As an engineer in the railway industry, I am gratified to see the Highways Department spending efforts to create a Hong Kong Railway Standard.
This document outlines the technical standards and guidelines for the design, construction, and operation of railways in Hong Kong. It aims to unify and guide these aspects to ensure safety, reliability, and sustainability, incorporating local and international standards.
By providing technical references to enhance railway safety, quality, and efficiency, it aims to establish Hong Kong as a regional and international benchmark for railway systems.
This comprehensive standard provides technical guidance on a whole spectrum of technical areas – spanning civil, geotechnical, electrical, mechanical, and information technology disciplines – and adopts the best practices globally, incorporating established international standards and, for the first time, the mainland Chinese Standard, or GB.
Traditionally, Hong Kong engineering followed the British Standard. After all, no one could dispute that Britain was the leader in railway engineering, as the standard was developed by George Stephenson – dubbed the “father of railways” – for commercial use over two hundred years ago.
Gradually, as we started to use European products, we began adopting the European Standard as to not be limited to those made by British manufacturers. This ensured that we only use quality products proven in the international market, adopting the best practices.
I still remember my early days of work in planning and designing railways systems. My team and I introduced the BS and EU standards for designing metros in Guangzhou and Shanghai, and helped them to build urban underground railways that meet international standards. They have served reliably for many decades.
Today, many of us have witnessed the phenomenal growth and development of the mainland’s railway systems over the last three decades, catapulting the country from a follower in such technologies to a leading role, especially in high-speed rail systems. China is now the undisputed leader of railway systems in the world – in design, construction, and operation aspects – and has developed its own railway standard.
By adopting the Chinese standard in addition to our traditional adherence to Western ones, we can utilize the best equipment and systems for our applications. The obvious advantage for us is that our designers and contractors need no longer be concerned about proposal constraints, just because something does not meet our established rule of sole compliance to Western standards.
With the largest growth in railway networks – encompassing high-speed rail, suburban railway, and metro systems – China now owns the most modern technology in design, manufacture, construction, and operation aspects. Its equipment and systems have become the most efficient and reliable, and with high safety records proven by decades of operation.
By adopting the Chinese Standard in addition to our established standard, future railway projects in Hong Kong can be built at a far lower cost and within shorter construction periods.
After all, we simply cannot afford not to follow the world’s best practices, especially as they are available at our doorstep. People who still have doubts only need to try railway trips in the mainland; I am sure their jaws will drop when they compare that experience with those in the UK or Europe.
We can look forward to the day when we get to ride in the most modern railways in the world and showcase our railway network to the rest of the globe. We have been a leader in these systems for the last few decades, and should be confident that we will remain in the forefront for the foreseeable future.
Veteran engineer Edmund Leung Kwong-ho casts an expert eye over features of modern life
