HKeToll off to a smooth start at Tate's Cairn Tunnel

The HKeToll system was installed at the Tate's Cairn Tunnel yesterday so that drivers no longer have to stop and pay.

The tunnel, which links Diamond Hill with Sha Tin, was temporarily closed at 4am to install the system and reopened at around 5.10am - slightly later than the scheduled launch at 5am.

With an attached HKeToll vehicle tag, the vehicle will be identified and billed when passing the scanners installed at portal frames on the Tate's Cairn Highway on the Sha Tin side, as well as at the tunnel's Kowloon side exit.

Commissioner for Transport Angela Lee Chung-yan inspected the tunnel at around 4am.

As all manual toll booths will be eliminated after the implementation of HKeToll, workers were busy painting the booths at the toll plaza in black. A signboard was also put up indicating "no stopping".

Traffic was smooth after the reopening. Lanes on both ways of the tunnel were reduced to four from seven, and the speed limit remained at 50 kilometers per hour.

Only a few drivers were seen hesitating at the toll plaza yesterday morning, and some said the electronic toll system had helped them to save commute time.

A driver surnamed Hui said: "I pass the tunnel twice a day. I tried to pass the tunnel just now and I felt it became more convenient, as we no longer need to stop and pay the toll."

His view was echoed by another driver Suen, who said the new toll system helped him save more than 10 minutes.

The Transport Department's Emergency Transport Coordination Centre also activated its joint steering mode, in cooperation with the public transport operators and other relevant departments to closely monitor the traffic as HKeToll launched in Tate's Cairn Tunnel.

However, a works vehicle preparing for the road closure of the tunnel was rammed by a taxi in Sha Tin at 2.30am yesterday.

The taxi slammed into the back of the vehicle when the works vehicle was driving along the Sha Lek Highway towards Kowloon, preparing for the road closure.

The front of the taxi was dented. The taxi did not carry passengers at the time of the incident.

Both drivers, 43-year-old taxi driver Cheung and works vehicle driver Ng, 42, suffered minor injuries and were sent to the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin.

Tate's Cairn Tunnel was the seventh government tunnel to have HKeToll launched since May this year.

The government also said earlier that it planned to implement the HKeToll at the Aberdeen Tunnel, which links up with Wan Chai, next month.

Tai Lam Tunnel, which connects Tsuen Wan and Yuen Long, will join the system once the government assumes control of it in May 2025.