Tymon Mellor: For many people, construction of a railway is all about digging holes and pouring concrete as their focus is on the infrastructure and they forget about the railway elements of the project. Much of West Rail’s success was recognizing the need to develop the railway systems proposals in conjunction with the civil works, and then providing a coordinated […]
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Tymon Mellor: Following a ground breaking ceremony held in October, 1998 construction of West Rail gathered pace. The southern section of the line was in tunnel, while from the northern tunnel portal in Kam Tin, the route passed through the at grade depot before adopting an elevated arrangement, approximately 13.4 km, between Kam Tin and Tuen Mun. Construction of the […]
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Introduction Tymon Mellor: Following the liberation of Hong Kong from the Japanese in 1945 the KCRC was operated by British Military Administration before its return to civilian control. Within a few months the line was operational and regular services re-commenced. As Hong Kong grew, so did the railway patronage, pushing the railway to the limits of the capacity of the […]
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Tymon Mellor: The year of 1963 was an exceptionally difficult for water supply in Hong Kong. For the fourteen months between November, 1962 and December, 1963, the total rainfall was only 901mm, as compared with an average expectation of 2,220mm. Severe restrictions were imposed on water consumption with the house supplied service being cut to four hours every fourth day. […]
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Tymon Mellor: The West Rail project was completed on time and below budget, this was achieved by having a strong management team, experienced construction managers, motivated contractors and efficient project process. Building a large infrastructure project within existing urban environments is not just about the engineering but it is as much about managing all the different competing requirements, in particular […]
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Tymon Mellor: With the approval of the environmental impact assessment in March, 1998 and endorsement of the Project Agreement in September 1998, work on the construction of West Rail could commence. The West Rail project management team had already started tendering the key construction packages and with the approval of the scheme, the initial packages were awarded allowing a ground […]
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With the completion of the technical studies phase of the project in 1998, the Western Corridor Railway had been rationalized from a multimodal railway serving two China crossings and operating double stack freight, to a commuter line linking Tuen Mun to Kowloon. With Government funding in place, the new project now known as ‘West Rail’ was ready to proceed to […]
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Tymon Mellor: Following the submission in November 1995 by the KCRC of a detailed feasibility study (DFS) for the Western Corridor Railway, the Government had a full proposal for the line, including an updated cost at $75 billion; more than twice the original estimate. To achieve a proposed opening in 2001, preliminary engineering and design works would need to commence […]
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Tymon Mellor: With the opening of the Hong Kong section of the railway on 1st October 1910 and the mainland section 12 months later, Hong Kong was now part of the expanding Chinese railway network. This would link Hong Kong to the new Chinese markets; bringing huge changes to the region and the world. Unfortunately, the world did not change […]
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Tymon Mellor: In the month following the publication of the Railway Development Strategy in December 1994, the Government invited the KCRC to submit a proposal for the Western Corridor Railway with a proposed project completion in 2001. KCRC had already mobilised the specialist skills needed to undertake the task and soon commenced the preparation of a detailed feasibility study (DFS) […]
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