MTR Gets Familiar Sinking Feeling With Fresh Scare

The MTR Corporation confirmed on Friday that two pillars supporting a viaduct near Yuen Long Station have sunk by at least two centimetres, prompting reinforcement works and forcing a halt to a nearby construction project.

The subsidence, which was first detected in 2012, is the latest scare affecting the rail operator to be made public, following a series of construction flaws on the Shatin-Central Link.

A spokesman for the MTR Corporation told RTHK that the sinking pillars have not compromised the safety of the viaduct and have not affected the operation of West Rail Line trains that travel over it.

The spokesman said the corporation was notified by the Buildings Department in 2010 that construction would began near the viaduct for a major residential project.

Engineers detected signs of subsidence at the viaduct in 2012, and by late 2013 it was by as much as two centimetres. At that stage, Sun Hung Kai Properties suspended construction of the third phase of its nearby residential project, Grand Yoho, and this has still not resumed.

The MTR Corporation said it went on to hold discussions with the developer on how to ensure that future construction at the site would not compromise the viaduct, and it was agreed last year that reinforcement works would be carried out on the structure.

These works, which started in late 2017, are expected to be completed by the end of this year. Sun Hung Kai Properties said it is paying for the reinforcements, because it wants to resume work on Grand Yoho as soon as possible.

The MTR spokesman said the relevant government departments have been monitoring the condition of the viaduct, along with the corporation.