Category: Transport
New Year’s Eve: Mui Wo ferry suspended from 11pm-3am
Ferry services will be suspended during the New Year’s fireworks display tonight, with no boats leaving Central between 11pm and 3am.
The last ferries on the Lantau route will leave Mui Wo and Central at 10:50pm and 11pm respectively.
The regular 11:40 and 12:30am services from Central will be cancelled.
Revellers wishing to take the ferry back to Mui Wo will have to wait for the 3am sailing.
MTR: All-night service
MTR lines will run all night.
Tung Chung Line trains will leave Hong Kong Station every six minutes from 8pm-2am, and every 12 minutes from 2am-6am.
Bus timetable unchanged
New Lantao Bus services will run unchanged tonight. Services as follows:
The 3M will depart Tung Chung for South Lantau at 12:15am, 12:50am and 6am.
The 11 will depart Tung Chung at 12:40, 1:20 and 6:20am.
The N35 will depart the airport for South Lantau at 1:30 and 4:30am.
The N1 will depart Mui Wo for Tai O at 3:45am.
CEDD studying light rail link to Tai O
The government is exploring the feasibility of building a light rail to Tai O, part of a wider study into Lantau transport networks.
Development Secretary Michael Wong told reporters yesterday that CEDD had hired a consultant to review Lantau’s internal transport links and its connections to the rest of Hong Kong.
He said the consultant was examining the potential for a light rail along the coastal route from Tung Chung to Tai O.
The seaside village currently has just a single road connection, parts of which are barely wide enough for buses to pass. The journey to Tung Chung takes 45 minutes.
Local rural leaders have repeatedly called for an upgrade of the existing road and for a direct road connection to Tung Chung. The coastal road has been rejected on environmental and heritage grounds.
MTR light rail, Tuen Mun (Wiki Commons)
Transport panel chairman and former Kowloon-Canton Railway chairman Michael Tien last year proposed the idea of a light rail around Tung Chung, the airport and the Macau bridge, arguing it would take just 15 minutes to make the trip.
He told Sing Tao newspaper that in principle he supported extending it to Tai O but was wary of the cost, estimating that his original proposal would cost HK$15 billion.
He said because the light rail runs on overhead lines it has a light environmental footprint.
Wong did not elaborate on what other changes the government would make to Lantau’s transport connections. He said the consultancy would complete its study in 2019.
Photo (top): Sha Lo Wan on Lantau’s north coast
Holden Chow calls on MTR to speed up Tung Chung East station development
Islands District Councillor and DAB vice-chairman Holden Chow has called on the MTR Corp to bring forward the construction of the Tung Chung East station to align with the timetable for building new apartments.
Under the current timetable, the first residents will start moving into the Tung Chung East Development in 2023, but the new MTR station won’t be completed until 2026.
Chow said the construction of the third runway would bring many work opportunities, including for local residents, and the most effective way to ensure they could take advantage of these would be to connect airport island and TC directly.
He said the MTR was studying the idea of adding an extra Tung Chung Line station to connect to the airport and urged the government or the MTR to release their findings, RTHK reports.
Reclamation work on the Tung Chung East project is due to start by the end of the year.
The CEDD plans to build 40,800 apartments in Tung Chung East and another 8,600 in Tung Chung West. It has forecast that Tung Chung East will accommodate an 119,000 people.
Tung Chung development forecasts (Source: Legco Public Works Subcommittee)
Mui Wo bus & ferry operators to add capacity but not new services
Lantau bus and ferry companies are adding capacity to meet the expected spike in passengers next year, but have no plans to schedule extra services.
With Mui Wo’s population expected to increase by as much as 40% in the second half of 2018, First Ferry has ordered five new large vessels and the New Lantao Bus Company is tendering for double-decker buses,
But First Ferry says even with the new boats it won’t have capacity for new services.
Transport, police and Hospital Authority officials as well as public transport operators appeared before the Islands District Council meeting early this week to explain how they are preparing for Mui Wo’s growth spurt. As many as 2000 residents will move into two new Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) estates starting next August.
First Ferry has bought five new 423-seat vessels – previously the largest carried just 403 passengers – and says two are already in service. The other three will be deployed from the first quarter of next year.
New Lantao Bus Company is planning to run double-decker buses on the 3M route between Mui Wo and Tung Chung. It said it held a successful trial early this year and has just tendered for 14 double-decker vehicles.
First Ferry communication manager Chow Suk Man told the council morning peak-hour fast ferries were currently running at 80-90% capacity. Already one of the new large ferries is being deployed at 7am from Mui Wo.
But in response to Councillor Randy Yu, who asked if a backup ferry could be deployed in morning peak period, Chow said there was not enough spare capacity.
“If there are school trips or organisations planning to take this particular ferry, and if we are informed in advance, we can arrange a spare ferry for such occasions,” she said. But there was no spare ferry for a permanent arrangement.
Chow acknowledged it was difficult to plan without knowing the exact numbers of likely passengers. The company had requested information from the Transport Department about the size of the working population.
NLB vice chairman Chan Ching Lung said the company believed the double-decker buses could increase carrying capacity by 40-50%. The bus operator runs four special services from Pui O each morning which are 70-80% filled, he said.
Epic typhoon traffic jam sent passengers scurrying for MTR
Typhoon Khunan brought more than wind and rain to Hong Kong yesterday – it also helped create a massive traffic jam.
Traffic control measures on the Lantau Link caused vehicles heading to the airport and Tung Chung to back up as far as Stonecutters Bridge and Sham Tseng.
The result was rare scenes of people abandoning their rides and walking to the Tsing Yi and Disney MTR stations in order to catch their flights.
The traffic jam, which at one stage reached 13 kilometres long, followed the closure of the Tsing Ma and Ting Kau bridges. Vehicles were diverted to the lower deck of the Tsing Ma, causing drivers to be delayed in traffic for up to four hours, Apple Daily reported.
Flight attendant continues on foot (Photo: Apple Daily)
Secretary for Transport & Housing Frank Chan called for public understanding over the traffic controls, which were intended to ensure public safety. He told reporters restrictions were introduced only when the wind speed on Tsing Ma or Ting Kau bridges exceeded a specified level.
It was the second major traffic jam on the Lantau Link in two months. Drivers were delayed for several hours when the two-way toll was introduced in August.
The T8 storm signal was raised for 11 hours yesterday, in which time 479 flights were delayed and 79 were cancelled, according to Apple Daily.
Photo (top): Traffic banked up behind Ting Kau Bridge
Randy Yu sounds alarm on Mui Wo population growth
District Councillor Randy Yu has called on government, police and transport providers to explain how they will cope with Mui Wo’s coming population boom.
The opening of two Housing Department estates in Mui Wo next August will add 700 new homes and increase the population by between 1,700 to 2,000 – a huge spike from the current level of around 5,400.
“The public is greatly concerned about the lack of community facilities,” Yu said in a question tabled to the Islands District Council.
Local residents are worried about the carrying capacity of the ferry and bus services, inadequate parking for cars and bikes, the level of medical services and the lack of police.
Yu, who represents South Lantau, said his office has even received calls from those who have purchased homes in the new estates expressing concern about the expensive ferry fares.
He called on the Transport Department, the Hospital Authority, police and the ferry and bus companies to attend next week’s District Council meeting to explain how they will address these issues.
T8 signal raised: bus and ferry services to halt mid-morning
The HK Observatory raised the T8 storm signal at 8:40 this morning, predicting Typhoon Khanun to pass about 200 kilometres southwest of the city later today.
At 9am it was 260 km south-southeast of the city, with maximum wind speeds of 140kmh at the centre.
The last ferries will run at 10:20am and 10:40am from Central and Mui Wo respectively, New World First Ferry has announced.
New Lantao Bus says it will halt all South Lantau services before 11am. It will run limited services on routes to Yat Tung and Tin Shui Wai.
The MTR will run as normal, but the corporation warns this may change at short notice.
The Observatory forecast for today:
Strong to gale northerly winds, occasionally storm force on parts of high ground. Becoming east to northeasterly winds. Cloudy to overcast with occasional heavy showers and squalls. Seas will be very rough with swells. The maximum temperature will be about 24 degrees.
UPDATE: MTR has announced it will provided limited rail service. Tung Chung Line trains will run at 10-minute intervals.
Thousands of Lantau commuters in line for fare subsidy
Thousands of South Lantau and Tung Chung commuters will likely qualify for the new government public transport subsidy.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced yesterday the government would subsidise long-distance commuters by up to $300 a month.
Commuters who spend above the $400 threshold in month will receive a subsidy of 25% for further costs.
Most South Lantau ferry commuters spend that in just over a week. A passenger taking the fast ferry between Mui Wo and Central Monday to Friday spends $313 a week, or around $1250 monthly.
Commuters travelling via MTR from Tung Chung to most points in Kowloon or Hong Kong Island will also be eligible. An adult taking the MTR five times a week from Tung Chung to Central will pay $224 using Octopus, or approximately $900 a month.
The scheme will cover the fares of MTR, buses, green minibuses, ferries and trams. The government predicts that approximately two million Hong Kong people will qualify for the subsidy.
Lam said she expects the scheme to begin in about a year after Legco provides funding.
Here come the green minibuses
Lantau is about to get its first minibus service.
The Transport Department has called a tender for a green minibus service between the airport, the new bridge border crossing and Tung Chung North.
The circular route will be 22 kilometres long, with buses departing on average every 10 minutes apart. Fares will be capped at HK$11.30.
The service is expected to start when the Hong Kong-Macau bridge opens either late this year or in the first half of next year.
Cheung Honwah, chairman of the Hong Kong Public Minibus Bus Driver Association Association, said a number of owners were interested in the bidding for the contract, which also includes new routes in Tseung Kwan O, Tiu Keng Leng and Yuen Long, HK01 reported.
Cheung said he hoped the new service would be extended to include the Tung Chung MTR station.
In addition to the minibus service, the Transport Department is planning three new regular bus routes to carry passengers to the airport from Tung Chung, Sunny Bay and Disney, HK01 said.
Minibus route around airport and Tung Chung North
MTR to build another 14,000 apartments on Tung Chung Bay
Yet another North Lantau Coast development is on the drawing board.
The latest is MTR Corp’s residential and retail project at Siu Ho Wan, about three kilometres east of Tung Chung.
The 30ha development, on top of the MTR rail depot, will create 14,000 apartments and 320,000 square feet of shopping malls, Economic Times reports.
Much of it will be low-rise, with altogether 108 buildings planned to house 38,000 people. The development will also include three schools, four kindergartens and a public transport interchange.
More than a quarter of the residential buildings will be built along the coast, looking out across Tung Chung Bay. More than 40 low-rise residential blocks will face North Lantau Highway.
However, the project is some time away. Construction is not expected to start until 2023 when work on the low-rise homes is due to get underway, and initial occupants are scheduled to move in in 2026. The final stage of the three-part project is forecast to complete in 2038.
The development will also include a new MTR station, due to start construction in 2016 and be completed in 2026. It is the third new station planned for the area, along with Tung Chung West and Tung Chung East.
Lantau Confidential 