 'abuse'
The Standard
Thursday, October 13, 2011

A High Court judge quashed an attempt by a South Horizons resident to sue government officials over two extensions of the MTR's South Island Line, saying it is "an abuse of process and ought to be struck out accordingly."

He also ordered Wong Fuk-tim to pay costs of HK$95,000.

Wong, who is a lawyer but no longer practices, sued the government, secretary for transport and housing, and secretary for financial services and treasury for the environmental problems brought by the construction and the influx of mainland workers, which he claimed would threaten his personal safety.

The two new MTR lines are to run from Sai Ying Pun to Wong Chuk Hang, and from Admiralty to South Horizons.

Both constructions are scheduled to be completed in 2015.

Justice Johnson Lam Man-hon criticized Wong for the delay in filing his lawsuit, noting that after one of the extensions was gazetted in July 2009, the proposal was amended and gazetted again in June last year after collecting views from the public.

Wong did not file the lawsuit until June this year.

Justice Lam also said that, under the Railways Ordinance, time and opportunities are given to the public to raise its objections before construction is authorized.

Wong should have voiced his objection under the ordinance instead of taking the case to court.

"The plaintiff did not inform the court whether he had raised such objections during the statutory process."

Justice Lam said Wong has also not shown why the court should allow him the extended time.

"I see no reason why the power of striking out should not be exercised in the present circumstances," he said.

The judge earlier slammed Wong for a "totally irrelevant" claim that his safety was in danger as a result of the influx of mainland workers.

Justice Lam said yesterday the court is now more vigilant in preventing the abuse of its own process, and one of the measures that it has adopted is to strike out vexatious proceedings on its own motion.

LCQ6: Blasting works for MTR West Island Line
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Government Press Release

Following is a question by the Hon Cheung Hok-ming and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Yau Shing-mu, in the Legislative Council today (February 22):

Question:

After I raised a question last year concerning the safety of the tunnel blasting works for the Hong Kong section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, I have recently received complaints one after another regarding the structural problems caused to nearby buildings by the underground blasting works for the West Island Line. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) whether it knows the total number of complaints received by the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) as at January 30 this year about the problems caused to nearby buildings by the tunnel boring or blasting works for the new lines under construction, with a breakdown by railway line and district; among such complaints, the number of those which were referred to loss adjusters for investigation and the results of such investigations;

(b) as I have learnt that while MTRCL will conduct condition surveys for buildings before the commencement of works, quite a number of residents, building owners and owners' corporations are dissatisfied that MTRCL has neither consulted them before conducting the condition surveys nor disclosed the results after completing the surveys, making it difficult for the affected parties to claim reasonable compensation in the future, whether the authorities will consider urging MTRCL to enhance the transparency of its condition surveys; apart from the referral by MTRCL of complaint cases to the loss adjusters commissioned by MTRCL itself for investigation, whether the authorities will consider assisting the affected parties who have financial difficulties and who are elderly in employing independent surveyors or loss adjusters to conduct objective evaluations and arbitration, or assisting the affected parties to conduct such evaluations through other means (e.g. through the Buildings Department); if not, of the reasons for that; and

(c) whether the authorities and MTRCL have assessed the impact of the airflow and vibration, which are within the relevant statutory limits, generated by tunnel boring or blasting works on older buildings or buildings which are structurally more fragile; if they have, of the details; if not, whether they will consider conducting a comprehensive assessment so as to address public concerns?

Reply:

President,

Over the past 30 years or so, the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) has been building underground railway stations or tunnels by means of boring or blasting in densely-populated and built-up urban areas, accumulating considerable experience in this field. To comply with international practices and standards, the MTRCL will decide whether to build the tunnels and underground stations by boring or blasting after taking into account such factors as geological conditions, tunnel design and surrounding environment. Many of the existing underground railway stations and tunnels were built by boring or blasting. For instance, Tai Koo Station and North Point Station were built by blasting. The railway tunnel between Fortress Hill Station and Shau Kei Wan Station of the Island Line as well as Tai Lam Tunnel of the West Rail Line were also built by blasting. The Kowloon Southern Link was constructed by boring. It has been proven by experience that these construction methods will not affect the structural safety of nearby buildings.

My reply to the three parts of the question is as follows:

(a) Railway projects currently underway are the West Island Line (WIL), the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL), the South Island Line (East) (SIL(E)) and the Kwun Tong Line Extension. Except the tunnel works of the Kwun Tong Line Extension have not commenced, the other three railway projects are undergoing tunnel construction works now.

On public complaints concerning railway works affecting building structures, we have, as at January 30, 2012, received 119 complaints about the WIL project, 81 complaints about the Hong Kong section of the XRL project (complaints received involve locations in Yuen Long, Tsuen Wan, Sham Shui Po and Yau Tsim Mong areas), and two complaints about the SIL(E) project (all complaints involve locations in Southern District). As for the Kwun Tong Line Extension project, no complaint has been received so far. Among these complaints, 68 cases concerning the WIL and 41 cases concerning the Hong Kong section of the XRL were referred to loss adjusters. The loss adjusters have completed the investigation of these 109 cases, and have confirmed that the damages identified does not affect building safety.

(b) To safeguard the interests of the owners and occupiers and for formulating the most suitable construction method and preventive procedures for implementation during the works, the MTRCL will engage professional surveyors to carry out "pre-construction building condition surveys" for nearby buildings and structures before the commencement of the works so as to record the conditions of the buildings in the vicinity of the works area. To conduct such surveys within the building boundary, the MTRCL has to obtain the prior consent of relevant owners and occupiers. The MTRCL will try its best to have the surveys conducted on the dates and at the times proposed by the occupiers.

As the survey reports contain the interior details of the flats involved, the MTRCL will pass the reports directly to the owners of the relevant flats upon their requests so as to protect their interests and privacy.

When complaints from residents on damages of their buildings are received, the MTRCL's staff members will first conduct a preliminary check with the residents. Depending on the complexity of individual cases, the MTRCL may refer the cases to a loss adjuster for assessment. The loss adjuster, employed by an insurance company acting as a third party instead of engaging by the MTRCL, will assess the compensation claims independently in a professional and open manner. This well-established practice is commonly adopted locally and abroad for dealing with compensation claims on building damages. The loss adjuster will arrange to conduct site inspections with the relevant owners, the MTRCL and its contractors. If it is indicated in the assessment done by the independent loss adjuster that the damages identified are caused by the railway works, the MRTCL and its contractors will promptly discuss the repair arrangements with the relevant owners. The residents need not employ surveyors on their own for verification.

Alternatively, the residents can lodge their complaints to the Buildings Department (BD). As the case may require, the BD will send its officers to conduct observation and detailed analysis for assessing the overall structural safety of the buildings concerned.

(c) According to the Dangerous Goods Ordinance, the MTRCL need to obtain a licence for the use of explosives before carrying out blasting works. The MTRCL has to submit a "blasting assessment report" to the Mines Division of the Civil Engineering and Development Department for approval. The report covers, inter alia, the noise and vibration generated during blasting. The assessment on the impact of the works to nearby buildings and public facilities also forms part of the report so as to ensure structural safety of the buildings in the proximity. The MTRCL has in place a set of stringently controlled works procedures to be implemented during the construction period by eligible professionals engaged to ensure compliance with the requirements set out in the Buildings Ordinance and other relevant legislations.

The BD will also request the MTRCL to install sufficient monitoring points around the works site before the construction to monitor the airflow and vibration generated by the works. If nearby buildings are found to have been affected by the works, the MTRCL will have to take immediate and appropriate actions to prevent aggravation of the problems concerned. If necessary, the MTRCL will have to cease the relevant works and submit a report including proposed mitigation measures to the BD for approval.

The MTRCL and its contractors will minimise the impact of the works to nearby communities as far as possible. The Highways Department, the MTRCL and its contractors have all along maintained close contact and communication with the residents concerned through such means as giving explanations to the residents, owners' committees, incorporated owners and local communities regarding their concerns and co-ordinating actions required; holding regular meetings of community liaison groups; publishing pamphlets on construction methods; and arranging site visit with relevant stakeholders to inspect the tunnel works and providing briefings of the works procedures and relevant safety measures by engineers.

Thank you.

Weird how the SIL(E) didn't receive many complaints from shutting flush water supply for 2 days on parts of Ap Lei Chau :lol:

Unmanned trains on track for new line
The Standard
Tuesday, April 17, 2012

The Island South Line (East) will be served by unmanned trains when completed in 2015, the MTR Corp said.

The rail operator revealed it has ordered 10 French-designed trains for the seven-kilometer line, terminating at Admiralty - an interchange station for the Island and Tsuen Wan lines.

MTR chief architect Wilfred Yeung Sze-wai said yesterday South Island commuters may look forward to a reliable and flexible service with the introduction of the Fully Automatic Operation system.

He said the system is a well-proven and mature technology commonly adopted in cities with top-notch rail systems, such as Paris, Singapore and Seoul.

Staff may take manual control of the trains in times of emergencies, allowing for the remote reset and system recovery via the central control center.

In addition, Yeung said the new system will lead to a more flexible deployment of trains, which can be mobilized remotely to build up service frequency to meet any surge in passenger demand.

This will free up more train service staff to offer assistance to passengers.

Yeung soothed public concerns that an unmanned operating system is unsafe, saying a successful precedent has already been set by the smooth running of the Disneyland Resort Line, which employs an automatic control system.

Security will also be enhanced on the new line, with the installation of four CCTV cameras in each compartment.

Sensors embedded in the air-conditioning system will alert control staff when smoke is detected.

Each three-car train will have a streamlined design and comes equipped with a slew of innovative features such as underseat theatrical lighting and suspended flooring to reduce noise from train equipment.

The HK$12.4 billion line will connect the southern end of Hong Kong Island, which is not serviced at present by any rail transport.

The southern terminus will be at South Horizons on Ap Lei Chau, passing through stops at Lei Tung, Wong Chuk Hang, and Ocean Park before terminating at Admiralty.

The company estimates it will take commuters 10 minutes to travel from South Horizons to the urban district.