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Construction Works Starting for Railway Projects in the Northern Metropolis

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The Northern Link (NOL) is set to be the main transport backbone of the Northern Metropolis. Together with existing East Rail Line and Tuen Ma Line, the NOL will form a railway loop linking up the New Territories and Kowloon to improve connection between New Territories East and New Territories West, serving Kwu Tung North New Development Area (KTNNDA) and San Tin Technopole; and drive developments around Au Tau, Ngau Tam Mei and San Tin.

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According to Lam Sai-hung, Secretary for Transport and Logistics, the Government will first commence construction of Kwu Tung (KTU) Station on the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line of East Rail Line and then the construction of main line connection rail progressively. Construction works of KTU Station are expected to begin in mid-2023 for completion in 2027 to support the major population intake of KTNNDA.

Meanwhile, construction works of the NOL Main Line are anticipated to start in 2025 for completion in 2034 due to complexity of works. Thus, before the commissioning of the NOL, relevant departments will take into account the transport need of the population intake and coordinate with public transport operators for provision of sufficient public transport services.

The NOL Main Line, together with the NOL Spur Line, will provide a direct railway connection between the Northern Metropolis and the new Huanggang Port.

“The proposed NOL Spur Line is about 5.8 kilometres in length and its alignment starts from the San Tin Station on the NOL Main Line, passing through San Tin Technopole and Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Lok Ma Chau Loop, and connects to Huanggang Port in Shenzhen,” he stated in reply to a question in the Legislative Council on 10 May 2023.

The project will provide another option for residents and tourists travelling to and from the Greater Bay Area (GBA), among other benefits.

Aiming to reach a consensus with the Mainland authorities on the implementation arrangement of the Shenzhen section of the NOL Spur Line in order to commence its detailed design in 2024, the Government will continue to review different implementation proposals of the project concurrently to better support local development needs.

Following the public consultation exercise on Strategic Studies on Railways and Major Roads beyond 2030 (RMR2030+), completed by end March 2023, it preliminarily recommends taking forward three railways and three major roads—amongst which Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu-Qianhai) and Central Rail Link are railway projects proposed for supporting the development of the Northern Metropolis.

Read: Public Consultation on Strategic Transport Studies Launched

As for the preliminary conceptual alignment of the NOL Eastward Extension proposed under the Northern Metropolis Development Strategy, the Civil Engineering and Development Department and the Planning Department are conducting the Remaining Phase Development of the New Territories North–Planning and Engineering Study for New Territories North New Town and Man Kam To.

“Moreover, we are exploring a railway alignment, which would link the major development nodes of the Lo Wu/Man Kam To Comprehensive Development Node and the New Territories North New Town as well as connect to the East Rail Line and the NOL,” Lam added. —Construction+ Online

Source: Transport and Logistics Bureau