Sustainable Railway Development Through Careful Planning, Design ...

Sustainable Railway Development Through Careful Planning, Design and Implementation

Sustainable Railway Development Through Careful Planning, Design and Implementation CHEW Tai Chong

Abstract Apart from high speed railway development, several hundred metro projects are being developed or implemented around the world as many municipal and central governments recognise the need for efficient and effective public transportation system for their cities. Developing mass transit railway network as the backbone of transport systems has been accepted as the right approach. This strategy provides positive social, economic and environmental values under the banner of sustainable development and complements the ambition of liveable city planning for the 21st century. This paper reflects on the major challenges in delivering such profound ambition, using the new railway projects being developed in Hong Kong as examples.

Introduction The term ‘sustainable railway development’ in this paper relates to the construction of railways that connect with and complement the urban development of a city and create more ‘liveable communities’, which are places with high social and environmental quality where people have access to the necessary facilities, including transport, health services, employment and recreation. Under such assumptions, the key focus for sustainable railway development is how the railway is designed to interface with the city to bring about the potential benefits. Based on the above interpretation, this paper explores the relationship between urban planning and sustainable railway development and discusses other factors to be considered during the railway design and implementation processes.

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Railway in Urban Planning and Development Railway as backbone of transport systems Railway systems have the advantage of being able to move masses of people efficiently, safely and in an environmentally-friendly manner around the city. Many governments have recognised the benefit of linking the developed and new districts throughout cities with railways. Hence, there is a growing trend of cities building railways as the backbone of their transport systems despite the high capital cost and the subsequent operation and maintenance costs of railways. Many governments have recognised the benefit of linking the developed and new districts throughout cities with railways.

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Almost all big cities over the world have already built railway networks covering their major residential, industrial and commercial areas and even tourist spots. It is foreseeable that more cities will adopt this practice. Abu Dhabi, for instance, has planned to construct its first railway to connect its existing and new city centres. The system is designed to serve the major flow of commuters in the transportation network, which is to be supported by a surface network of buses, street cars and light rail.

Transit Oriented Development (TOD) model, which has been adopted successfully in the rail projects in Hong Kong to facilitate the development of new towns. Figure 1a: Design of the rail based integrated community under the TOD model

District open space and low density land use MTR spine & main pedestrian link

Traffic free high density mixed housing District centre functions with high density private housing

500m walk-in zone to station District Road

It is essential that the government sets out the directive concerning the role of the railway in the transport system in order to better coordinate the services of different transport modes. From the perspective of transport planning, the determination to construct railway as the backbone of the transport system of the city must be firm and apparent. It is essential that the government sets out the directive concerning the role of the railway in the transport system in order to better coordinate the services of different transport modes.

Railway to facilitate urban development Railway can be an effective tool facilitating urban growth if planned designed appropriately and properly in with urban development. This is demonstrated by the application of

for and tied best the

Local road with feeder buses MTR station

Figure 1b: Rail as the primary travel mode between communities under the TOD model

Railway Station

MTR spine & main pedestrian link

The TOD model involves the creation of compact and walkable communities centred around railway stations, as shown in Figure 1. The Travel Characteristics Survey 2002 (Transport Department 2002) conducted by the Transport Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government reflected that one

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of the major factors affecting people’s choice of transport mode for their journey is the walking distance between boarding and alighting locations, and the origin and destination of their trip. This implies that ‘door-to-door’ service or directness to transport nodes is much valued. This is made possible by providing convenient pedestrian walkways that allow seamless connections between the stations and the surrounding area, which incorporates mixed-use residential and commercial development (Figure 2). Figure 2: A commercial/retail plus residential development next to Kowloon Station along the Airport Express line

Under the TOD model, feeder services are provided between the railway station and the outskirts of the walk-in catchment area. Public transport interchanges are constructed next to the stations for easy access to the feeder services. Furthermore, green belts are introduced around the outskirts to create a green environment surrounding the area. These communities are linked to wider regional centres through a coordinated transport system in which rail is the primary travel mode, supported by roadbased connection to surrounding local 28

regions. With such design, the land use and population densities around the stations are optimised and the rail catchment is enhanced.

By providing convenient access to the districts served by the stations, railways can stimulate economic activities and hence revive the areas.

Apart from developing new towns, railway stations are commonly located strategically for the purpose of rejuvenating old districts. By providing convenient access to the districts served by the stations, railways can stimulate economic activities and hence revive the areas. The new railway projects of the MTR Corporation, Hong Kong, are designed, to a certain extent, towards this objective. The success of the strategic planning of the MTR alignment and stations has been reflected in its high market share among public transport modes over the past years, as shown in Figure 3. It is anticipated that the market share will continue to grow in the coming years as the railway network is further expanded to cover a wider terrain.

Development of new railways in Hong Kong Hong Kong is utilising railways well to facilitate its urban growth. There are five railway projects in the agenda in the coming ten years. All of them are closely tied in with the urban development with an aim to create a sustainable railway network.

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Figure: 3. Distribution of Annual Passenger Journeys in Hong Kong from 1983 to 2009 (Transport Department 2009)

4200

4000

LEGENDS

3800

3600

Taxi

3400

3200

RMB

3000

Annual Passenger Trips (Millions)

2800

GMB

2600 Hongkong Tramways

2400

2200 KCRC*

2000

1800

MTR

1600

1400 CMB, NWFB /City bus

1200

1000

800

KMB

600

400

200

0 1983 84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

00

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

Year

Note: * - The operations of the MTR and KCRC were merged on 2 December 2007. The passengers who travelled by the MTR and KCRC are counted once in the MTR local line passenger journeys after the merger. Hence, the figures after the merger are not strictly comparable with those of earlier figures.

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The West Island Line, Kwun Tong Line Extension and South Island Line (East) extend the existing railway network to cover more populated areas, old districts, and special attractions. It is envisaged that the railway will facilitate the revival of the communities and boost tourism at the attraction sites. The Shatin to Central Link, in addition to connecting selected districts, provides alternative and shorter paths for commuters to travel across the territory. This shortens the journey time and relieves the congestion at particular links in the rail network. The Express Rail Link is a dedicated high speed rail that links Hong Kong to the high speed rail network in mainland China. The link enhances the connection with the mainland and will stimulate economic activities across the boundary. The terminus in Hong Kong is located strategically at the West Kowloon area. This helps boost the development in the area, which is to be shaped into a centre of cultural activities for the city. The terminus is planned to be served by a comprehensive transport system. Easy access to other parts of the city will be offered through the two metro stations and interchange facilities next to the terminus.

Comparison with other cities Many cities over the world have plans to rapidly expand their railway networks. Seoul, Korea, and Guangzhou, China, are two of the examples in Asia and the length of the railway networks of both cities will be longer than 500km by 2020. 30

Comparing with these cities, Hong Kong exhibits strength in rail and development integration, but is generally weaker in the regulation among various transport modes.

Seoul, Korea, and Guangzhou, China, are two of the examples in Asia and the length of the railway networks of both cities will be longer than 500km by 2020.

• Types of rail The rail system in Seoul currently consists of high speed rail, intercity rail, suburban rail and urban metro. In addition, there are plans to construct seven Light Rapid Transit lines in the city. Hong Kong has similar types of rails, with a high speed rail under construction. However, unlike Seoul, Hong Kong has no concrete commitment at the moment to expand medium capacity rail to serve moderate growth areas. Proposals, like the Environmentally Friendly Transport System (EFTS) in the Kai Tak area, are still under study and yet to materialise. • Rail network structure The railway networks of Seoul and Guangzhou adopt a hierarchical structure of radial lines with central grid or circle lines. The rail network in Hong Kong, however, does not form a similar wellstructured pattern since the urban development and rail alignment are largely dictated by the topographic constraints. With the hilly geography and varying ground condition, it is impossible to

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adopt the structure of radial lines with orbital links, which can enable a better distribution of passengers, as in other cities with flat terrain. Consequently, congestion is more likely to occur in certain links in Hong Kong’s network, particularly in the cross-harbour sections. • Public transport integration Seoul is moving towards a functional hierarchy of public transport of rail and roads with an integrated network and fare. The public transport reorganisation implemented in recent years has effectively promoted public transport share and optimised rail ridership. The public transport modes in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, however, are not as well-coordinated. Figure 4: Comparison of public transport modal split 1%

100%

21%

Public Transport Modal Split (%)

70%

11%

• Rail and land-use integration

80%

Others

40% 41%

60%

61%

Rail

40%

51% 43%

20% 10% 0

Taxi Bus

50%

30%

17%

Seoul

Fare integration between rail and bus can be implemented to encourage passengers to take the integrated journeys, hence optimising the public transport modal split.

5%

9% 90%

integration strategy. Such strategy could be an option for other cities with a suitable social and political climate, to boost the market share of railway and to reinforce railway as the transport backbone. This integration involves two aspects. Firstly, while the capacity of the railway allows, the bus services should be rationalised such that the bus routes that duplicate the paths covered by rail are reduced and feeder services are added instead. Furthermore, fare integration between rail and bus can be implemented to encourage passengers to take the integrated journeys, hence optimising the public transport modal split.

Guangzhou Hong Kong

As shown in Figure 4, Seoul has the highest market share of railway system (51%) among different public transport modes, which is significantly due to the intermodal

In comparison with other cities, Hong Kong is in the leading role for implementing TOD and enhancing rail and development integration with good station accessibility and connectivity (Figure 5). For instance, new towns have been developed successfully around stations along the Tseung Kwan O Line. The population in the area has increased drastically since the line was opened in 2002. These new towns are typically centred around a rail station, which is connected seamlessly to shopping malls and residential estates. Interchange

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facilities are provided near the stations for transfers to other public transport. This model has been welcomed by people in these communities. Figure 5: An MTR commercial property development integrated with Hong Kong Station for the Airport Express Line

Community Engagement In the social aspect, as a railway is designed to integrate with the communities that it serves, it is often considered as a community asset (Figure 6). It is essential to ensure that sufficient thought is given in the planning and design stage to satisfy the communities’ needs. This is achieved by soliciting early community input, which also leverages planning and design in terms of potential usage and development costs. In Hong Kong, communities are consulted about the railway alignment and locations of the station entrances such that the most desirable solution balancing the requests of different parties can be sought. For recent railway projects in Hong Kong, apart from the statutory consultation processes as stipulated in the legislation, additional public consultation programmes and community liaison groups are organised, which have been proved to be effective in collecting comments and suggestions from communities. Figure 6: The proposed Ocean Park Station on the new South Island Line (East) project

Factors for Sustainable Railway Development in Design and Implementation Apart from considering the integration with the urban form during planning, factors affecting the railway’s sustainability should also be addressed in the project delivery processes, from design, procurement to construction. The sustainability benefits of railway projects should be maximised through community engagement, stakeholder management, environmental management and system optimisation.

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The sustainability benefits of railway projects should be maximised through community engagement, stakeholder management, environmental management and system optimisation.

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Apart from the railway alignment and station design, the facilities offered by the railway are also among the concerns of the community. In Hong Kong, the MTR stations are provided with shops to cater for various needs of the passengers. Other value-adding services, like internet service and Wi-Fi service, are also offered.

Stakeholder Management Railway development is never the business of the railway company alone. With the rising expectation and demand for liveable communities, the social impact of public investments like railway projects is coming under greater scrutiny. In the matter of developing ‘liveable communities’, there are various stakeholders involved, such as political groups, concern groups, opinion formers, professional bodies, working partners, etc., whose expectations should be properly addressed (MTR Corporation 2008). Support from stakeholders is not only a positive driving force for sustainable railway development, but is also necessary for ensuring a smooth project implementation process. To secure their support, sufficient communication between the railway company and the stakeholders in an open and proactive manner is needed. It would be beneficial to the rail project if stakeholders could obtain a better understanding of the projects and the constraints that have to be taken into account through the communications about the project-related issues, for example, introduction of the project programme and corresponding

arrangements, like traffic diversion, explanation of possible disturbances during construction and discussions about alternative solutions to problems and objections, etc. Support from stakeholders is not only a positive driving force for sustainable railway development, but is also necessary for ensuring a smooth project implementation process.

Environmental Management Among various public transport modes, railway is considered relatively efficient in its use of fuel, land and resources. However, despite its positive reputation in terms of environmental impact, railway is not free from environmental concerns, like energy consumption, disposal of materials and noise pollution, etc. Nowadays, as road vehicles are gradually improving in environmental performance by adopting cleaner fuels and more efficient engines, enhancement is needed in railway design for maintaining its competitive edge, as well as, to better protect the environment. As road vehicles are gradually improving in environmental performance by adopting cleaner fuels and more efficient engines, enhancement is needed in railway design for maintaining its competitive edge, as well as, to better protect the environment.

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• Energy efficiency Reduction of energy consumption is one of the popular issues under the topic of environmental protection. Various initiatives have been raised and implemented in the railway industry, for instance, reducing the train mass and improving the aerodynamic design of trains so that less traction power will be consumed, adopting energy efficient Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) traction drive system with regenerative braking, and optimising the running profile of trains and platform dwell time, etc. For station facilities, there are plenty of measures as well, like using solar power for remote equipment, reducing plant room size to lower the demand for air-conditioning, using energy efficient lighting system and adopting fresh or sea water cooling system for better energy efficiency (JR East Group 2009), etc. Despite all these initiatives, railways are still significant consumers of energy. The exploration for more energy efficient technologies is an on-going process. • Use of Resources Environmental sustainability concerning the use of resources relates to two main issues – to reduce the consumption of resources and to adopt recyclable materials where possible. Railway systems involve significant amount of infrastructure, like tunnels, viaducts and stations. Design of these infrastructures should take into consideration the 34

optimisation of the size of the structures to reduce the volume of concrete and other construction materials used and the volume of soil to be disposed. The reduction in station size could also lead to savings in building services equipment. As far as recycling is concerned, railways should apply the concept of ‘sustainable procurement’ which involves a life-cycle thinking of an asset. The costs of products should take into account the full costs of their production, their use and their scrappage. This life-cycle thinking relates to the consideration of supply chain impacts and the social and environmental responsibility of suppliers when selecting materials for construction and operation. For instance, it would be desirable if certain components of a train could be recycled or reused at the time of asset replacement. Extensive application of such strategy could result in significant reduction of wastage.

Railways should apply the concept of ‘sustainable procurement’ which involves a life-cycle thinking of an asset. The costs of products should take into account the full costs of their production, their use and their scrappage.

• Noise Mitigation Noise generated during construction, as well as, operation phase of railways, should be addressed. In a crowded city like Hong

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Kong, there is often a number of Noise Sensitive Receivers (NSR) along the rail alignment. Comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) have to be conducted prior to the construction of the projects and noise impact is one of the areas of concern. Noise exposure of the NSR should be assessed in the EIA and the noise mitigation measures have to be applied accordingly.

cases, the need for noise barriers is identified after the railway is in operation, meaning that the noise barriers have to be erected within an operating railway, which increases the difficulty of the installation work and may pose risks to the railway. Hence, early study and decision to install noise barriers during the railway construction phase is preferred.

System Optimisation Construction noise and noise generated by fixed plants during operation are usually mitigated by measures like adoption of quiet plant, movable noise enclosure and relocation of the plants, etc. (MTR Corporation 2010). It is becoming common to install noise barriers to shield the NSR from excessive noise to mitigate noise from railway operation. In some

As in the case of any business, railways are always faced with the need to enhance their competitiveness and attractiveness, such as, speed, availability, comfort, reliability and punctuality. MTR has made significant efforts in maintaining its high standards of system performance and service, which is essential for retaining its patronage and achieving a sustainable economic profile. Benchmarking

Figure 7: CoMET Benchmarking Results 2008 (MTR Corporation 2009)

CUSTOMER SERVICE % Passenger journeys on time 100

99.9

99.9

100

TROUBLE-FREE SERVICE % Train trips on time

99.9

80

80

60

60

40

40

20

20

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

99.9

99.9

99.7

99.8

100

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

MTR performance vs Best performance (%) (Best performance = 100)

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As in the case of any business, railways are always faced with the need to enhance their competitiveness and attractiveness. results have reflected the high service levels of the MTR, for example, in terms of percentage of journeys on time, as shown in Figure 7. Such achievement is made possible by good operation and maintenance practices, as well as, careful design of the railway system. Figure 8: MTR proposed modification and upgrading of Hong Kong’s Admiralty station so that the new projects of South Island Line and Shatin to Central Link may interchange at the station

some examples. To make it possible for the railway to accommodate these changes for optimising it service, flexibility and adaptability should be injected in the design of the railway systems where possible, for example, reservation of spaces for additional platforms could be considered in station design for possible network expansion where appropriate. With suitable design, these changes could present valuable opportunities for the development of the railways.

A sustainable railway should be flexibly designed such that it is responsive to future changes and the best possible service can be offered.

Conclusion

A sustainable railway should be flexibly designed such that it is responsive to future changes and the best possible service can be offered. The changes could originate from requests from customers, initiatives for improvement or other unforeseeable external factors. Addition of stations or entrances, station refurbishment, system upgrade and installation of additional equipment are

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Sustainable railway development is closely related to city planning and its interaction with the communities. With changing social environment and demand, new factors affecting the sustainability of railway development will evolve over time. Throughout the railway planning and implementation process, governments and railway companies should be alert and take into account the wider social, economic and environmental and social effects in order to create ‘liveable communities’ and facilitate the dynamics of the city.

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References Transport Department. 2002. Travel Characteristics Survey 2002. Hong Kong SAR Government

JR East Group. 2009. Sustainability Report 2009 MTR Corporation. 2008. Sustainability Report 2008. MTR Corporation. 2009. Sustainability Report 2009.

Transport Department. 2009. The Annual Traffic Census 2009. Hong Kong SAR Government

MTR Corporation. 2010. Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA) Report – Kwun Tong Line Extension(SIL(E)), 2010

Chew Tai Chong is the Projects Director in MTR Corporation, Hong Kong. Prior to joining MTR Corporation in May 2009, Mr. Chew worked in the rail transit industry in the United Kingdom, Singapore and elsewhere for over 30 years. Between 2003 and 2008, he was the President of Bombardier London Underground Projects Division. Up to 2003, he held the position of Senior Director, Projects and Engineering, in the Land Transport Authority of Singapore. Mr. Chew is a member of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Council. He holds a BSc and an MSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom. Mr. Chew is a Chartered Engineer and a fellow of a number of professional institutions in the United Kingdom and the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, as well as, the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences.

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