Untitled - Civic Exchange

SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT IN HONG KONG: DIRECTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES
In one-third of the systems surveyed, government met the full cost of rolling stock. In eight of the 15, it
met at least two-thirds of costs. Four systems (including the MTR Corporation) purchase new rolling
stock entirely from operator-generated funds. However, it is in meeting ongoing O&M costs that
operator-generated revenues are most significant worldwide. For eight of the 15 systems in the survey,
operator-generated funds cover all O&M costs, while in an additional two systems operator funds meet
80% of costs.
Although national and provincial levels of government often provide support to intra-urban passenger
railways, local (sub-provincial) government also plays a major role. In three of the systems surveyed, local
funding accounted for 100% of government support for urban passenger railway construction and in two
others it accounted for more than two-thirds of such support. Further, as one moves from construction costs
to purchase of rolling stock and on to operation and maintenance costs, local government grants play an
increasing role relative to national and provincial grants. This is highly relevant for the HKSAR, which
does not have the normal overlays of local, provincial, and national financing for infrastructure projects.
Constraints on rail development in Hong Kong
Hong Kong's extremely high population densities and the resulting potential for very high load factors
make the self-financing of rail transport through fares somewhat less difficult compared to other cities.
However, the Hong Kong government has taken this potential to an inappropriate extreme, which
ultimately raises the overall costs of transport in terms of air pollution, noise, and other external impacts
associated with having more road travel than would otherwise be the case.
An important implication of the government's self-financing requirement for rail is that the MTR
Corporation requires an expected daily ridership of 30,000 to 70,000 per day from a proposed rail station
in order to justify construction. Among other systems in the urban rail systems survey, the minimum
ridership range for construction of a new station was typically 5,000 to 10,000. In other words, compared
to their counterparts elsewhere, Hong Kong people have relatively limited access to rail transport. 66
While avoiding direct support for railways might seem positive in "free market" Hong Kong, this policy
means that Hong Kong's rail system is limited only to areas of extreme density. Route maps of other major
underground systems around the world (including those in other commonly cited "world cities," such as
London, Paris, New York, or Tokyo) show a complex set of lines with extensive coverage (see Figures 3.1-
3.5). In contrast, the rail map for Hong Kong (including both the MTR Corporation and KCRC lines) is
skeletal - despite the fact that it serves a metropolitan area far denser than that of other "world cities." 67
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66
Barron, B., Ng, S., and Kwok, V. (2001), Financing Urban Passenger Rail: An International Survey.
67 Rail systems in cities such as London and New York suffer from under-investment and are poorly maintained
when compared to Hong Kong's newer rail system, but this should not be confused with the issue of the
extensiveness of their networks.