HK Public Transportation: AKA Futuristic Land Travel

Wow,
the MTR is looking to expand...almost twice as much on the Hong Kong Island...I just cannot get enough about the MTR.http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/extensions/sil-introduction.htm

Here's a video that will make you feel like part of the action.
http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/extensions/images/wilsil_movie_e.wmv

It seems like HK is the world's testing ground for public transportation. With a 99% on-time rate*, at any time moving a population of the scale of an invading force (2.4 million per weekday) that can take over a small continent or fully populate a carribean island, the MTR is a public transportation phenomenon and success.

*99.7% according to page 5 of Lloyd's Register Rail Independent Audit, Feb 4 2005. Get your copy today!
http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/corporate/file_rep/PR-05-011-E.pdf

Cable - what?
Check this out, they're planning an extension to the Public Transportation system with...get this...cable cars. You can get an aerial view of Big Buddy.
http://www.tungchungcablecar.com.hk/html/eng/cablecar.html



heh, I wonder if there will be the usual MTR announcement before the doors to your cable car close. haha. Unfortunately for those unaware with the annoucement, I do not have a link to it.

What I couldn't figure out;
What do they do with all the dirt/rock from the tunneling of the MTR? I mean Montreal built an Island with its dirt, and although they are shrinking the harbour, they are still carving mountains for that. There must be massive rock going somewhere, the harbour could not have needed it all.

Found out
So I checked with a consultant who hired three John Molson School of Business undergrads from my former University, who in turn, hired 6 lemmings to find out. They researched the topic for a week until I asked my Uncle-friend Lawrence.

My Uncle-friend Lawrence had some insight. After firing the consultant, JMSB undergrads and lemmings, I found out.
He wrote me:

[The digged up rock is used for] Reclamation around the harbour, especially harbour front at Western District of HK Is, West Kowloon west of Reclamation Street and Tong Shui Road, container ports in Kwai Chung, the industrial and residential areas around Tsing Yi Island, Chek Lap Kok Airport, Tseung Kwan O new town, Disney Land.
Go to sleep now.

Reclama-who?
Wow, that's a lot of reclamation. BTW: "Reclamation" is the technical word for expanding the land into the water, or "reclaiming" land, a long time ago when the Earth was one molten piece of land was flooded with water. I suppose this was some time before Pangaea but afer Noah.

Here are some pictures of the moutain-carving they're doing here:






So...Hong Kong is expanding.
Now the shrinking of the harbour, the elimination of Hong Kong's greatest landmark is a shame.

Oh there is sooo much I can write about HK's Public Transportation system here...it's great!


it's huge! It's like Dali artwork! it goes on forever! I tell you, it's like a kilometer long.