Tymon Mellor: During 2002, the civil works of West Rail was completed and the railway systems contractors had been provided with access to install their systems. Each system had to pass a series of tests before it could then be integrated with other systems and the wider control system. Once over that hurdle, the railway could commence trial operations and […]
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Tymon Mellor: The Shek Pik reservoir is part of a larger scheme to supply Hong Kong Island with a water supply through submarine pipeline from Lantau Island. The reservoir has a capacity of 24.5 million m3 with a direct catchment of 7.8 km2but with the completed catch waters the catchment area is expanded to 53 km2 or 40% of the […]
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Tymon Mellor: With continued water shortages on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, pressure was on the Shek Pik construction team to complete the reservoir as fast as possible. The situation was so bad that during a particularly bad drought in the summer of 1963, the Government hired 13 tankers to ferry water from the Pearl River to a new terminal […]
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Tymon Mellor: With the growing population in both Hong Kong Island and Kowloon there was a growing demand for drinking water, the existing supplies, primarily the Tai Tam reservoirs and Kowloon Reservoir were insufficient to meet such needs. With the failure of the spring rains, water famine became a common occurrence, and a quick fix was required. Water Shortages Following […]
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Tymon Mellor: In the summer of 1963, with severe water restrictions of only four hours every fourth day in urban Hong Kong, the Colonial Government was searching for new water supplies that could be expeditiously developed. A number of schemes had been explored and these were presented to the Executive Council in October, 1963. In addition to the Plover Cover […]
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Tymon Mellor: Following the Second World War, in 1949 the Royal Air Force established a permanent airfield at Shatin,with a 350m long concrete runway, coordinates 05/23 and a small control tower, along with building and hangars made of corrugated steel. With the growing tension in China, during the 1950’s the British Army Air Corps operated Auster AOP.9 spotter planes from the […]
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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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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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