Several major concerns have recently been expressed by readers in connection with the proposed monorail at Kai Tak.
However, none of these were raised in the letter by Norman Y. S. Heung, project manager, Kowloon Development Office of the Civil Engineering and Development Office ("Practically impossible to accommodate tram system at Kai Tak", May 7).
By far the most important is the safety of the system. In the case of fire or a breakdown of a monorail vehicle there is no ready means of escape unless it is located close to a station. Access to a train stuck over the nullah would be virtually impossible. For this reason it is unlikely that a monorail would be given an operating licence by the Hong Kong railway inspectorate (or its equivalent).
As many of the passengers from cruise liners will be elderly, it is not acceptable for them to queue for lifts to gain access to the monorail.
Those in wheelchairs or children in pushchairs would be virtually barred from using the service.
At the terminal stations, transferring passengers to the MTR above-ground stations would first be required to descend to street level from the monorail.
