Mass Transit Railway and Miami Metrorail - Essay Example

MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY (HONG KONG) AND MIAMI METRORAIL (USA) Introduction Mass Transit Railway (HK) The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is located in Hong Kong and ranked among the top rapid transit systems because of its profits, that go up to over 150%. This system started in the late 1970s, goes for up to 136 miles (rail) with over 150 stations inclusive of 85 railway stations and 70 stops. MTR Corporation limited oversees every of its activities being in charge of the project but still gets authorization from the government when they want to make any developments. Naturally, Mass Transit Railway operates under the set transport policies of rail-led and most Hong Kong citizens use this as their main mode of transport, with the trains making over 5 million rounds every working day (Mass Transit Railways 2014). The trains have specific times for each destination, which they keep no matter what because it is a part of MTR’s objectives and initiatives too. As of last year, Mass Transit Railway owned half of the public transport market share, ranking it as the top means of transport preference in Hong Kong. Unlike most of the train systems in other countries, MTR integrates the Octopus technology enabling people to pay their fares using the master cards; significantly, this has been in place since 1997 and it is one of the facilitators of the system’s success because travelling is easier with it. Essentially, a research by the Hong Kong government prompted the production of the Mass Transit Railway; typically, the research basis was the increasing problems caused by road jams because of the countries rapidly growing economy. The first construction began immediately after the government released the study and around ten years later, there was the launching of the first track (MTR Corporation 2004). Due to the multiple cases of road congestions, most of the citizens immediately switched to the trains as modes of transport. Appreciably, since then, there have been more consequent lines built, aiming to cover more land and areas with the highest populations. Through the journey, the government has faced challenges based on areas to expand the network and what strategies to apply; however, it is among the most successful railway projects in the world today, especially because it covers a very wide area moving even into China’s main land. Miami Metrorail (USA) The Miami Metrorail, also referred to as The Metro, is also a large railway transport system that covers parts of Florida, the United States and a bigger part of Miami. Miami Dade Transit governs and oversees every operation of The Metro; moreover, it is one of the core agencies of the county. Miami Metrorail opening was in the early 1980s being the only express transportation metro project in Florida. Today, The Metro has double tracks with over twenty stations and covers a distance of 25 miles of an average rail track. The Metro serves the greater urban part of Miami, a little part of its rural side and the neighboring cities, especially those that are developed. Generally, Metrorail does not cover a very wide area but it is effectual in areas such as Kendall, Hialeah and Medley, where a significant number of residents use the system daily. The Metro connects with the Metro Mover on the south side of Miami providing railway services to the whole of that area; after which, it links with the Tri Rail Station (South Florida’s commuter rail system) (Garcia 2011). In combination with the Metro Mover, Metrorail had a good last year with a great increase on the number of riders; however, the average number of people boarding the trains was below 110, 000 daily. The latest station opened two years ago at Miami International Airport, one of the developments that Miami Dade Transit struggled to achieve. All the same, the Miami Central Station entails an Orange Line between the airport and the urban part of Miami, having sixteen stations. Unfortunately, up to this far, the Orange Line has not made any significant progress but MDT believes that things will change soon increasing the number of people riding the trains annually. Moreover, it will offer citizens and tourists the privilege of connecting from the airport to the south of Miami and finally to the Urban part of it, especially with the variety of modes of transportation. Currently, the Miami Central Station gives access to other rail stations such as Amtrak inter-city, Tri Rail and the cities Rental Car Centre; this gives MDT expectations that by the end of the year, it will lure over a hundred thousand riders (Stanwood 2014). 2. Comparison Strategy and Expected Benefits Mass Transit Railway Evidently, the government had a rational strategy to build the Mass Transit Railway; moreover, it was an urge and core requirement for the country’s future. The idea of accommodating the cumulative traffic on the roads facilitated MTR’s quick development; moreover, the government liaised with the citizens during the research, which acted as a motivator for the comprehensive construction. Most people are not aware that MTR Corporation Limited took time to consult British Transportation Agencies such as Wilbur and Smith Associates for safety and analysis purposes (Mass Transit Railways 2014). This boosted the construction, especially after the consultants evaluated the transportation system that was there and compared it with the projected growth of the economy. The consultants gave a final report to the government of Hong Kong recommending that the first part of transit railway be 64km long; moreover, they also included the construction timeframe. China is popular for its expertise in engineering so one would not expect the government of Hong Kong to approach British Consultants prior to the consultation. Clearly, the government of Hong Kong was pervasive on its aims and wanted the best for the residents, which has been fruitful over the years. For instance, over a decade after the launching of the Mass Transit Railway, the project made developments such as The Airport and other Lines such as Tung Chung. Moreover, the advancement proceeded with a new international airport where residents would travel to using MTR and reduce overcrowding in the other airports (MTR Corporation 2004). Generally, everything went as planned because MTR Corporation Limited liaised with the government of Hong Kong while setting goals and implementing different modules of the airport. Miami Metrorail The Miami Urban Transportation conducted a study in the early 1970’s and the results suggested for the creation of a new transportation system for Miami; positively, this conclusion was from the fact that the population was rapidly increasing, resulting from the Second World War. Rationally, this was a good proposal because Miami recorded the firmest population increment rates in the United States in 1971. The construction did not take much planning in the sense of strategic approaches and/or consulting any specialists but MDT took a lot of time before launching the project (Chard 2014). Nonetheless, the Metrorail design based on a park and ride system because of the geographical setting of Miami hence prompting the construction of the stations at remote areas where the residents would drive to and then ride on the trains into the city. However, some of the stations lack parking facilities such as Tri Rail Station; but appreciably, there are large parking spaces in most of them (Garcia 2011). Unfortunately, there is a large garage in the Airport Express Way made initially for the riders, but due to the scarcity of people using this route; the county uses it for other purposes. This creates a negative picture for the construction’s strategy, the study and the information used in setting goals. Evidently, MDT put a little effort in finding out the number of people to ride the train in this area and miscalculated for those that lack the parking garages. Moreover, today, the Metrorail has very little to show for achievements especially with the low ridership and over capacity in some stations. This has attracted a lot of attention forcing other parties such as South Link to join the project, helping MDT with some of the challenges. Critics and reviews state MDT did not consider the rates at which people would increase after five years hence constructing smaller stations such as North Corridor (Bacon’s Rebellion 2014). Project Sponsorship, Funding and Governance Mass Transit Railway The Hong Kong government was behind the idea of MTR’s construction and the comprehensive project but they also had authority over all the operations. There were also negotiations with major associations and the British consultants produced the design. The tendering was also by the government who were to pay a fixed price to a Japanese company that pulled out eventually over fears of an oil calamity. Other companies proposed to take on the project solely but different requisitions saw them out of the race and Mass Transit Railway Corporation got the contract (MTR Corporation 2004). The government of Hong Kong paid MTR and selected Roland Palette, the main architect to supervise the design. Due to the good work, MTRC built most parts of the developments made to the Mass Transit Railway. MTRC collaborated with the government during the planning of the Hong Kong International Airport where they agreed to share the costs. Fortunately, this created more opportunities for MTRC who acquired almost every contract concerning construction developments. Miami Metrorail Initially, the dwellers of Miami agreed that over 130 million dollars fund the construction of Metrorail but this would not sustain the whole project so the county government got assistance from Florida legislature (Bacon’s Rebellion 2014). There were issues in finances still prompting the Federal Transit Administration to join Miami County Government and Florida taking care of the greater percentage of the costs. At some points, the MDT had to halt the construction and proceeding guaranteed more costs; resultantly, this caused additional expenses and by the time the first part of the project was through, the costs had gone up to over a billion dollars. Evidently, the project sponsorship and funding arrangements lacked clarity leading to failure and delay of critical parts of the project. Identifying and Engaging with Stakeholders Mass Transit Railway During the construction of the Mass Transit Railway, MTRC negotiated and collaborated with a number of other transit associations in Hong Kong. Obviously, MTRC were core investors in the project with their first collaboration with the government of Hong Kong; however, this opened up multiple opportunities with other consortia such as the Lantau Airport. The Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung, made an agreement with the necessary parties leading to the opening of the Tung Chung Line and Airport Express. This were some of the major investments and opportunities under the project; today, they offer multiple services and trains dominate as main means of transport in the airport (MTR Corporation 2004). Miami Metrorail Assertively, the Metrorail project’s latest development entailed a new station at the county’s international airport. The Miami International Airport’s partnership with MDT saw the creation of the Orange Line that links with multiple stations in the urban parts of the county (Azena 2013). Significantly, this is a great achievement but Metrorail requires more initiatives unlike the past where there have been multiple delays leading to wastage of time and additional costs. Nonetheless, the Orange Line can act as a foundation for the project to get back on track; additionally, MDT can also put more effort in the completion of the mutual development inexpensive housing projects (Garcia 2011). Collaborating with Brownsville and Santa Clara county legislatures was a good move but the results are vague leading to multiple questions about the project as a whole. Planning Mass Transit Railway Planning of the Mass Transit Railway project was remarkable as expressed by the vast developments over a short period; extensively, the construction of the first phase of the project was a success, influencing the economy and lives of people in Hong Kong. Generally, MTRC’s assertiveness on meeting the set deadlines depicts a good picture on the comprehensive preparation on top of the multiple stations and railways linking many cities. A good example is Eastern Harbor Tunnel followed by the Airport Railways Phase 2 that acts as its extension; naturally, after finishing the harbor, MTRC did not hesitate on working on the Phase 2 railway station that was a major breakthrough. Generally, MTR has grown from being a local project to a national revolution with minor projects such as the interchange stations, Ma On Shan Line, Disneyland extension, Lok Ma Chau among others. Miami Metrorail Initially, Metrorail planned to build a track that led to the airport but due to disagreements and politics from the leaders in the government, the whole idea changed to building around the airport. This is one example showing that planning of the Metrorail was poor and the analysis done before implementation was not effectual (Chard 2014). This problem is still there today and most of the proposed developments are yet to be accomplished i.e. the South Link expansion planned in 1997. Understanding and Handling Challenges Mass Transit Railway The major challenges that the Mass Transit Railway project faced included the requirement to proceed with discussions between organizations based on the institution’s incentives on creating railways that extended to important cities and sides of the country. However, MRTC and the government set the appropriate speed to achieve sustainability and after sometime the development based on practical decision-making. Miami Metrorail The Miami Metrorail project has been a subject of multiple challenges such as the disagreement with the government; however, the most recent problem is the questioning on whether they qualify for funding by the FTA. As a result, Metrorail faces multiple investigations with the agency threatening to stop the funding hence affecting service provision. Unfortunately, the MDT and Miami county legislation are yet to react to the situation yet Metrorail is in a critical condition. Culture, Risk and Unexpected Problems Mass Transit Railway The Mass Transit Railway project was extensively under the supervision of the government and most people questioned its final fate because initiatives by the government have complications. Essentially, MTRC ensured that the project succeeded in every facet of the general processes eliminating all barriers. Miami Metrorail The biggest risk in the Miami Metrorail projected was when the county launched the project without an assurance of a reliable source of funds and after sometime, this came back to haunt everyone. The Metro currently experience problems especially on financial struggle as the Federal Transit Agency prepares to take off (Bacon’s Rebellion 2014). BIBLIOGRAPHY Azena, F. 2013, ‘Metrorail to FIU, Transit in the Start Up City’: Transit Miami. Viewed 2 December 2014, Bacons Rebellion, 2011, ‘How to Run a Profitable Metro System- Build it in Hong Kong: Reinventing Virginia for the 21st Century, viewed 2 December 2014, Chard, A. 2014, ‘Miami’s Metrorail at 30- Promises Kept and Promises Broken’: Miami Dade County, viewed 2 December 2014, Garcia, T. 2011, ‘The Metro-Rail Orange Line’: Transit Miami. Viewed 2 December 2014, Garcia, T. 2011, ‘MDT Transport Development Plan Update Promises Improved Passenger Amenities’: Transit Miami. Viewed 2 December 2014, Mass Transit Railways, 2014, ‘Corporate Profile’, viewed 2 December 2014, Mass Transit Railway, 2014, ‘Sustainability’, viewed 2 December 2014, MTR Corporation, 2004, ‘Laying Tracks’: MTR Corporation Sustainability Report, viewed 2 December 2014, http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/sustainability/sustainrpt/2004rpt_new/pdf/mtrcsr2004-e.pdf Stanwood, J. 2014, ‘Miami’s Metrorail Continues Growing’: Local 10, viewed 2 December, 2014, http://www.local10.com/news/miamis-metrorail-continues-growing/26036056 Read More