GEOG7006 / CIVL6054 – L6, 7, 8 and 9
The University of Hong Kong
GEOG7006/CIVL6054
Engineering for Transport Systems
Rail-based Transport Systems
L8 – Engineering for Railway System (3):
Mainline Railways and Railway Stations
Professor CK MAK
BSc (Eng.) MSc (Urb. Plan.) FICE FCILT FHKIE FHKIHT FHKEng
ckmak@hku.hk
1 November 2022
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Preamble
Speed, frequency, and capacity are the key parameters to gauge
the effective performance of fixed-track systems. In the densely
built-up areas, metros normally operate at low speeds as they are
restricted by close station spacing. Mainline Railways, on the other
hand, provide long distance inter-city services. Speed is a key
indicator in their performance.
In 1964, Japan took the world by surprise by opening the first high
speed railway system - the Shinkansen (or Bullet trains) - with
operating speed at 215 km/hr. Since then, the world high speed
race has never stopped, and we see speeds reaching 350 km/hr.
and higher. In the last decade, the evolution of China’s High-Speed
Railway (CRH) brought yet another surprise to the world, in terms
of both the scale and speed of network expansion. The referenced
World Bank Report (2019) gives a comprehensive account on CRH.
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L8 – Mainline Railways & Railway Stations
1. Inter-City services: Mountains & Rivers Give Way
 Seikan Tunnel, Bridge Crossings, Chengtu-Kunming Railway, Tibet Railway, …
 Project Development revisit - Feasibility Studies, the case of the
Western Corridor Railway
2. Railway Stations, Integrated Land Use & Transport Development
 Types and Configurations
 Metro Construction – some cases
 Rail Plus Property Model
3. Railway Systems & Railway Finances
 The High-Speed Race - Shinkansen, TGV, ICE, CRH
 Airport Railway, Maglev; Sub-urban Lines, ICTS, LRTs
 Project Appraisal revisit – NPV, FIRR, EIRR
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Rail-based Transport Systems
L6 (11/10) Engineering for Railway Systems (1) - Introduction &
Overview
L7 (18/10) Engineering for Railway Systems (2) – The Case for
Metros, World Metros, HK’s Transport Policy & RDS
25/10 Assignment 2 – submission date: 29 November 2022
Engineering for Railway Systems (3) – Mainline
L8 (1/11)
Railways, Project Feasibility, Mountains & Rivers Give
Way; Railway Stations & Rail plus Property Model
Engineering for Railway Systems (4) – Beyond Supply &
L9 (8/11)
Demand, Planning as Decision Making, Sustainable
Transport
10 Dec Final Exam
Mainline railways are mega-infrastructural projects involving huge
resource and financial investment. They reflect national socio-
economic-political policies. Building and expanding the HSR network
also poses formidable engineering challenges. The development of
these mega-infrastructure projects has recorded many impressive
stories on how innovation and skills were applied to make possible
the building of these railway lines.
In this lecture we will also discuss Railway Stations. The Sha Tin to
Central link will provide illustrative examples on some typical station
arrangements. The planning and construction of these stations will
reflect the engineering challenges and method to overcome them.
DCF technique and NPV analysis will shed light on how to finance the
development the railway systems. We shall soon realize that a lot still
has to be done to make the railway systems attractive to the
passengers (acceptable fare level) and also affordable to the operators
and the nations (railway financing bodies).
(1) Mainline Railways
- Mountains & Rivers Make Way
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 Some Mainline Systems:
- Seikan, Honshu-Shikoku, Tsing Ma, …

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 Inception dated back to Taisho

period (1912-1925)

 Serious survey in 1946.

 Five ferries sank in 1954 killing 1,430

passengers expedited the project.

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The Seikan Tunnel - Chronology

1912-1925 Inception of fixed crossing
1946-04-24 Geological survey begun
1954-09-26 Train ferry (Toya Maru) and another 4 sank in
the Tsugaru Strait killing 1,430 passengers
1964-03-23 Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation
established
From inception to completion: 76 years (1912 to 1988)
From construction to commissioning: 17 years (1971-1988)
Construction
1971-09-28 Main tunnel construction begun
1983-01-27 Pilot tunnel breakthrough
1985-03-13 Main tunnel breakthrough
1988-03-13 Tunnel opened

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 SEIKAN TUNNEL Longitudinal Profile
SEIKAN TUNNEL Layout Plan

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SEIKAN TUNNEL青函隧道
Journey Times

Aomori to Hakodate

Before 3 hr 50 min
After 2 hr (conventional)
50 min (Shinkansen)

Tokyo to Sapporo

Before 14 hr
After 12 hr 10min (conven.)
5 hr 40min (Shinkansen)

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 The Channel tunnel The World’s Longest Undersea Tunnels

Seikan Tunnel Channel Tunnel

Length (km) 53.85 (23.3 undersea) 50.45 (37.9 undersea)

Construction, 1971-09-28 begun 1988-06 begun

Operation 1985-03-10 breakthrough
1988-03-13 opened
Cost 538.4 billion Yen (USD 3.6
billion)
Configuration Main Tunnel (double track),
Service Tunnel, Pilot Tunnel
1990-12 breakthrough
1994-05-06 opened
4.65 billion GBP
Twin Single Bored Tunnels,
Pilot Tunnel

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THE HONSHU-SHIKOKU BRIDGES

瀨戶大橋

The Seto Ohashi Bridge

Comprises 3 suspension bridges (1447m,

1611m, 1723m), 2 cabled stayed bridges
(792m, 792m), 1 steel truss bridge (717m)
and series of viaducts

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The Airport Core Projects (ACP) Tsing Ma Bridge

Length: 2166m (overall)
(63+76.5+355.5+1377+4x72)
Clearance: 62m p.d.
Towers: 206 m p.d.
Cables:
main span 33,400x5.38mm wires
Side spans 35,224x5.38mm wires
Deck: 49,000 tonnes steel (22.7t/m)
Concrete:
Tower - 52,000 tonnes
Anchorage(TsingYi) 200,000 tonnes
Anchorage(Ma Wan)250,000 tonnes

Tender Price : HK$7.06 billion

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 Kap Shui Mun Bridge

Length : 750 (overall)

(80+80+430+80+80)
Clearance: 45m p.d. The Chengtu-Kunming Railway
Towers: 150 m p.d. The Tibet Railway

Stay cables:
8 x 22 = 176; total length 11
km
OD of cable 445mm to 558mm

Deck: 4,770 tonnes steel (60t/m)

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The Chengtu-Kunming Railway

was completed and opened in July
1970. It has a route length of 1,085
km and connects Kunming and
Chengtu, two major cities in the
southwestern part of China.

The railway alignment cuts through

very difficult terrains. The project
involved the construction of 427
tunnels and 653 bridges (an average
of one large/medium sized bridge for
every 1.7 km of route and a tunnel
for every 2.5 km). The combined
length of bridges and tunnels
exceeds 400km.

Opened in July 1970.

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 The 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-2005)
A key focus of the Plan is the
Opening Up & Development of
the Western Regions

Three railway projects :

– The 1,118 km Tibet Railway
– The Beijing-Shanghai HSR
– The 31.1 km maglev rail line from
A Spiral Route - end to end 7 the Pudong International Airport to
km, level change 142 m, route the city metro terminal (8 mins vs 1.5
length 14.32 km, 11 tunnels hrs by bus)
(6,532m), 6 bridges (648m), (6 March 2001)
67% of route

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The Tibet Railway

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The Qingzang Railway (Qinghai – Tibet Railway)

Tanggula Mountain Station 5,068 m (2006)

[Jungfrau Station 3,454m, 1912]

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway

The 1956 km long Railway starts from Xining, capital of Qinghai Province,
and terminates in Lhasa, capital of Tibet. In 1984, the Xining-Golmud
section was put into operation. On July 1, 2006, the Qinghai-Tibet railway
was opened into full service. It is the highest and longest plateau railway
ever built in the world.

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 Railway Development
- Project Stages, Planning and Policy

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PLANNING & ADMINISTRATION OF INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

Ability to influence a project
Conceptualization and strategic planning

Project definition and detailed planning

Project initiation, funding and authorization

Design, construction and commissioning

Operation, management and maintenance

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Purpose of Project Demands Options

Territorial planning
requirements
Scenarios Building Blocks
Data input Planning objectives Design parameters

Most Critical Different Schemes

Planning studies

Transport Study System Planning Engineering Study Matching demand with best option(s)

Evaluation : Generation of Options

Economic and Financial Common elements, practicability, triggers,
Transport
Engineering timing, cost effectiveness, other considerations
Environmental (EIA) Appraisal

Recommendations

An Infrastructure Development Strategy

Planning of a New Project
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 Keeping HK Moving
The White Paper on Internal The challenge now for the Government and the
Transport Policy, May 1979
community is to ensure that the same safe
Moving into the 21st Century efficient and reliable transport system is not only
The White Paper on Transport Policy in maintained in the years ahead but improved
Hong Kong, Jan 1990 significantly.
---- Hong Kong Moving Ahead
Hong Kong Moving Ahead A Transport Strategy for The Future
A Transport Strategy For the October 1999
Future, Oct 1999

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Key Elements of Hong Kong's

Railway Development Strategy, 1994
Route Selection & Feasibility Studies
A preferred railway network expansion plan

A priority list of railway projects and their route

alignment

A recommended implementation framework covering

the timing, funding and institutional aspects

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Route Selection (1) Route Selection (1)

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 Route Selection (2) Route selection (3)
(a) Cutting vs Filling The Chengtu–Kunming Railway

Two examples of spiral route

(b) Cutting vs Tunnelling through the mountains

End to end 7 km, level change

(c ) Embankment vs
142 m, route length 14.32 km, 11
Structure tunnels (6,532m), 6 bridges
(648m), 67% of route
(d) Cutting vs Embankment

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Purpose of railway
Territorial planning
requirements

Data input Planning objectives Design parameters

Planning studies

Transport Study System Planning Engineering Study

Evaluation : Generation of Options

Economic and Financial
Transport

The Challenge Engineering

Environmental (EIA) Appraisal

Recommendations

Planning of a New Transport Infrastructure Project

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Feasibility Studies & Outline Design (Refer to Handout) Feasibility Study

• Route Identification
1. Purpose of a New Railway
– Potential routes
– System parameters
2. Preliminary Considerations (pre-feasibility PFS)
– Route Reconnaissance
3. Feasibility Study
• Feasibility Evaluation Methods
4. Outline Design – Evaluation Criteria
– Ranking matrix
5. Alignment Studies & Appraisal
– Economic/Financial Analysis

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 Outline Design (selected/preferred option)

• Engineering (including Transport & EIA)

Case One – Western Corridor Railway
• Railway Operations –systems planning

• Land Requirements

• Programming

• Implementation (Procurement Strategy)

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Implementation of Railway Project

HKSAR Government Railway Corporation
Project
Agreement
Railway Development
Planning  Long Distance Freight
Proposal

 Long Distance Passenger

Project Definition
Detailed Planning
&Design  Sub-regional Passenger
Project Initiation
 Long Distance Freight  Urban Passenger
Contract Administration
 Long Distance Passenger
 Sub-regional Passenger
Authorization
 Urban Passenger  Distributors
Construction &  Distributors
Commissioning

Interface Coordination

COMPLETION

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 Tai Po
Tin Shui Wai Yuen Long
LEGEND :
Long Ping Kam Sheung Road RAILWAY INTERCHANGE

Siu Hong New Territories

Tuen Mun
Sha Tin
Tsuen Wan
WEST RAIL (PHASE I)
Tsuen Wan West

Mei Foo Nam Cheong

WEST RAIL

West Rail Route Plan

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 Initial Proposal (June 1995)
1. Introduction
2. Project Pre-Requisites
- Legal Requirements – Statutory Empowerment, Land Resumptions,
Route Protection, Corporate & Financial
- Financial Requirements / Government requirements
- Technical Requirements – System Capacity, Interchanges with the
MTR System, Tuen Mun Extensions, Freight Operations,
Provisions for Future Expansion
3. System Configuration Issues
- Demand Forecasts / Alignment / Mode of Operation
- Passenger Stations / Maintenance Depot
- Systemwide Elements - Rolling Stock, System Safety Concepts, Railway Operations
- Other Requirements – Environmental Assessment, Traffic Impact Assessment,
Drainage Impact Assessment, Town Planning Impact Assessment, Interfaces with
Existing & Proposed Infrastructure
4. WCR Project Programme
5. Capital Cost Estimate
6. Management Approach & Resources
See the KCRC Western Corridor Railway Project - Performance & Track Record / KCRC’s Financial Position / KCRC’s Cross-Border
Full Proposal Experience
- Management Approach to the WCR Project
7. Required Government Actions

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Full Proposal (November 1995) WCR Project Alignment Summary

Executive Summary
1. Overview
2. Proposed Railway Development
- Proposed WCR Project / Benefits
3. Configuration of the Full Proposal
- Volume 1, Legal Empowerment
- Volume 2, Transportation Planning
- Volume 3, Detailed Engineering report
- Volume 4, Land Requirements
- Volume 5, Financial Analysis
- Volume 6, Project implementation Plan
4. Proposed Freight System
- Freight Demand / Proposed System
5. Proposed Through-Train system
- Forecast Demand / Proposed System 11. Property Development
6. Proposed Cross-Border Passenger System 12. Implementation
- Forecast Demand / Proposed System - Programme for Project Initiation – Legal,
7. Proposed Sub-Regional Passenger System Financial, Engineering, Land Acquisition,
- Forecast Demand / Proposed System Construction
8. Proposed Operating systems - Project Master Programme – 4 Areas,
9. Proposed Alignment Key Interfaces with other Projects &
- Southern Section / Northern Section Infrastructure, Communication Plan
10. Land requirements

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Shenzhen
LOW Lo Wu

LMC
Lok Ma Chau Sheung Shui
SHS
Shekou
FAN

SHEUNG SHUI to
LOK MA CHAU
SPUR LINE Tai Po

The West Rail

Yuen Long
TIS LOP TWO

YUL TAP
KSR

WEST RAIL (PHASE I) LEO

MOS

HEO
SIH UNI
New Territories CHG
Ma On
Shan
FOT
TUM
Tuen Mun Sha Tin RAC

SHM
Tsuen Wan SHT
CIO
TSW SKS
TWH TAW

TWW TAW
STT
MA ON SHAN to
KWH TAI WAI
TSY KWF RAIL LINK
LAK
WTS
MEF KOT LOF DIH
LCK
CSW
SKM CHH Tseung
YAO
Kwan O
SSP

NAC PRE MKK

KOB
POA MTR
CLK
PEB
OLY MOK
NTK HAH TSEUNG KWAN O
KWT
YMT
Kowloon LAT
TIK
EXTENSION
KOW JOR HUH TKO
YAT
WKPT
ETS
TST TKS
FOH
HOK NOP QUB
TUC SHW SWH
TAK
CEN TIH
Tung Chung ADM WAC
CAB SKW HFC

PENNY'S BAY RAIL LINK TSIM SHA TSUI

Lantau Island Hong Kong Island CHW
EXTENSION

RDS 1994 - NEW RAILWAY ROUTE MAP

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 1994 1995 1996

Railway Development Strategy 1994

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Conceptualization
Proposal
West Rail Technical Studies & Detailed Design

(Phase I) Authorization
Construction - Hong Kong’s New Railway Projects
Conceptualization
MTR Proposal
Technical Studies & Detailed Design
Tseung Kwan O
Extension
Authorization
Construction
Project Length Construction Estimated project
Conceptualization
Stations & Depot cost (MoD)
Feasibility Studies
Ma On Shan Proposal & Detailed Design 30.5 km
Rail Authorization West Rail (Phase I) 9 stations & 1 depot
1998 to 2003 HK$ 64 Bn
Construction

Conceptualization MTR Tseung Kwan O 12.5 km

KCR Feasibility Studies
5 stations & 1 depot 1998 to 2002 HK$ 30.5 Bn
Tsim Sha Tsui
Proposal & Detailed Design

Authorization
Extension
Construction
Extension 11.4 km
Ma On Shan to Tai Wai
9 stations & 1 depot 2000 to 2004 HK$ 13.6 Bn
Link
Conceptualization
Sheung Shui- Feasibility Studies
Proposal & Detailed Design
Lok Ma Chau Authorization
1.5 km
Spur Line
Construction
East Rail Extension to
1 station 1998 to 2002 HK$ 5.1 Bn
Conceptualization & Feasibility Studies Tsim Sha Tsui
Proposal & Detailed Design
Penny's Bay
Rail Link
Authorization 7.8 km
Construction
Lok Ma Chau Spur Line 1 station 2002 to 2004 HK$ 14 Bn

RDS 1994 - PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAMME

Study –> Policy & Strategy –> Plans –> Project --> Programme

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Dreams of Iron and Steel

DEBORAH CADBURY
- a highly praised historian
and an Emmy Award-winning
producer for the BBC

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Seven Wonders of the 19th Century Seven Wonders of the 19th

Century
 The Great Eastern
The Transcontinental Railroad
 The Bell Rock Lighthouse
The Transcontinental Railway was built
 The Brooklyn Bridge
with Government help during and after the
 The London Sewers What would youCivil
sayWarareinthe
thewonders
1860s, … of the 20th
and 21st CenturySeven
…. years later, in 1869, the tracks
 Transcontinental Railroad
End of Part 1 joined, shrinking the whole continent, as
the journey from New York to San
 The Panama Canal
Francisco could now be done in a matter
of days.
 The Hoover Dam
- Deborah Cadbury

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