Special traffic and transport arrangements for National Day celebration events on Thursday

     The Transport Department today (September 29) reminded the public that special traffic and transport arrangements will be implemented on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon to facilitate the following National Day Celebration Events to be held on Thursday (October 1).  

Celebration events and road closures
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(1) Flag Raising Ceremony and National Day Reception
Expo Drive, Expo Drive Central and Expo Drive East in Wan Chai North; and Convention Avenue eastbound between Expo Drive and Expo Drive East will be temporarily closed to all vehicular traffic from 6.30am to 11am.  The bus terminus, taxi stand and coach metered parking spaces on Expo Drive East will be suspended. In addition, the taxi stands on Harbour Road and at Wan Chai Ferry Concourse will also be suspended.

(2) National Day Fireworks Display
Road closures and traffic diversions will be implemented in phases from 4pm at Lower Peak Tram Station, Wan Chai North, Wan Chai South, Central and the Peak on Hong Kong Island and from 5pm in Tsim Sha Tsui and Jordan in Kowloon respectively until crowds disperse and road closures are lifted.
 
Public transport services arrangements
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(i) Bus and GMB services
Affected by road closures, 82 bus routes and 25 GMB routes operating in the road closure areas will be diverted.  Subject to demand, the service of 31 bus routes will be enhanced. Bus/GMB stops and termini will be suspended or relocated during the period of road closures.

(ii) MTR services
From 6pm to 10.30pm, Island Line, Tsuen Wan Line and Kwun Tong Line will be strengthened with a three-minute headway; Tung Chung Line between Hong Kong and Tsing Yi Station will be strengthened with a five-minute headway; and Tseung Kwan O Line will be strengthened with headway of four minutes between North Point and Po Lam and 12 minutes between Tiu Keng Leng and Lohas Park respectively. In addition, West Rail Line will be strengthened with headway of six minutes from 6pm to 8.30pm and four minutes from 8.30pm to 10.30pm respectively.

(iii) Tramways
Normal holiday service will be operated and frequency of the tram services will be strengthened to meet passenger demand if necessary.

(iv) Peak Tram service
The service from 7pm to 9.30pm will be strengthened from 15 minutes to eight minutes to meet passenger demand if necessary.

(v) Central-Mid-Levels Escalator
The service of Central to Mid-levels Escalator and Walkway System on October 1 will be extended to 2am on October 2.

(vi) Cross Boundary Coach Service
The terminus of the Cross Boundary Coach Service between Wan Chai and Huanggang at the Wan Chai Ferry Bus Terminus will be suspended from 6.30pm to 10.30pm. The terminating point of the service will be relocated to Hennessy Road eastbound under O’Brien Road footbridge.

(vii) Ferry services
Owing to closure of Victoria Harbour, from 2pm onward, some sailings of the inner harbour and outlying islands ferry services will be reduced, suspended, cancelled and curtailed in phases.  After the fireworks display, some ferry services will be enhanced.
    
     In addition, all on-street parking spaces affected by the road closure will be temporarily suspended.  All vehicles will be prohibited from entering the carparks and hotels within the closed roads; and vehicles parked in these carparks and hotels will not be permitted to leave until the closed roads are re-opened.

     The Transport Department anticipates that the traffic in the vicinity of the affected areas, such as Tsim Sha Tsui, Wan Chai North and Causeway Bay, will be significantly congested. Motorists are advised to avoid driving to the affected areas.  In cases of traffic congestion, motorists should exercise tolerance and patience, and follow the instructions of the police. People planning to go to the affected area are advised to make use of public transport.

     The Transport Department and the police will closely monitor the traffic situation and will implement appropriate measures whenever necessary.  Motorists and the public are advised to be alert to the latest traffic news on radio and television.

     Details of the special traffic and transport arrangements are now available on the department's website (www.td.gov.hk).

Ends/Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Issued at HKT 18:50

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