We have all sworn to uphold “one country, two systems”. But when it comes to building new railways, “one country, one system” may save us a lot of money. Hopefully, London and Washington won’t cite the Joint Declaration to criticise Hong Kong for breaching our treaty obligations.
The construction costs of the mass transit links in the Northern Metropolis can be reduced by up to 30 per cent if Hong Kong adopts mainland Chinese standards for railway lines. I say, what’s the argument? Go for it.
The Highways Department disclosed this week that the cost of the first phase of the rail link could be reduced to HK$31.4 billion (US$4 billion), equivalent to saving 20 to 30 per cent, if construction used mainland standards.
China is the world’s “infrastructure-building monster”, as we say in Chinese; its railway standards are absolutely world-class and safe – and of course, cheap and fast.
On the mainland, high-speed lines now link 97 per cent of cities with a population of more than 500,000 people, and recorded 4.08 billion passenger trips last year, a year-on-year jump of 10.8 per cent.
The Northern Link will serve as the main line allowing residents from New Territories North to reach Hong Kong Island and Kowloon within 40 minutes.
