Officials are considering adding a ninth station to a planned elevated mass transit system in East Kowloon, to serve people living in the northern part of Lam Tin. The system, which is expected to be completed in 2033, will run from Choi Hung East to Yau Tong East. Transport Secretary Mable Chan told the Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po newspapers in an interview published on Friday that the route could be changed to enable the creation of a "Lam Tin North Station". "The Lam Tin to Yau Tong route would require extensive excavation through mountains and rocks to build a very long tunnel, which would be both complex and costly. Many Lam Tin residents would be unable to benefit from the system," she said. "However, we found that shifting the route slightly leftward would bring it closer to the Lam Tin North area, where three housing estates with over 30,000 residents are located. We have identified potential locations in this area to build a station." Meanwhile, Chan said the first of the city's new taxi fleets could start running from March. Five fleet licences have been granted as part of efforts to improve the sector's service quality.
