The government is being urged to ensure that a proposed green transit system in Kai Tak will be able to cope with large crowds of people heading to and from the area's sports park when it holds major events. A plan to build an elevated transit system in Kai Tak was revived after officials went to the mainland to study similar systems. At a railways subcommittee meeting in the legislature on Friday, Roundtable lawmaker Michael Tien said the transit system would have to help people using the park's 50,000-seat stadium get to and from Kai Tak MTR Station. For this to happen, trains would need to be able to make a u-turn somewhere near the park, he said. "At the Kai Tak Sports Park Station, when you have one train per minute, it can take 500 passengers. So in half an hour, the trains can handle 15,000 people," Tien said. "I hope you will consider that when special events like concerts take place, for every four green system trains, three of them would just shuttle between the park and the station near the Kai Tak MTR." Deputy transport secretary Amy Wong said in response that officials would study in detail whether the proposal is feasible. The DAB's Ben Chan and Chan Siu-hung of the Election Committee, for their part, were concerned whether the green transit project, and two others planned for Hung Shui Kiu and Kowloon East, will be awarded to different companies. They said giving all three projects to one company would allow for greater synergy, adding that the plans might not be financially sustainable if multiple firms are involved. Wong replied that there are pros and cons either way. "If one operator is responsible for all three projects, when there's any difficulty with the operator, then all three systems will also be affected," she said. Officials plan to seek bids for the Kai Tak transit project next year, and approve the contract in 2026. They have not yet given an estimated completion date.
