5. airborne noise impact

Introduction

5.1 Potential airborne noise impacts likely arising during the construction and operation phases of the Project have been evaluated and mitigation measures have been recommended appropriately in this section.

Environmental Legislation, Standards and Guidelines

5.2 The Noise Control Ordinance, Cap. 400 (NCO) and Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance, Cap. 499 (EIAO) provide the statutory framework for noise control. Assessment procedures and standards are set out in the following Technical Memoranda (TMs):

§ Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process (EIAO-TM)

§ Technical Memorandum on Noise from Construction Work other than Percussive Piling (GW-TM)

§ Technical Memorandum on Noise from Percussive Piling (PP-TM)

§ Technical Memorandum on Noise form Construction Work in Designated Areas (DA-TM)

§ Technical Memorandum on Noise from Places other than Domestic Premises, Public Places or Construction Sites (IND-TM)

5.3 Percussive piling is governed under the PP-TM and a construction noise permit (CNP) is required in order to carry out such work. As the issuance of a CNP by the Noise Control Authority would depend on the compliance of percussive piling noise impact with the limits set out within the PP-TM, the assessment of this type of noise would not be covered in the EIA report.

5.4 There are no noise level standards stipulated for the noise from the operation of public transport interchange (PTI). Chapter 9 of Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (HKPSG) provides considerations for the developer to determine of location and layout of a PTI during planning stage.

Construction Noise during Non-restricted Hours

EIAO-TM

5.5 Daytime general construction works (excluding percussive piling) between the hours 0700 – 1900 on weekdays, i.e. non-restricted hours, is controlled under the EIAO. Annex 5 of the EIAO-TM sets out the construction noise assessment limits, which are L_{eq(30 min)} 75dB(A) for domestic premises, hotels ad hostels; and L_{eq(30 min)} 70dB(A) for schools during normal hours (65dB(A) during examination periods) and all other places where unaided voice communication is required.

Construction Noise during Restricted Hours

5.6 Between 1900 and 0700 hours and all day on Sundays and public holidays, activities involving the use of powered mechanical equipment (PME) for the purpose of carrying out construction work is prohibited unless a Construction Noise Permit (CNP) has been obtained. A CNP may be granted in cases where the noise can be contained within the Acceptable Noise Level (ANL) at the NSRs. ANLs are assigned depending upon the Area Sensitivity Ratings (ASRs). The corresponding basic noise levels (BNLs) for evening and night-time periods are given in Table 5.1.

Table 5.1 Construction Noise Criteria for Activity other than Percussive Piling

Time Period	Basic Noise Level (BNLs)
	ASR ‘A’	ASR ‘B’	ASR ‘C’
Evening (1900 to 2300 hours) ^(1)	60	65	70
Night (2300 to 0700 hours)	45	50	55

Note: (1) Includes Sundays and Public Holidays during daytime and evening

5.7 Despite any description or assessment made in this EIA Report on construction noise aspects, there is no guarantee that a Construction Noise Permit (CNP) will be issued for the project construction. The Noise Control Authority will consider a well-justified CNP application, once filed, for construction works within restricted hours as guided by the relevant Technical Memoranda issued under the Noise Control Ordinance. The Noise Control Authority will take into account contemporary conditions/ situations of adjoining land uses and any previous complaints against construction activities at the site before deciding whether to grant a CNP. Nothing in the EIA Report should bind the Noise Control Authority in making its decision. If a CNP is to be issued, the Noise Control Authority would include in the permit any condition it thinks fit. Failure to comply with any such conditions will lead to cancellation of the CNP and prosecution under the NCO.

5.8 Under the DA-TM, the use of five types of Specified Powered Mechanical Equipment (SPME) and three types of Prescribed Construction Work (PCW) within a designated area during restricted hours would require a valid CNP. The SPME includes hand-held breaker, bulldozer, concrete lorry mixer, dump truck and hand-held vibratory poker. The PCW are:

· Erecting or dismantling of formwork or scaffolding;

· Loading, unloading or handling of rubble, wooden boards, steel bars, wood or scaffolding material; and

· Hammering.

5.9 In general, it should not be presumed that a CNP would be granted for carrying out PCW within a designated area during restricted hours. The CNP may be granted for the execution of construction works during restricted hours involving the use of PME and/ or SPME if the relevant Acceptable Noise Levels and criteria stipulated in the GW-TM and DA-TM can be met. The construction noise criteria are presented in Table 5.2.

Table 5.2 Construction Noise Criteria for SPME

Time Period	Basic Noise Level (BNLs)
	ASR ‘A’	ASR ‘B’	ASR ‘C’
Evening (1900 to 2300 hours) ^(1)	45	50	55
Night (2300 to 0700 hours)	30	35	40

Note: (1) Includes Sundays and Public Holidays during daytime and evening

Airborne Railway Noise

5.10 The EIAO-TM and IND-TM stipulate the appropriate acceptable noise levels (ANL) for airborne railway noise. The ANLs are dependent on area sensitivity rating (ASR) of the noise sensitive receivers and are shown in Table 5.3.

Table 5.3 Acceptable Noise Level for Airborne Railway Noise

Time Period	Noise Criteria (Leq, 30min, dB(A))
	ASR ‘A’	ASR ‘B’	ASR ‘C’
Daytime and Evening (0700-2300 hours)	60	65	70
Night-time (2300-0700 hours)	50	55	60

5.11 EIAO-TM also stipulates a maximum railway noise level of 85 dB(A) applying to the period 2300 to 0700 hours.

Fixed Plant Noise

5.12 Fixed plant noise sources are controlled by Section 13 of the NCO. For the assessment of impacts from fixed noise sources, the area sensitivity rating (ASR) of the noise sensitive receivers will be determined in accordance with the IND-TM, and based on the ASR, the appropriate acceptable noise levels (ANL) can be determined. ANL is shown in Table 5.3 above.

5.13 More stringent criteria for fixed plant noise impact recommended in the EIAO-TM for planning purposes are as follows:

· 5dB(A) below the appropriate Acceptable Noise Levels (ANL) set out in the IND-TM (the ANL-5dB(A) criterion); or

· The prevailing background noise level where the prevailing background noise level is 5dB(A) below the appropriate ANL (i.e. ANL - 5dB(A)), though during operations the NCO will be the controlling legislation.

5.14 The above-mentioned second criterion would generally apply to areas with low ambient noise levels such as rural and suburban areas. The ventilation buildings in Mai Po, Ngau Tam Mei and Pat Heung, as well as the stabling sidings in Shek Kong will be constructed in the rural areas in Yuen Long. In view of no major nearby noise sources such as road and rail traffic, noise sensitive receivers adjacent to these future operation facilities would be subject to low ambient noise levels which could be lower than the ANL-5dB(A) criterion. In order to determine the appropriate criteria for noise assessment, background noise measurements at representative sensitive receivers in the rural areas as mentioned above were conducted. For those sensitive receivers which were found to experience to prevailing noise levels lower than the ANL-5dB(A) criterion, fixed plant noise impact were assessed against the prevailing background noise levels.

5.15 The other five ventilation buildings will be located in well developed areas, including Shing Mun, Kwai Chung, Nam Cheong, Mong Kok West and West Kowloon, as well as the ventilation shafts in West Kowloon. According to the site observations, the noise sensitive receivers located in these areas were mainly affected by traffic noise from the roads located in the vicinity. The prevailing background noise levels in these areas would unlikely be lower than the ANL-5dB(A) criterion. Thus, fixed plant noise impact at sensitive receivers in these areas were assessed against the ANL-5dB(A) criterion.

5.16 In any event, the Area Sensitivity Rating assumed in the EIA Report is for indicative assessment only. Therefore, the Noise Control Authority shall determine noise impact from concerned fixed noise sources on the basis of prevailing legislation and practices being in force, and taking account of contemporary conditions/situations of adjoining land uses. Nothing in the EIA study shall bind the Noise Control Authority in the context of law enforcement against any of the fixed noise sources being assessed.

Consideration for Planning a PTI

5.17 With reference to Chapter 9 of HKPSG, the following general considerations should be taken during the planning stage of a PTI for minimisation of potential operational noise impact:

· locate the facilities so that there is no line-of-sight of the noise sources at the noise sensitive uses; provide screening to the noise sources as far as possible by making use of natural landscape, embankment or noise tolerant buildings;

· avoid locating open-form major public transport termini in proximity to noise sensitive uses; and

· consider adopting a complete podium decking over noisy facilities.

5.18 Chapter 9 of HKPSG requires that the siting of facilities (e.g. bus depots, lorry park, etc) should take into account the potential locations of ingress/egress and the consequent noise disturbances due to traffic routings, where opportunity arises and having due regard to the operational requirements. Consideration should also be given to adopting administrative controls so that the degree of noise disturbances can be further reduced.

Description of the Environment

5.19 The XRL alignment runs from Mainland beneath Mai Po, Ngau Tam Mei, Kam Tin, Tai Mo Shan and Kwai Chung, Lai Chi Kok, Nam Cheong and Tai Kok Tsui to the West Kowloon Terminus (WKT).

5.20 A total of five ventilation buildings will be located in New Territories (i.e. Mai Po, Ngau Tam Mei, Pat Heung, Shing Mun, Kwai Chung) and three in western side of Kowloon (i.e. Nam Cheong, Mong Kok West and West Kowloon). Emergency access points (EAPs) will be integrated at these ventilation buildings and provided in Tai Kong Po for emergency services. Ventilation shafts will also be provided to serve for West Kowloon Terminus (WKT).

5.21 Stabling sidings and maintenance facility will be located at Shek Kong to provide stabling and maintenance and cleaning activities. An emergency rescue station (ERS) will be located next to Shek Kong Stabling Sidings (SSS) for evacuation of passengers and access by emergency personnel to deal with incidents.

5.22 Site visits were conducted from August to September 2008, and in March 2009 to investigate the baseline environment in the vicinity of the ventilation buildings and SSS. A summary of description of baseline environment together with the identified dominant noise sources at the surveyed areas during the site inspection are presented in Table 5.4.

Table 5.4 Baseline Environmental Condition

Area	Baseline Environment and Dominant Noise Sources
Mai Po (Wo Shang Wai)	Low density residential area and the surrounding land uses mainly comprise a mixture of open storage, temporary carpark and residential uses. Dominant noise sources were identified as the traffic noise from San Tin Highway and the operational noise from open storage and carpark.
Ngau Tam Mei	Village area with scattered 1- to 2-storey houses. Road traffic noise from the adjoining access road towards to was the dominant noise source affecting the site.
Tai Kong Po	Village area and the surrounding land uses mainly comprise a mixture of poultry and residential uses. Traffic noise from local road was the major noise source affecting the site.
Shek Kong	Shek Kong Barrack is located next to the SSS and a scattering of residential houses are located in the vicinity. Dominant noise source are identified as the noise from helicopters take off and landing at Shek Kong Barrack.
Pat Heung	Low density residential area. The surrounding land uses mainly comprise a mixture of residential and agricultural uses. No dominant noise sources were noted.
Shing Mun	Well developed urban area. The surrounding land uses are residential use. Dominant noise source was the traffic noise from Cheung Pei Shan Road and Shing Mun Road.
Kwai Chung	Well developed urban area. The surrounding land uses are industrial use. Dominant noise source was the traffic noise from Castle Peak Road – Kwai Chung.
Nam Cheong	Well developed urban area. The surrounding land uses mainly comprise a mixture of schools and residential uses. Dominant noise sources were identified as the traffic noise from West Kowloon Highway and Sham Mong Road.
Mong Kok West	Well developed urban area. The surrounding land uses mainly comprise a mixture of commercial, GIC and residential uses. Dominant noise sources were identified as the traffic noise from West Kowloon Highway, Lai Cheung Road and Ferry Street.
West Kowloon	Well developed urban area. The surrounding land uses mainly comprise a mixture of commercial, GIC and residential uses. Dominant noise sources were identified as the traffic noise from West Kowloon Highway, Jordan Road and Canton Road.

Noise Sensitive Receivers

5.23 Representative NSRs, both existing and planned NSRs, within 300m of the Project boundary were identified, according to the criteria set out in Annex 13 of EIAO-TM, observations from site visits and review of relevant land use plans including the Outline Zoning Plans (OZP) as presented in Figure Nos. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M54/050 to 069, information available in the Statutory Planning Portal of the Town Planning Board (TPB) and land status plans published by Lands Department.

5.24 Representative NSRs within 300m of the Project boundary and located closest to the subject noise sources, i.e. the first layer of NSR, have been considered as the most critical locations. According to the EIA Report “Upgrading of Remaining Sections of Kam Tin Road and Lam Kam Road” (Application No. EIA-164/2009), the Government Secretariat confirmed there is no development schedule on the change of uses in the Shek Kong Barracks (refer to Appendix C2 of the EIA report). The dormitory within the Shek Kong Barracks were identified in this EIA report and is located outside 300m study area from SSS, and therefore these dormitory has not included in this EIA study. For the interface between WKT and West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD), MTR and WKCD Authority will further liaise with each other for dealing with the details of interfacing issues and mitigation measures. Tables 5.5 - 5.7 present a summary of representative NSRs selected for the noise assessments. Locations of representative NSRs are shown in Figure Nos. NOL/ERL/300C/XRL/ENS/M52/000 to /029. The ASRs of each NSR for operational fixed plant and railway noise assessment are given in Tables 5.6 and 5.7.

Table 5.5 Representative Noise Sensitive Receivers for Airborne Construction Noise Assessment

Works Area	NSR	Description	Land Use	Existing / Planned NSR	No. of storey
Mai Po (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/001)
MPV	MP1	House 5 Phase A Royal Palms	Residential	Existing	3
	MP2	Mai Po San Tsuen Village House	Residential	Existing	2
	MP3	No. 166 Mai Po San Tsuen	Residential	Existing	3
	MP4	Mai Po San Tsuen Village House	Residential	Existing	3
	MP5^1	Proposed Comprehensive Development at Wo Shang Wai (anticipated to be occupied in 2013)	Residential	Planned	3
	MP6	Planned village house at Village Zone	Residential	Planned	3
Ngau Tam Mei (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/002 & 003)
NTV	NT1	Yau Tam Mei Village House	Residential	Existing	2
	NT2	Yau Tam Mei Village House	Residential	Existing	2
	NT3	Yau Tam Mei Village House	Residential	Existing	2
	NT4	Yau Tam Mei Village House	Residential	Existing	2
Tai Kong Po (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M53/004, 005 & 006)
TPV	TP1	Kong Tai Road Village House	Residential	Existing	2
	TP1a	Kong Tai Road Village House	Residential	Existing	2
	TP2	Kong Tai Road Village House	Residential	Existing	1
	TP3	No. 283, Kong Tai Road	Residential	Existing	1
	TP3a	No. 386, Kong Tai Road	Residential	Existing	1
	TP4	No.46 Chi Ho Road	Residential	Existing	2
	TP5	No.17 Kam Hing Wai	Residential	Existing	3
	TP6	House 232, Seasons Monarch	Residential	Existing	3
Shek Kong (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/007 & 008)
SSS	SS1	630 Sheung Tsuen	Residential	Existing	2
	SS1a	Shek Tau Wai Village House	Residential	Existing	3
	SS2	Nam Hing Lei Village House	Residential	Existing	1
	SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	Residential	Existing	2
	SS5	51A Leung Uk Tsuen	Residential	Existing	3
	SS6	No.32 Leung Uk Tsuen Village	Residential	Existing	2
	SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	Residential	Existing	2
	SS8	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	Residential	Existing	2
	SS8a	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	Residential	Existing	1
	SS9	House 93, Seasons Villas	Residential	Existing	2
	SS10	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	Residential	Existing	1
	SS11	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	Residential	Existing	2
	SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	Residential	Existing	2
	SS12	No. 265, Kam Tin Road	Residential	Existing	2
	SS13	Village House in Kam Tin Road	Residential	Existing	2
	SS14	Planned Receiver at Village Zone	Residential	Planned	3
	SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	Residential	Planned	3
Pat Heung (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/009)
PHV	PH1	DD 114 LOT 1405 Sheung Tsuen	Residential	Existing	2
	PH2	No. 305, Sheung Tsuen San Tsuen Village House	Residential	Existing	3
	PH3	No. 305B, Sheung Tsuen San Tsuen Village House	Residential	Existing	3
Tse Uk Tsuen (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/009)
TUW	TU1	Tse Uk Tsuen	Residential	Existing	1
	TU2	No. 489H Tse Uk Tsuen	Residential	Existing	3
	TU3	No. 404A Tse Uk Tsuen	Residential	Existing	2
Shek Yam (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/011 to 012)
SYW	SY1	No. 168, Yau Ma Hom Resite Village	Residential	Existing	3
	SY1a	Planned development at Cheung Wing Road	Residential	Planned	N/A
	SY2	Kwai Chung Public School	School	Existing	1
	SY3	Planned development at Kwok Shui Road	Residential	Planned	N/A
Shing Mun (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/011)
SMV	SM1	Sau Shan House, Cheung Shan Estate	Residential	Existing	25
	SM2	Tsuen Wan Lutheran School	School	Existing	7
	SM3	Block 3, Lei Muk Shue Estate	Residential	Existing	20
Kwai Chung (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/013)
KCV	KC1	Kwai Oi House, Kwai Fong Estate	Residential	Existing	21
	KC2	No. 1, Ha Kwai Chung Village	Residential	Existing	2
	KC3	Planned development at Kwai Yi Road	Residential	Planned	N/A
	KC4	Tin Hau Temple	Temple	Existing	1
	KC5	Kwai Chung Training Centre Complex	Institutional	Existing	4
Mei Lai Road (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/015)
MLW	ML1	Po Leung Kuk Tong Nai Kan College	School	Existing	7
	ML2	Block 42, Mei Foo Sun Chuen Phase 6	Residential	Existing	21
Nam Cheong (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/015 to 018)
NCV	NC1	West Kowloon Disciplined Services Quarters Block 1	Residential	Existing	38
	NC2	Tower 6, Harbour Green	Residential	Existing	45
	NC4	Tower 1, Metro Harbour View	Residential	Existing	45
	NC5	Cheong Chit House, Nam Cheong Estate	Residential	Existing	16
	NC6	Cheong Yat House, Nam Cheong Estate	Residential	Existing	15
	NC7	Fu Yun House, Fu Cheong Estate	Residential	Existing	8
	NC8	Fu Hoi House, Fu Cheong Estate	Residential	Existing	19
	NC9	Ying Wah College	School	Existing	9
	NC10	St. Margaret's Co-educational English Secondary & Primary School	School	Existing	8
	NC11	Tack Ching Girls' Secondary School	School	Existing	8
	NC12	Sham Shui Po Government Primary School	School	Existing	8
	NC13	HKIVE Haking Wong Waterfront Annex	School	Existing	2
	NC14	Lai Chi Kok Fire Quarters	Institutional	Existing	3
	NC15^2	Hoi Ming House, Hoi Lai Estate	Residential	Existing	44
	NC16	Tower 3 Aqua Marine	Residential	Existing	47
	NC17	St. Andrew Primary School	School	Existing	7
Mong Kok West (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/019)
MKV	MK1	Yaumati Catholic Primary School (Hoi Wang Road)	School	Existing	8
	MK2	HKMA David Li Kwok Po College	School	Existing	9
	MK3	Block 11, Charming Garden	Residential	Existing	23
	MK4	Block 1, Charming Garden	Residential	Existing	21
	MK5^3	Hong Kong Community College - West Kowloon Campus	School	Existing	16
	MK6	Planned development at GIC Zone	Institutional	Planned	N/A
West Kowloon (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/020 to 021)
WKT	WK1	Planned Residential Development at Hoi Wang Road	Residential	Planned	N/A
	WK2	Man Yiu Building, 45-47 Man Wai Street	Residential	Existing	19
	WK3	Man King Building, 46-48 Man Wai Street	Residential	Existing	19
	WK4	Sorrento Tower 6	Residential	Existing	52
	WK5	Wai On Building, Block A	Residential	Existing	16
	WK6	Tower 1, Victoria Towers	Residential	Existing	53
	WK7	Lai Chack Middle School	School	Existing	7
	WK7a	Tsim Sha Tsui Fire Station	G/IC	Existing	14
	WK8	Tower 3, The Waterfront,	Residential	Existing	38
	WK9	The Arch Sky Tower	Residential	Existing	54
	WK10	Tower 2, The Harbourside	Residential	Existing	64
	WK11^4	Planned Development	Residential	Planned	N/A
	WK12^4	Planned Development	Residential	Planned	N/A
	WK14	Moon Tower, The Arch	Residential	Existing	53
	WK15	Hong Kong Girl Guides Association Headquarters and Related Hostel Use	Residential	Planned	N/A
So Kwun Wat Magazine (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/022 to 023)
So Kwun Wat Magazine	SKW	Grandview Terrace	Residential	Existing	2
Siu Lam Barging Point (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/024)
Siu Lam Barging Point	SLB1	Aqua Blue Block 36	Residential	Existing	1
	SLB2	Aqua Blue Block 3	Residential	Existing	1
Tuen Mun (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/025)
Siu Lang Shui	TM1	Planned Sensitive Use at the Former Siu Lang Shui Landfill	Camp Site/ Education Use	Planned	N/A
Magazine next to Tai Shu Ha Road West (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/026)
Magazine next to Tai Shu Ha Road West	TS1	Village House next to Tai Shu Ha Road West	Residential	Existing	1
Lung Kwu Sheung Tan Barging Point (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/027)
Lung Kwu Sheung Tan Barging Point	LK1	Tsz Tong in Lung Kwu Tan Road	Temple	Existing	1

Note:

(1) According to Proposed Comprehensive Development at Wo Shang Wai, Yuen Long Environmental Impact Assessment (Register No.: AEIAR – 120/2008), the population intake was targeted to begin in March 2013. As such construction noise assessment would not be conducted at this planned NSR till March 2013.

(2) A kindergarten (Yan Oi Tong Pong Lo Shuk Yin Kindergarten) located within Hoi Lai Shopping Centre is provided with central air conditioning system and would not rely on openable windows for ventilation. The EIAO-TM noise assessment criteria only apply to NSRs which rely on opened windows for ventilation. The kindergarten is therefore not selected as a representative NSR.

(3) NSR MK5 is provided with central air conditioning system and would not rely on openable windows for ventilation. The EIAO-TM noise assessment criteria only apply to NSRs which rely on opened windows for ventilation. Therefore, this NSR would not be included in the assessment.

(4) According to the Project Proponent, the population intake of WK11 and WK12 is targeted to begin in early 2013. As such construction noise assessment would not be conducted at this planned NSR till January 2013.

Table 5.6 Representative Noise Sensitive Receivers for Operational Fixed Plant Assessment

Works Area	NSR	Description	Land Use	Existing / Planned NSR	No. of storey	Type of Area	Influencing Factor (IF) ^(1)	Degree to which NSR is affected by IF	Area Sensitivity Rating
Mai Po (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/001)
MPV	MP1	House 5 Phase A Royal Palms	Residential	Existing	3	Low Density Residential Area	San Tin Highway	Not Affected	A
	MP5	Proposed Comprehensive Development at Wo Shang Wai (anticipated to be occupied in 2013)	Residential	Planned	3	Low Density Residential Area	San Tin Highway	Not Affected	A
	MP6	Planned village house at Village Zone	Residential	Planned	N/A	Rural Area	San Tin Highway	Not Affected	A
Ngau Tam Mei (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/002)
NTV	NT1	Yau Tam Mei Village House	Residential	Existing	2	Rural Area	-	Not Affected	A
	NT4	Yau Tam Mei Village House	Residential	Existing	2	Rural Area	-	Not Affected	A
Shek Kong (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/007 to 008)
SSS	SS2	Nam Hing Lei Village House	Residential	Existing	1	Other^(2)	-	Not Affected	B
	SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	Residential	Existing	2	Other^(2)	-	Not Affected	B
	SS5	No. 51A Leung Uk Tsuen	Residential	Existing	3	Other^(2)	-	Not Affected	B
	SS6	No.32 Leung Uk Tsuen Village	Residential	Existing	2	Other^(2)	-	Not Affected	B
	SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	Residential	Existing	2	Other^(2)	-	Not Affected	B
	SS10	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	Residential	Existing	1	Other^(2)	-	Not Affected	B
	SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	Residential	Existing	2	Other^(2)	-	Not Affected	B
	SS12	No. 265 Kam Tai Road	Residential	Existing	2	Other^(2)	-	Not Affected	B
	SS14	Planned village house at Village Zone	Residential	Planned	3	Other^(2)	-	Not Affected	B
	SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	Residential	Existing	3	Other^(2)	-	Not Affected	B
Pat Heung (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/009)
PHV	PH1	DD 114 LOT 1405 Sheung Tsuen	Residential	Existing	2	Rural Area	-	Not Affected	A
Shing Mun (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/011)
SMV	SM1	Sau Shan House, Cheung Shan Estate	Residential	Existing	25	Urban	Cheung Pei Shan Road	Not Affected	B
	SM4	Shiu Hong Nursing Home, Cheung Shan Estate	Residential	Existing	5	Urban	Cheung Pei Shan Road	Not Affected	B
Kwai Chung (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/013)
KCV	KC1	Kwai Oi House, Kwai Fong Estate	Residential	Existing	21	Urban	-	Not Affected	B
Nam Cheong (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/016
NCV	NC11	Tack Ching Girls' Secondary School	School	Existing	8	Urban	West Kowloon Highway	Not Affected	B
	NC11a	Planned development (Site 6)	Residential	Planned	N/A	Urban	West Kowloon Highway	Not Affected	B
	NC11b	Planned development (Site 6)	Residential	Planned	N/A	Urban	West Kowloon Highway	Not Affected	B
	NC16	Tower 3 Aqua Marine	Residential	Existing	47	Urban	West Kowloon Highway	Indirectly Affected	C
Mong Kok West (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/019)
MKV	MK6	Planned development at GIC zone	GIC	Planned	N/A	Urban	West Kowloon Highway	Directly Affected	C
West Kowloon (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/020)
WKT	WK1	Planned Residential Development at Hoi Wang Road	Residential	Planned	N/A	Urban	Ferry Street	Not Affected	B
	WK3	Man King Building, 46-48 Man Wai street	Residential	Existing	19	Urban	Ferry Street	Not Affected	B
	WK4	Tower 6, Sorrento	Residential	Existing	52	Urban	Wui Cheung Road	Indirectly Affected	B
	WK8	Tower 3, The Waterfront	Residential	Existing	38	Urban	Wui Cheung Road	Indirectly Affected	B
	WK11	Planned development	Residential	Planned	N/A	Urban	-	Not Affected	B
	WK12	Planned development	Residential	Planned	N/A	Urban	-	Not Affected	B
	WK14	Moon Tower, The Arch	Residential	Existing	53	Urban	-	Not Affected	B
	WK16	Planned development in WKCD	Residential	Planned	N/A	Urban	-	Not Affected	B
	WK17	Planned development in WKCD	Residential	Planned	N/A	Urban	-	Not Affected	B

Note:

(1) Reference has been made on The Annual Traffic Census 2007 for determination of IF.

(2) "Area other than those above" as the SSS by virtue of its size and characteristics plays a major role in determining the type of area within which the NSR is located in accordance with the Technical Memorandum for the Assessment of Noise from Places other than Domestic Premises, Public Places or Construction Sites.

Table 5.7 Representative Noise Sensitive Receivers for Airborne Railway Noise Assessment

Works Area	NSR	Description	Land Use	Existing / Planned NSR	No. of storey	Type of Area	Influencing Factor (IF)	Degree to which NSR is affected by IF	Area Sensitivity Rating
Shek Kong (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M53/007 and 008)
SSS	SS2	Nam Hing Lei Village House	Residential	Existing	1	Other^(1)	-	Not Affected	B
	SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	Residential	Existing	2	Other^(1)	-	Not Affected	B
	SS5	51A Leung Uk Tsuen	Residential	Existing	3	Other^(1)	-	Not Affected	B
	SS6	No.32 Leung Uk Tsuen	Residential	Existing	2	Other^(1)	-	Not Affected	B
	SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	Residential	Existing	2	Other^(1)	-	Not Affected	B
	SS10	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	Residential	Existing	1	Other^(1)	-	Not Affected	B
	SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	Residential	Existing	2	Other^(1)	-	Not Affected	B
	SS12	265 Kam Tai Road	Residential	Existing	2	Other^(1)	-	Not Affected	B
	SS14	Planned village house at Village Zone	Residential	Planned	3	Other^(1)	-	Not Affected	B
	SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	Residential	Existing	3	Other^(1)		Not Affected	B

Note:

(1) "Area other than those above" as the SSS by virtue of its size and characteristics plays a major role in determining the type of area within which the NSR is located in accordance with the Technical Memorandum for the Assessment of Noise from Places other than Domestic Premises, Public Places or Construction Sites.

Background Noise Measurement

5.25 As discussed in Table 5.4, the sensitive receivers, located in well developed urban areas of western side of Kowloon, Kwai Chung and Lai Chi Kok, were affected by the road traffic noise and operational noise from industrial uses, in addition to site observations, the prevailing background noise levels would unlikely be lower than the ANL-5dB(A) criterion.

5.26 In the quieter rural areas of Wo Shang Wai, Ngau Tam Mei, Tai Kong Po, Shek Kong, Pat Heung and Shing Mun, background noise measurements have been conducted for the determination of noise criteria at the identified NSRs.

5.27 Continuous free-field noise measurements were conducted in November and December 2008 to investigate the prevailing noise levels in rural areas. The measurement locations are presented in Figure Nos. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/100 - 106. Noise measurements were conducted according to the operation period of the facilities, and therefore the noise results are considered to be representative to the background noise at sensitive receivers.

5.28 The noise measurements were conducted using B&K Type 2238 Sound Level Meter (Type 1) and were calibrated using B&K Sound Level Calibrator Type 4231 with a calibration signal of 94.0 dB(A) at 1kHz. The measurements were conducted with reference to the calibration and measurement procedures as stated in the IND-TM. A summary of background noise measurement results is given in Table 5.8.

Table 5.8 Background Noise Measurement Results

Measurement Location	Measurement Period	Prevailing Measured Noise Level*, Leq, 30min, dB(A) [1]			ASR	ANL-5, dB(A) [2]	Operational Noise Assessment Criteria, dB(A) Min. of [1] & [2]	Corres-ponding NSR
		Min.	Max.	Avg.
M1 (Wo Shang Wai)	Daytime (1400-1800)	68	70	69	B	60	60	MP1 & MP4
	Night-time (2300-0200)	62	67	64		50	50
M2 (Wo Shang Wai)	Daytime (1400-1800)	51	61	57	A	55	51	MP5
	Night-time (2300-0200)	49	53	51		45	45
M3** (Ngau Tam Mei)	Daytime (1400-1800)	59	72	65	A	55	55	NT1 & NT4
	Night-time (2330-0300)	44	59	53		45	44
M4 (Tai Kong Po)	Daytime (1400-1800)	52	61	56	A	55	52	TP1
	Night-time (2330-0300)	47	57	52		45	45
M5 (Shek Kong)	Daytime (0700-1200)	49	75	66	B	60	49	SS2 & SS4
	Night-time (2330-0200)	39	50	42		50	39
M6 (Shek Kong)	Daytime (0700-1200)	52	67	60	B	60	52	SS5, SS6
	Night-time (0000-0330)	45	51	47		50	45
M7 (Shek Kong)	Daytime (0700-1200)	49	62	57	B	60	49	SS7, SS10, SS12,
	Night-time (0100-0400)	47	51	49		50	47	SS14, SS15
M8 (Shek Kong)	Daytime (0700-1200)	52	70	64	B	60	52	SS11a
	Night-time (2330-0700)	50	52	51		50	50
M9 (Pat Heung)	Daytime (1330-1800)	49	58	53	A	55	49	PH1
	Night-time (2300-0200)	43	45	44		45	43
M10 (Shing Mun)	Daytime (1400-1800)	69	72	70	B	60	60	SM1, SM4
	Night-time (2300-0200)	55	64	60		50	50

Note:

* A facade correction of 3 dB(A) has been included in the measurement results.

** Monitoring station M3 is located in a village area with environmental setting similar to that of the proposed site for NTV. Noise measurement results at this location were considered to be representative of the ambient noise environment of the NTV site.

Potential Sources of Impact

Construction Phase

5.29 The potential source of noise impact during the construction phase of the Project would mainly be the use of PME for various construction activities. Major construction works that would contribute to airborne construction noise impacts would include surface works for the construction of the above-ground structures including the ventilation buildings, EAP, SSS, ERS, WKT and other supporting sites (i.e. barging points and magazine). Other noise source would be the noise from construction vehicle moving on proposed access road. Noise from construction vehicle movement on the site access road constructed under the Project and haul road would further contribute to airborne construction impacts. A summary of the construction shafts is presented in Table 5.9. The standard working hours will be between 0700 and 1900 hours from Monday to Saturday.

Table 5.9 Locations of Construction Shafts

Location	Principle Activity	Future Use
Mai Po Shaft	Launching of TBM	Mai Po Ventilation Building
Ngau Tam Mei Shaft	Retrieval of TBM & drive drill and blast tunnel	Ngau Tam Mei Ventilation Building
Tai Po Kong Shaft	Retrieval of TBM & drive drill and blast tunnel	Tai Po Kong Emergency Access Point
ERS - North Access	Launching of TBM, ERS construction	-
ERS Ramp	Launching of TBM	-
Tse Uk Tsuen Shaft	Retrieval of TBM	-
Pat Heung Adit	Drive drill and blast tunnel south	Pat Heung Ventilation Building
Shing Mun Shaft	Shaft construction	Shing Mun Ventilation Building
Shek Yam Adit	Drive drill and blast tunnel north & south	-
Kwai Chung Adit	Drive drill and blast tunnel north & south	Kwai Chung Ventilation Building
Mei Lai Road Shaft	Drive dill and blast tunnel north & retrieval of TBM	-
Nam Cheong Shaft	Launching of TBMs north and south	Nam Cheong Ventilation Building
Hoi Ting Road Shaft	Retrieval of TBM	-
Mong Kok West Shaft	-	Mong Kok West Ventilation Building

5.30 Blasting will be carried out, as far as practicable, outside the sensitive hours (7pm to 7am on Monday to Saturday and any time on a general holiday, including Sunday). Although the blasting schedule is not available during the preparation of the report, the removal of debris and rocks would not be conducted during sensitive hours. As such the noise impact associated with the removal of debris and rocks is not anticipated.

Operation Phase

Airborne Railway Noise from ERS and SSS

5.31 Air-borne railway noise would radiate from Emergency Rescue Station (ERS), which is a depressed box with an open top, through which trains will pass at 200 km/h. Layout and a typical section of ERS are shown in Figure Nos. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M50/017 – 018 and NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M50/021 – 022, respectively.

5.32 China Railway High-Speed (CRH) train will be used in XRL and will be provided by relevant operation entities in the Mainland. Detailed information of the CRH train is not available during the preparation of EIA Report.

5.33 According to the High-Speed Ground Transportation Noise and Vibration Impact^[[1]^](FRA High-Speed Guidance Manual), the noise would be generated relating directly to the location-specific noise-generating mechanisms on the train:

· Propulsion noise;

· Mechanical noise resulting from wheel/rail interactions and/or guideway vibrations; and

· Aerodynamic noise.

5.34 Aerodynamic noise, however, is normally considered to be an important factor when train speed exceeds about 260 km/h and would be significant for very high-speed train with maximum speed of 400 km/h or higher (Table 5-2 of FRA High-Speed Guidance Manual). Aerodynamic noise, to the extent it applies to the Project, has been included in propulsion noise for train. Impact from propulsion and mechanical noise was assessed.

5.35 Apart from the railway noise from the ERS, the railway noise from trains departing from SSS to WKT and arriving at SSS from WKT for services has been considered in the assessment.

5.36 Airborne railway noise will occur only at the ERS and SSS in Shek Kong and there are no other railway lines in this area. As such, no cumulative impact in this area is anticipated.

Fixed Plant Sources – Shek Kong Stabling Sidings (SSS) and ERS

5.37 The SSS will provide the following functions:

· Provide overnight stabling for long haul trains whose journey back to mainland on the following day;

· Provide stabling for short-haul shuttle both at night and off-peak during the day;

· Provide infrastructure and building maintenance centre for the XRL to support trackside maintenance activities; and

· Provide cleaning and inspection services for long haul rolling stock from Mainland.

5.38 With the above functionality, the SSS will comprise the following basic provisions for rolling stock berthing and servicing:

· Eight stabling sidings (approx. length 520m each);

· Four covered running maintenance sidings (approx. length 480m each);

· Three permanent-way sidings (approx. length 300m each);

· Workshops and plant rooms;

· Stores (including dangerous good stores);

· One office building with control centre for the compound, gatehouse and canteen;

· Stabling siding for emergency rescue bus;

· Shunting tracks; and

· Train Wash.

5.39 In addition, a total of six diesel or battery locomotives are proposed to be stabled at the Stabling Sidings and the facilities to be provided comprise:

· Two 40m locomotive sidings; and

· Locomotive maintenance shed and workshops.

5.40 Operation hours of SSS will be 24 hours daily with most of the maintenance and inspection activities to be conducted between 0030 and 0600 hours.

5.41 The dominant noise sources to emanate from the SSS are expected to be train movement to and from maintenance shed and trains idling. Other noise source would be wheel squeal generated when trains moving through sharp bends.

5.42 Other fixed plant noise sources are identified as maintenance plant and building plant associated with the operation of SSS. A summary of plant schedule to be provided at SSS is given in Table 5.10.

Table 5.10 Plant Schedule for SSS

Equipment	No. of Plant	Installed within Plant Room/Shed (Yes/No)	Operating Period
Train wash	1 number	No	0700 – 2300 hours
Air-cooled chillier	2 numbers of 445kW 2 numbers of 1190kW	No^(1)	24 hours
Chilled water pump	6 numbers	Yes	24 hours
Air compressor plant	3 numbers	Yes	24 hours
Fire service pump	2 numbers	Yes	Emergency use only^(2)
Potable water pumps	4 numbers for main building 2 numbers for ancillary building	Yes	24 hours
Flushing water pumps	2 numbers for main building 2 numbers for ancillary building	Yes	24 hours
Cleansing pumps	2 numbers for main building 2 numbers for ancillary building	Yes	24 hours
Transformer	3 numbers for main building 2 numbers for ancillary building	Yes	24 hours
Ventilation Buildings	2 numbers	Yes	Emergency use only^(2)

Note:

(1) Chillers will be installed on the roof of maintenance shed and within an enclosure with louvres.

(2) These ventilation buildings and fire service pump will only be operated in the event of train fire. In the event of train fire, only these plant will be operated and other activities and plant in SSS will be suspended. These plant will be regularly tested and maintained as necessary. Cumulative effect from the SSS operation and maintenance of these plant would unlikely occur as major activities of SSS operation would be conducted in night-time period (i.e. after 2400 hours) while maintenance would be carried out in daytime.

Construction Noise from Maintenance Train Movement During Night-time Period

5.43 Maintenance and checking of railway track within the tunnels would occasionally be conducted during night-time period (i.e. 2300 - 0700 hours) after the end of service. Locomotive would be involved for the maintenance works during the operation phase, and its movement is expected to be dominant noise source.

Fixed Plant Sources – Tunnel Ventilation Buildings and Facilities for WKT

5.44 According to the design information, the major fixed plant noise sources identified are ventilation shafts. Seawater cooling system and building services equipment such as chillers, transformer, pump and emergency generator provided for the WKT will be placed underground and inside plant rooms, and therefore the noise impact from the underground equipment would be insignificant. Other noise sources are identified as the above-ground ventilation shafts and the traction power substation located to the north of PTI. As such, noise assessment has been conducted for above-ground facilities only.

5.45 A summary of fixed plant noise sources which would have potential impact to NSRs is presented in Table 5.11. No ventilation shafts will be provided in Tai Kong Po EAP, and therefore no fixed plant noise issue is anticipated.

Table 5.11 Identified Fixed Plant Noise Sources

ID	Description
MPV	Mai Po Ventilation Building
NTV	Ngau Tam Mei Ventilation Building
ENV	ERS Northern End Ventilation Building
ESV	ERS Southern End Ventilation Building
PHV	Pat Heung Ventilation Building
SMV	Shing Mun Ventilation Building
KCV	Kwai Chung Ventilation Building
NCV	Nam Cheong Ventilation Building
MKV	Mong Kok West Ventilation Building
WKV	West Kowloon Ventilation Building
VS-2A	Ventilation shaft for WKT
VS-2B	Ventilation shaft for WKT
VS-4J	Ventilation shaft for WKT
VS-5K	Ventilation shaft for WKT
VS-5L	Ventilation shaft for WKT
VS-6M	Ventilation shaft for WKT
VS-7P	Ventilation shaft for WKT
VS-8D	Ventilation shaft for WKT
VS-9F/9G/9H	Ventilation shaft for WKT
VS-10A	Ventilation shaft for WKT
VS-10B	Ventilation shaft for WKT
VS-10C	Ventilation shaft for WKT
S-1	Substation

Noise from Public Transport Interchange (PTI) and Access Roads

5.46 A PTI will be situated underneath the landscape deck to the north of WKT. The landscape deck would provide screening and thus the major noise sources associated with the operation of PTI would be the noise from vehicles movements at the ingress and egress points (Figure No NOL\ERL\300\C\XRL\ENS\M50\023D.pdf).

5.47 Roads leading to ventilation buildings or emergency access points are usually unmanned. Periodically visit to the ventilation buildings would be made on a weekly basis. Therefore, traffic noise impact due to maintenance would be minimal. The EVA roads that would be open to villagers are in rural areas (Tai Kong Po, Mai Po, Pat Heung) with very low population and would unlikely to induce adverse traffic noise impact.

Assessment Methodology

Construction Noise

5.48 The methodology for the noise impact assessment is in accordance with the procedures outlined in the GW-TM, which is issued under the NCO and the EIAO-TM. The general approach is summarized below:

· Locate the NSRs which would most likely be affected by noise from the construction work;

· Determine the items of Powered Mechanical Equipment (PME) for each discrete construction activity, based on available information or agreed plant inventories;

· Assign sound power levels (SWLs) to the proposed PME according to the GW-TM or other sources;

· Calculate distance attenuation to NSRs from notional noise source;

· Apply corrections in the calculations such as potential screening effects and facade reflection of 3 dB(A), if any; and

· Predict construction noise levels at NSRs in the absence of any mitigation measures.

5.49 Sound power levels (SWLs) of the equipment from Table 3 of GW-TM have been used for the assessment. Where no relevant sound power level (SWL) to be found in the GW-TM, reference was made to British Standard 5228:Part 1:1997 Noise Control on Construction and Open Sites (BS5228:Part 1) and previous similar studies or from measurements taken at other sites in Hong Kong.

5.50 Construction plant inventory and the construction programme as presented in Appendices 2.1 and 5.1 for various construction activities was developed by Preliminary Design Consultants and confirmed by MTR on the practicability and feasibility to complete the Project within the scheduled timeframe as well as the availability of the PMEs in the market.

5.51 Noise impact from construction vehicle moving along the proposed access road was evaluated according to the procedures given in BS5228: Part 1. The equation adopted for assessment is presented below:

L_Aeq = SWL – 33 + 10Log₁₀Q – 10Log₁₀V – 10Log₁₀ (d) + FC

where

SWL	Sound power level of construction vehicle
Q	Number of vehicles per 30min
V	Average vehicle speed, in km/hr
d	Distance of receiver position from the centre of the access road, in m
FC	Façade correction, i.e. 3 dB(A)

Operational Phase

5.52 The noise sources have been divided into four groups for assessment purposes:

· Train noise – noise from passenger trains passing through the ERS and passenger trains launching from and arriving at the SSS. These types of noise have been added to obtain total train noise levels from ERS and SSS operation at the NSRs;

· Noise from fixed plant and operations at the SSS – noise from fixed plant, including chillers and compressors, noise from passenger trains idling at the stabling siding facility (mostly in the maintenance shed) and noise from passenger trains moving within the facility (mostly being moved into or out of the maintenance shed), noise of maintenance train being loaded, noise from the maintenance loco idling in the shed, and noise from locos moving within the SSS;

· Noise from maintenance trains departing and returning to the SSS between 2300 and 0700 hours – this night-time noise will be governed by a Construction Noise Permit under Noise Control Ordinance (NCO); and

· Noise from fixed plant at other areas – noise from PTI, traction power substation and ventilation buildings and shafts.

Airborne Railway Noise from ERS

5.53 The operation of the Project would be expected to commence in 2015 and, according to the available preliminary train schedule, the XRL will run from 0600 to 2400 hours daily. The anticipated worst case scenario has been developed, based on the maximum line operational capacity, to evaluate the maximum impact from the airborne railway noise from the ERS to the NSRs. The assumptions are presented in Table 5.12.

Table 5.12 Assumptions for Airborne Railway Noise Assessment

Train Operation	Assumption
Length of Train	· Long haul train: 427m long · Short haul train: 214m long
Daytime Operation (0700 – 2300 hours)	Maximum hourly frequency^(1): · 13 short haul and 2 long haul trains at northbound and 12 short haul and 3 long haul trains at southbound
Night-time Operation (0600 – 0700 hours and 2300 – 2400 hours)	Maximum hourly frequency^(1): · 6 short haul trains at northbound and 5 short haul trains at southbound · No Long Haul movements will occur during night-time operation · Operation only for two night-time periods (0600 – 0700 hours and 2300 – 2400 hours)
24 hour Operation	· A total of 140 pairs of short haul train and 33 long haul trains
Train Speed	200 km/h

Note:

(1) Only hourly frequency is available during the course of EIA study.

5.54 Only hourly movements have been made available. In view of the consistency of movements, the 30 minute train movements were assumed to be 50% of the hourly movements provided.

5.55 The methodology for the air-borne noise impact from ERS is in accordance with the procedures outlined in FRA High-Speed Guidance Manual for detailed noise analysis.

5.56 As the details of CRH trains are not available at the preparation of EIA report, the noise source levels, expressed as SEL, were therefore referenced from Table 5-2 of FRA High-Speed Guidance Manual, which is used for assessment of high speed trains. Reference source levels of high speed electric multiple unit (EMU) as SEL values at a distance of 15m are provided in Table 5.13 for propulsion and wheel-rail noise.

Table 5.13 Subsources of High Speed Train

Subsource component	Subsource Parameters		Reference Quantities
	Length Definition	Height above Rails (m)	SELref (dB(A))	lenref (m)	Sref (km/h)	K
Propulsion	lenpower	3	86	22	32	1
Wheel-rail	lentrain	0.3	91	193	145	20

5.57 The wheel-rail noise level is based on a rail of normal wear. Since a rail maintenance programme will be implemented on the line to avoid rail deterioration, this potential issue will be considered to identify noise mitigation measures.

5.58 The source levels (Table 5.13) apply to a train of a defined length, rather than to one car. The Leq level for both propulsion and wheel-rail noise at the reference distance was determined by accounting for the train length, the speed of the train and the number of movements in the relevant 30 minutes or 24 hours:

L_{eq ref} = SEL_ref + 10 log₁₀(len/len_ref) + K log₁₀ (S/S_ref) + 10 log₁₀ (V) – 35.6

where

Leq ref	Leq at 15m over the relevant 30 minutes or 24 hour period, in dB
SELREF	Sound exposure level at 15m for the speed and train length in the table, in dB
len	Length of propulsion cars or train, in m
S	train speed, in km/h
V	number of train movements in the relevant 30 minute or 24 hour period, expressed as the average number of movements per hour: For Leq(30min): V = N(30min) x 2 (N = number of movements) For Leq(24hour): V = N(24hour) / 24 (N = number of movements)

5.59 The equation from the FRA High-Speed Guidance Manual is based on calculating Leq values for one hour periods from the number of movements in the one hour period. It is therefore necessary to adjust the number of movements in the 30 minute and 24 hour periods (for which the Leq is required) to be expressed as movements per hour.

5.60 The distance correction is referenced from Section 5.2.3 of FRA High-Speed Guidance Manual. The Leq level (without shielding) at other distances was then calculated by the following equations :

Wheel-rail: L_eq = L_{eq ref} – 10 log₁₀ (D/15) – 10G log₁₀ (D/13)

Propulsion: L_eq = L_{eq ref} – 10 log₁₀ (D/15) – 10G log₁₀ (D/9)

where

Leq	Leq over the relevant 30 minutes or 24 hours, in dB(A)
D	Distance, in m
G	Ground factor (see below)

5.61 The ground factor, G, is taken as 0 for the assumed hard ground, resulting in a zero ground effects factor.

5.62 The shielding to be provided by the ERS is complicated by the reflective walls of the slot, and the reverberant build up of noise within. The reverberant build up effect was calculated by the following steps:

· Identification of virtual (mirror or image) sources which relate to equal angle reflections from the cut walls;

· Calculation of the shielding effect for each source;

· Calculation of noise level from each source at the assessment points; and

· Summation of noise levels of all virtual sources.

5.63 This prediction process was based on standard acoustical principles using equal angle reflections, which are often used in acoustical modelling and is also adopted in the following:

· An internationally recognized environmental noise model, Cadna A developed by Datakustik GmbH from Germany, as described in the Manual version 3.7

· The Propagation of Sound in Narrow Street Canyons, K K Lu and K M Li, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, published in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, August 2002.

5.64 For the ERS, the virtual noise sources were identified for the two tracks and for the two noise sources (propulsion and wheel-rail).

5.65 The shielding attenuation was considered in the assessment and was calculated from the following equation according to Table 5-3 of FRA High-Speed Guidance Manual:

Propulsion: A_barrier = min {15 or [20 log₁₀ {2.51√(Px3.28)/ tanh (4.46√(Px3.28))} + 5}

Wheel-rail: A_barrier = min {20 or [20 log₁₀ {3.54√(Px3.28)/ tanh (6.27√(Px3.28))} + 5}

where

P	Path difference, in m

5.66 The FRA High-Speed Guidance Manual assumes that the rail line is straight and infinitely long and, whilst this assumption is valid for many situations, it is not valid for the ERS which is 460m long, particularly for NSRs close to the ends. With perpendicular distance considered in distance correction, an adjustment for angle of view was therefore made to avoid overestimating noise levels. The equation adopted was based on standard acoustic principles (i.e.10 log (angle/180)).

5.67 A correction of 2.5dB(A) was added to account for acoustic reflection from a building facade. This value is based on the UK Department of Transport Calculation of Railway Noise, 1995.

5.68 To combine the Leq values for propulsion (power) and wheel-rail (train) noise to obtain the total Leq at the 15m reference distance, the following equation was used:

L_eq = 10 log₁₀ (10^L_{eq power}/10 + 10^L_{eq train}/10)

5.69 The airborne noise criteria were determined in accordance with Table 2 of IND-TM with appropriate ANLs.

5.70 Consideration was given to the potential intermittent nature of the noise resulting from the train breaking out of the tunnel portal into the ERS at high speed and then retreating into the other portal. The rate of noise increase as the train breaks out will be reduced by the leakage of noise from the tunnel as the train approaches the portal (as discussed in paragraph 5.71 below) and also the reverberant buildup of noise within the ERS. It is therefore considered the intermittent rise and fall of train noise is unlikely to occur.

5.71 Noise may emerge from the tunnel portals into the ERS before the train emerges, but this effect has been found to be negligible. Noise measurement at the tunnel portal near Pat Heung Maintenance facility has revealed that the West Rail train generates an SEL value of 77dB(A) at a distance of 30m from the portal for a train emerging at 97km/h. By adjusting this value to the XRL train at 200km/h, it is concluded that the SEL value of the XRL train is 94dB(A) at 15m for one portal and 97dB(A) for two portals. When added to the noise of one train movement through the ERS, this effect increases the total noise emission by 0.3dB(A), which has also been added to the predicted noise levels.

5.72 Noise levels in Leq(30min) for day and night, Leq(24hr) and Lmax were calculated at the ground and top floor levels. In accordance with equation 15.21 of the Transportation Noise Reference Book, edited by Harris, the equation for the calculation of Lmax is given below:

Lmax = SEL – 10 log₁₀ (len/S) + 10 log₁₀ {4D/len / [4(D/len)² + 1] + 2 tan^-1(len/2D)} - 10.5

where

SEL	Sound exposure level
len	Length of propulsion cars or train, in m
S	Train speed, in km/h
D	Distance, in m

Airborne Railway Noise from Train Operations at Shek Kong Stabling Sidings and Maintenance Facility

5.73 This type of noise will be generated by passenger trains being launching from and arriving at the SSS. During the worst case hours, the numbers of train movements assumed are shown in Table 5.14.

Table 5.14 Worst Case Launchings and Arrivals in SSS

Train Type	Max. Train Movements in 30-minute period		Average Hourly Train Movements
	Daytime and Evening (0700 – 2300 hours)	Night-time (2300 – 0700 hours)	24 Hours
Short haul	1	2	1
Long haul	3	1	2

5.74 As the noise induced from trains launching/arriving/moving at SSS was considered to be similar to that at Pat Heung Maintenance Centre (PHMC), noise impact from train movements at the SSS were predicted by reference to fixed plant noise measurements conducted at Pat Heung Maintenance Depot. Measurements carried out at the northern end of Pat Heung of four train launchings similar to those proposed at SSS, at typical speeds of 25km/h. The measured maximum SEL is 68 dB(A) at 100m for a train movement at 25km/h, and it was adopted for assessment. With a small curve radii of about 180m being adopted in SSS, which is similar to the case in PHMC, the measured noise level of 68 dB(A) includes the elevated level due to wheel squeal. In addition, a 6 dB(A) correction has also been included in the calculation to cater the further worsening effect of wheal squealing noise on top of the measurement results.

5.75 Airborne railway noise from train movement within SSS was predicted in accordance with Table 5-2 of The Transit Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment^[[2]] published by U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration (FTA Guidance Manual). The Leq level for train noise at the reference distance was determined by accounting for the number of movements in the relevant 30 minutes or 24 hours:

L_{eq ref} = SEL_ref + 10 log₁₀ (V) – 35.6

where

Leq ref	Leq at 15m over the relevant 30 minutes or 24 hour period, in dB
SELREF	Sound exposure level at 15m for the speed and train length in the table, in dB
V	number of train movements in the relevant 30 minute or 24 hour period, expressed as the average number of movements per hour

5.76 The shielding attenuation was also calculated from the following equation taken from Table 6-9 of the FTA Guidance Manual:

A_barrier = min {15 or [20 log₁₀ {2.51√(Px3.28)/ tanh (4.46√(Px3.28))} + 5}

where

P	Path difference, in m

5.77 Airborne railway noise from train launching from and arriving at SSS was predicted in accordance with Table 5-2 of FTA Guidance Manual. The Leq level for train noise at the reference distance was determined by accounting for the number of movements in the relevant 30 minutes or 24 hours:

L_{eq ref} = SEL_ref + 10 log₁₀ (V) – 35.6

where

Leq ref	Leq at 15m over the relevant 30 minutes or 24 hour period, in dB
SELREF	Sound exposure level at 15m for the speed and train length in the table, in dB
V	number of train movements in the relevant 30 minute or 24 hour period, expressed as the average number of movements per hour

5.78 The shielding attenuation was also calculated from the following equation taken from Table 6-9 of the FTA Guidance Manual:

A_barrier = min {15 or [20 log₁₀ {2.51√(Px3.28)/ tanh (4.46√(Px3.28))} + 5}

where

P	Path difference, in m

5.79 As a conservative approach, noise levels for worst case scenarios in ERS and SSS which would occur at different time periods were summed up to establish the cumulative airborne railway noise levels at NSRs. The cumulative noise levels were obtained by using standard acoustic logarithmic addition.

Fixed Plant Sources - Shek Kong Stabling Sidings and Maintenance Facility

5.80 The worst case operation scenarios in the SSS are shown in Table 5.15.

Table 5.15 Operation Scenarios

Train Operation	Operation Scenarios
Length of Train	Long haul and short haul trains of approximate 427m and 214m long, respectively
Night-time Train Movement/Operation activities at SSS (during a 30 minute period)	After 0030 hours · 1 long haul moving (two movements) within SSS to maintenance shed · 2 idling long haul train in the covered maintenance shed for cleaning and inspection · Continuous operation of chillers and compressors
Daytime Train movement/operation activities at SSS (during a 30 minute period)	· 1 short haul moving (two movements) within SSS to maintenance shed · 1 long haul moving (two movements) within SSS to maintenance shed · 2 short haul trains idling on stabling track · 2 long haul trains idling in maintenance shed · 1 loco moving (two movements) within SSS · 1 loco idling in loco shed · Loading of maintenance train (on board crane) · Train wash operating · Continuous operation of chillers and compressors

5.81 The noise from train movements within the SSS, trains idling and fixed plant operation was expected to be the dominant noise sources during the operation of SSS, as it was the experience at other such facilities.

5.82 The source noise level of 60dB(A) Lmax or Leq was adopted for two trains idling simultaneously, at the openings of the maintenance shed, as referenced from measurements of identical operations at the PHMC. Noise from idling trains which would occur only inside the maintenance shed would radiate inside the shed and transmit to the NSRs through the following openings:

· the wall louvers of the shed

· the southern end of the shed, i.e. the opening of the shed

5.83 The noise levels at NSRs were calculated with the corrections for directionality from the southern end, but not from the louvers, distance attenuation in accordance with the FTA Guidance Manual and shielding effect from a line source in accordance with the FTA Guidance Manual. Facade and barrier corrections were also included in the assessment.

5.84 In the case of the noise transmission path out through the open end and through the wall louvers of the shed, the sound power level emitted from the shed opening was predicted following standard acoustic principles with details given below:

Step 1 - Sound Power Level exiting Open End or louvre of Shed

Lw = Lp + 10 log₁₀ S_Exit + 10 log V

where

SExit	Area of exit (m^2)
V	Number of train

Step 2 - Sound Pressure Level at NSR

Lp = Lw-20 log₁₀ (D) -8

where

D	Distance correction (m)

5.85 The directivity of noise emanating from the open end was based on the information published by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) of NSW (Australia) and based on an opening of 400 sq m.

5.86 The louvers are located on the top of the building (ridge vents) and in the walls. These were grouped into seven groups, each group being a different distance from the NSRs. The directivity adjustment was again based on the NSW EPA figures, assuming 14 sq m openings, conservatively equivalent to 6dB attenuation.

5.87 The noise levels from the loco idling in the loco shed was calculated in a similar way. In this case, based on measurements in PHMC, the noise level of the loco idling with exhaust fans operating was taken as 78dB(A).

5.88 Airborne railway noise from train movement within SSS and loco movement within SSS was predicted in accordance with Table 5-2 of FTA Guidance Manual, in addition with a 6dB correction for wheel squeal. The Leq level for train noise at the reference distance was determined by accounting for the number of movements in the relevant 30 minutes or 24 hours:

L_{eq ref} = SEL_ref + 10 log₁₀ (V) – 35.6

where

Leq ref	Leq at 15m over the relevant 30 minutes or 24 hour period, in dB
SELREF	Sound exposure level at 15m for the speed and train length in the table, in dB
V	number of train movements in the relevant 30 minute or 24 hour period, expressed as the average number of movements per hour

5.89 The shielding attenuation was also calculated from the following equation taken from Table 6-9 of the FTA Guidance Manual:

A_barrier = min {15 or [20 log₁₀ {2.51√(Px3.28)/ tanh (4.46√(Px3.28))} + 5}

where

P	Path difference, in m

5.90 Loading of the maintenance train during daytime would be carried out using an on board crane. The sound power level of this crane has been based on an electric tower crane, taken from GW-TM, 95dB(A).

5.91 Noise measurement was made for the train wash at PHMC and the measured noise level was 62dB(A) at 14m from the train wash..

5.92 The cumulative impact from the train movements, trains idling, loading and train wash in SSS was predicted and appropriate mitigation measures were recommended where the predicted noise levels exceed the stipulated noise criteria.

5.93 In the case of fixed plant associated with the maintenance centre, including chillers and compressors, details are not available regarding noise of these items, nor regarding the full installation within the building. It is proposed that the chillers be located on the roof of the building within a semi enclosure and that the compressors be located within the building. The maximum allowable sound power level emitted from the maintenance centre plant has been calculated using the fixed plant noise criteria to be compliant to the noise criteria set out above.

5.94 The specific noise criteria for the maintenance centre fixed plant were derived by logarithmically deducting the noise levels calculated at NSRs from trains idling and moving from the criteria:

Lc (fixed) = 10 log₁₀ [10^Lc(total)/10 – 10^L(trains)/10]

where

Lc(fixed)	noise criterion for fixed plant
Lc(total)	noise criterion for all SSS noise
L(trains)	noise level predicted from trains moving and idling

5.95 Using the maintenance centre plant specific noise criteria, the maximum allowable sound power levels from the plant were calculated:

SWL = Lc + 20 log₁₀ (D) + 8

where

SWL	Maximum allowable sound power level
D	Distance, in metres
Lc	Specific noise criteria

5.96 Screening correction offered by buildings or other structures such as office and residential building was taken into account in calculating the predicted noise levels. A positive 3 dB(A) was added to predicted noise levels at the NSRs due to the façade effect, as for fixed plant noise.

Construction Noise from Maintenance Train Movement During Night-time Period

5.97 Maintenance trains involving maintenance wagons powered by two locos will depart from the SSS around midnight and will return before the commencement of passenger services the next morning. These activities would be undertaken in restricted hours and subject to control by a CNP under the NCO. A CNP should be applied before carrying out any maintenance works in restricted hours. Impact assessment of this source of noise provided in this EIA report would therefore be indicative only.

5.98 One maintenance train (two locos) would depart from the SSS or arrive back at the SSS in the worst 30 minute period at night. The method of calculation of noise levels at the NSRs is the same as that discussed in Sections 5.74 to 5.78. The SEL of the movement of one loco was obtained from the noise measurements at PHMC, as 85dB(A) at a distance of 15m. A +6dB(A) correction was added in the calculation to account for the potential augmentation in noise from wheel squeal.

Fixed Plant Sources – Ventilation Building/Shaft and Traction Substation

5.99 For the assessment of noise from the fixed plant, the maximum permissible sound power levels (Max. SWLs) of the identified fixed noise sources louvers were determined by adopting standard acoustics principles. The following formula will be used for calculating the Max. SWLs of the fixed plant.

SPL = Max SWL – DC + FC - BC

where

SPL	Sound Pressure Level, in dB(A)
Max. SWL	Maximum Permissible Sound Power Level, in dB(A)
DC	Distance Attenuation, in dB(A) (i.e. 20 log D + 8 [where D is the distance in metres])
FC	Facade Correction, in dB(A) (i.e. 3 dB(A))
BC	Barrier Correction, in dB(A)

5.100 It is assumed that all the fixed plant within the same location would be operated at the same time as worst case scenario. Screening correction offered by buildings or other structures such as office and residential building was taken into account in calculating the predicted noise levels. According to the standard acoustic principles, effective barriers can result in noise reduction of 5 to 10dB(A) for the fixed plant depending on the line of sight of the representative NSRs. A positive 3 dB(A) was added to predicted noise levels at the NSRs due to the façade effect.

5.101 Noise from the operation of the trains in the tunnel would unlikely be transmitted through the ventilation system to NSRs but any noise from louvers of the ventilation building would be controlled under NCO, absorptive lining and splitter attenuator would be adopted as appropriate to alleviate the potential noise impact. High performance attenuators will be required to be installed in the ventilation air duct system to control ventilation fan noise and, even when the fans are bypassed by the air, the attenuators will be in the system and will substantially reduce train noise emission to the outside.

5.102 Corrections of tonality, intermittency or impulsiveness were not included. If the noise exhibits any of these characteristics during the operation of the plant, the noise limit should be reduced in accordance with the recommendation given in Section 3.3 of IND-TM.

Airborne Noise Impact Assessment

Construction Phase

5.103 To strike a balance between the need for providing a railway system to the public and the public concerns on the adverse impacts, the following key features have been considered during the design of the Project to alleviate the construction noise impacts as far as practicable:

· Minimisation of number of PME;

· Works would be implemented in phases, where possible, in order to reduce the number of PME required to be on-site; and

· PME adopted for the same construction activities would be grouped, where practicable, in order to reduce the construction noise emission due to concurrent use of PME.

5.104 The unmitigated noise levels at representative NSRs were predicted and presented in Table 5.16, based on the construction programme and plant inventory given in Appendices 2.1 and 5.1. Appendix 5.2 shows the sample calculation of unmitigated construction noise levels.

Table 5.16 Unmitigated Construction Noise Levels

Location	NSR No.	Description	Predicted Unmitigated Construction Noise Levels, dB(A)			EIAO-TM Noise Criteria, dB(A)
Mai Po	MP1	House 5 Phase A Royal Palms	70	-	77	75
	MP2	Mai Po San Tsuen Village House	73	-	84	75
	MP3	No. 166 Mai Po San Tsuen	69	-	75	75
	MP4	Mai Po San Tsuen Village House	70	-	76	75
	MP5	Proposed Comprehensive Development at Wo Shang Wai	73	-	74	75
	MP6	Planned Village House at Village Zone	77	-	83	75
Ngau Tam Mei	NT1	Yau Tam Mei Village House	69	-	80	75
	NT2	Yau Tam Mei Village House	69	-	91	75
	NT3	Yau Tam Mei Village House	59	-	78	75
	NT4	Yau Tam Mei Village House	71	-	81	75
Tai Kong Po	TP1	Kong Tai Road Village House	73	-	85	75
	TP1a	Kong Tai Road Village House	72	-	83	75
	TP2	Kong Tai Road Village House	58	-	89	75
	TP3	No. 283, Kong Tai Road	60	-	82	75
	TP3a	No. 386, Kong Tai Road	59	-	77	75
	TP4	No.46 Chi Ho Road	62	-	88	75
	TP5	No.17 Kam Hing Wai	76	-	88	75
	TP6	House 232, Seasons Monarch	67	-	84	75
Shek Kong	SS1	630 Sheung Tsuen	66	-	87	75
	SS1a	Shek Tau Wai Village House	70	-	79	75
	SS2	Nam Hing Lei Village House	66	-	78	75
	SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	64	-	78	75
	SS5	51A Leung Uk Tsuen	61	-	77	75
	SS6	No.32 Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	65	-	79	75
	SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	63	-	85	75
	SS8	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	64	-	86	75
	SS8a	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	63		83	75
	SS9	House 93, Seasons Villas	77	-	91	75
	SS10	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	68	-	90	75
	SS11	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	66	-	86	75
	SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	66	-	83	75
	SS12	No. 265, Kam Tin Road	71	-	81	75
	SS13	Village House in Kam Tin Road	66	-	79	75
	SS14	Planned village house at Village Zone	62	-	78	75
	SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	64	-	82	75
Tse Uk Tsuen	TU1	Tse Uk Tsuen	71	-	84	75
	TU2	No. 489H Tse Uk Tsuen	68	-	75	75
	TU3	No. 404A Tse Uk Tsuen	70	-	78	75
Pat Heung	PH1	DD 114 LOT 1405 Sheung Tsuen	78	-	83	75
	PH2	No. 305, Sheung Tsuen San Tsuen Village House	75	-	78	75
	PH3	No. 305B, Sheung Tsuen San Tsuen Village House	76	-	77	75
Shing Mun	SM1	Sau Shan House, Cheung Shan Estate	68	-	80	75
	SM2	Tsuen Wan Lutheran School	60	-	73	65/70^(1)
	SM3	Block 3, Lei Muk Shue Estate	54	-	66	75
	SM4	Shui Hong Nursing Home (Cheung Shan Estate Branch)	69		77	70
Shek Yam	SY1	No. 168, Yau Ma Hom Resite Village	57	-	83	75
	SY1a	Planned development at Cheung Wing Road	75	-	76	75
	SY2	Kwai Chung Public School	71	-	75	65/70^(1)
	SY3	Planned Development at Kwok Shui Road	68	-	71	75
Kwai Chung	KC1	Kwai Oi House, Kwai Fong Estate	44	-	66	75
	KC2	No. 1, Ha Kwai Chung Village	65	-	72	75
	KC3	Planned development at Kwai Yi Road	74	-	82	75
	KC4	Tin Hau Temple	63	-	70	75
	KC5	Kwai Chung Training Centre Complex	46	-	65	65/70^(1)
Mei Lai Road	ML1	Po Leung Kuk Tong Nai Kan College	78	-	85	65/70^(1)
	ML2	Block 42, Mei Foo Sun Chuen Phase 6	70	-	75	75
Nam Cheong	NC1	West Kowloon Disciplined Services Quarters Block 1	70	-	79	75
	NC2	Tower 6, Harbour Green	70	-	79	75
	NC4	Tower 1, Metro Harbour View	64	-	76	75
	NC5	Cheong Chit House, Nam Cheong Estate	62	-	75	75
	NC6	Cheong Yat House, Nam Cheong Estate	68	-	80	75
	NC7	Fu Yun House, Fu Cheong Estate	45	-	77	75
	NC8	Fu Hoi House, Fu Cheong Estate	72	-	84	75
	NC9	Ying Wah College	69	-	78	65/70^(1)
	NC10	St. Margaret's Co-educational English Secondary & Primary School	70	-	80	65/70^(1)
	NC11	Tack Ching Girls' Secondary School	40	-	75	65/70^(1)
	NC12	Sham Shui Po Government Primary School	67	-	69	65/70^(1)
	NC13	HKIVE Haking Wong Waterfront Annex	61	-	85	65/70^(1)
	NC14	Lai Chi Kok Fire Quarters	69	-	78	75
	NC15	Hoi Ming House, Hoi Lai Estate	67	-	69	75
	NC16	Tower 3 Aqua Marine	38	-	73	75
	NC17	St. Andrew Primary School	45	-	71	65/70^(1)
Mong Kok West	MK1	Yaumati Catholic Primary School (Hoi Wang Road)	62	-	80	65/70^(1)
	MK2	HKMA David Li Kwok Po College	60	-	76	65/70^(1)
	MK3	Block 11 Charming Garden	56	-	76	75
	MK4	Block 1, Charming Garden	72	-	78	75
	MK6	Planned development at GIC Zone	67		88	70
West Kowloon	WK1	Planned Residential Development at Hoi Ting Road	60	-	74	75
	WK2	Man Yiu Building, 45-47 Man Wai Street	62	-	77	75
	WK3	Man King Building, 46-48 Man Ying Street	66	-	81	75
	WK4	Tower 6, Sorrento	71	-	84	75
	WK5	Wai On Building, Block A	48	-	75	75
	WK6	Tower 1, Victoria Towers	58	-	76	75
	WK7	Lai Chack Middle School	57	-	76	65/70^(1)
	WK7a	Tsim Sha Tsui Fire Station	61	-	83	75
	WK8	Tower 3, Waterfront	69	-	85	75
	WK9	Sky Tower, The Arch	60	-	79	75
	WK10	Tower 2, Harbour Side	47	-	78	75
	WK11	Planned Development	69	-	83	75
	WK12	Future Residential Area	67	-	82	75
	WK14	Moon Tower, The Arch	63	-	84	75
	WK15	Hong Kong Girl Guides Association Headquarters and Related Hostel Use	67		79	70
Siu Lam	SLB1	Aqua Blue Block 36	75	-	75	75
	SLB2	Aqua Blue Block 3	76	-	76	75
Siu Lang Shui	TM1	Planned Sensitive Use at the Former Siu Lang Shui Landfill	50	-	50	75
So Kwun Wat	SKW	Grandview Terrace	70	-	73	75
Tai Shu Ha Road West	TS1	Village House next to Tai Shu Ha Road West	62	-	76	75
Lung Kwu Shang Tan	LK1	Tsz Tong in Lung Kwu Tan Road	79	-	79	70

Note:

(1) EIAO-TM noise limits of Leq(30min) 70 dB(A) for schools during normal hours (65 dB(A) during examination periods).

5.105 The predicted noise levels at the representative NSRs would range from 38 to 91 dB(A), and some of which exceed the EIAO-TM noise criteria. Mitigation measures will be required to abate the construction noise impacts.

Operation Phase

Airborne Railway Noise from ERS and Train Movements from/to SSS

5.106 The unmitigated airborne noise levels calculated from rail operations through the ERS and SSS are shown in Table 5.17. The results indicate that the noise levels would exceed the stipulated noise criteria, primarily as a result of substantial reverberant noise build up within the ERS. Mitigation measures are therefore required to minimise the noise impact. Sample of detailed of the calculation are given in Appendix 5.3.

Table 5.17 Unmitigated Airborne Railway Noise Levels from ERS and SSS

GROUND FLOOR			ERS Railway Noise Result (dB(A))				SSS Railway Noise Result (dB(A))				Overall Result (dB(A))				Noise Criteria ANL (dB(A))			Level of Exceedance (dB(A))
NSR	Description	ASR	Leq, day^(1)	Leq, night^(1)	Leq, 24h	Lmax	Leq, day	Leq, night	Leq, 24h	Lmax	Leq, day	Leq, night	Leq, 24h	Lmax	Leq, day	Leq, night	Lmax	Leq, day	Leq, night	Lmax
SS2	Nam Hing Lei	B	59.1	54.1	56.3	85.6	39.0	36.5	35.0	41.8	59	54	56	86	65	55	85	-	-	1
SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	B	59.7	54.7	56.9	87.5	44.6	42.2	41.3	48.0	60	55	57	87	65	55	85	-	-	2
SS5	51A Leung Uk Tsuen	B	71.5	66.5	68.7	83.2	47.5	45.1	44.1	49.5	72	67	69	83	65	55	85	7	12	-
SS6	32 Leung Uk Tsuen	B	68.0	63.0	65.2	80.2	46.6	44.2	43.0	50.5	68	63	65	80	65	55	85	3	8	-
SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen	B	59.0	54.0	56.3	81.1	44.7	42.4	41.7	54.9	59	54	56	81	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS10	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	B	51.4	46.4	48.6	80.2	43.8	41.6	41.0	54.7	52	48	49	80	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	B	59.1	54.1	56.3	74.3	38.7	36.4	40.4	47.5	59	54	56	74	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS12	No. 265 Kam Tai Road	B	52.4	47.4	49.6	76.3	32.9	30.0	27.9	44.7	52	47	50	76	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS14	Planned village house at Village Zone	B	74.1	69.1	71.3	86.3	46.8	44.5	43.4	53.3	74	69	71	86	65	55	85	9	14	1
SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	B	74.5	69.5	71.8	86.2	47.3	44.9	43.9	55.6	75	70	72	86	65	55	85	10	15	1

TOP FLOOR			ERS Railway Noise Result (dB(A))				SSS Railway Noise Result (dB(A))				Overall Result (dB(A))				Noise Criteria ANL (dB(A))			Level of Exceedance (dB(A))
NSR	Description	ASR	Leq, day^(1)	Leq, night^(1)	Leq, 24h	Lmax	Leq, day	Leq, night	Leq, 24h	Lmax	Leq, day	Leq, night	Leq, 24h	Lmax	Leq, day	Leq, night	Lmax	Leq, day	Leq, night	Lmax
SS2	Nam Hing Lei	B	59.1	54.1	56.3	85.6	39.0	36.5	35.0	41.8	59	54	56	86	65	55	85	-	-	1
SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	B	59.3	54.4	56.6	87.5	44.7	42.3	41.5	48.0	59	55	57	87	65	55	85	-	-	2
SS5	51A Leung Uk Tsuen	B	71.1	66.0	68.3	84.7	47.5	45.1	44.1	49.5	71	66	68	85	65	55	85	6	11	-
SS6	32 Leung Uk Tsuen	B	71.0	66.0	68.3	83.5	46.6	44.2	43.0	50.5	71	66	68	84	65	55	85	6	11	-
SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen	B	65.5	60.6	62.8	87.7	44.7	42.4	41.7	54.9	66	61	63	88	65	55	85	1	6	3
SS10^(2)	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	B	51.4	46.4	48.6	80.2	43.8	41.6	41.0	54.7	52	48	49	80	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	B	59.4	54.4	56.6	74.4	38.7	36.4	40.4	47.5	59	54	57	74	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS12	No. 265 Kam Tai Road	B	52.4	47.4	49.6	76.3	32.9	30.0	27.9	44.7	52	47	50	76	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS14	Planned village house at Village Zone	B	74.0	68.9	71.2	87.8	46.8	44.5	43.4	53.3	74	69	71	88	65	55	85	9	14	3
SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	B	74.9	69.9	72.1	88.9	47.3	44.9	43.9	55.6	75	70	72	89	65	55	85	10	15	4

Note:

(1) Leq(day) and Leq(night) are both 30 minute Leq.

(2) NSR SS10 only has 1-storey high and the noise level is also predicted at top floor for completeness.

Fixed Plant Sources - Shek Kong Stabling Sidings and Maintenance Facility

5.107 The unmitigated noise levels from trains idling and trains moving within the SSS are shown in Table 5.18 with sample detailed calculation given in Appendix 5.4. The predicted levels at all representative NSRs, except SS11a and SS14, would comply with the noise criteria. Measures would therefore be required for alleviating the noise impact at SS11a and SS14.

Table 5.18 Predicted Noise Levels from Train movement/operation at SSS

GROUND FLOOR							Predicted Noise Level		Criteria ANL-5 or background		Level of Exceedance
NSR	Description	ASR	Daytime Background incl façade	Criteria Leq, day	Night time Background incl façade	Criteria Leq, night	Leq, day^(1)	Leq, night^(1)	Leq, day	Leq, night	Leq, day	Leq, night
			dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)
SS2	Nam Hing Lei	B	49	49	39	39	44	37	49	39	-	-
SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	B	49	49	39	39	47	39	49	39	-	-
SS5	51A Leung Uk Tsuen	B	52	52	45	45	49	45	52	45	-	-
SS6	32 Leung Uk Tsuen	B	52	52	45	45	47	43	52	45	-	-
SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen	B	49	49	47	47	46	42	49	47	-	-
SS10	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	B	49	49	47	47	45	40	49	47	-	-
SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	B	52	52	50	50	55	38	52	50	3	-
SS12	No. 265 Kam Tai Road	B	49	49	47	47	41	33	49	47	-	-
SS14	Planned village house at Village Zone	B	49	49	47	47	50	45	49	47	1	-
SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	B	49	49	47	47	49	45	49	47	-	-

TOP FLOOR							Predicted Noise Level		Criteria ANL-5 or background		Level of Exceedance
NSR	Description	ASR	Daytime Background incl façade	Criteria Leq, day	Night time Background incl façade	Criteria Leq, night	Leq, day^(1)	Leq, night^(1)	Leq, day	Leq, night	Leq, day	Leq, night
			dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)
SS2	Nam Hing Lei	B	49	49	39	39	44	37	49	39	-	-
SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	B	49	49	39	39	47	39	49	39	-	-
SS5	51A Leung Uk Tsuen	B	52	52	45	45	49	45	52	45	-	-
SS6	32 Leung Uk Tsuen	B	52	52	45	45	47	43	52	45	-	-
SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen	B	49	49	47	47	46	42	49	47	-	-
SS10^(2)	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	B	49	49	47	47	45	40	49	47	-	-
SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	B	52	52	50	50	55	38	52	50	3	-
SS12	No. 265 Kam Tai Road	B	49	49	47	47	41	33	49	47	-	-
SS14	Planned village house at Village Zone	B	49	49	47	47	50	45	49	47	1	-
SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	B	49	49	47	47	49	45	49	47	-	-

Note:

(1) Leq(day) and Leq(night) are both 30 minute Leq.

(2) NSR SS10 only has 1-storey high and the noise level is also predicted at top floor for completeness.

5.108 As discussed in Section 5.107, mitigation measures are recommended to mitigate the noise impact. Recommended mitigation measures are discussed in Section 5.145. Having established the mitigated noise levels in Table 5.26, it was possible to determine the maximum permissible sound power levels from the plant installed at the maintenance shed. Table 5.19 shows the calculation of the noise criteria applying to the maintenance shed only, by taking into consideration that other plant including pumps and transformers with relatively low noise level and placed within plant room (SWL of pump typically ranges 70 - 80dB(A) within a plant room, calculating to less than 50dB(A) just outside of the building, and SWL of transformer typically 80dB(A) inside) is insignificant. The calculated permissible sound power levels therefore apply to the chillers and compressors, i.e. the noisiest plant. As the noise control criteria for the night-time period would be more stringent (the night-time noise criteria would be 10dB(A) lower than that for the daytime and evening time periods), the calculation was made based on the night-time scenario only.

Table 5.19 Calculation of Maximum Sound Power Level from Maintenance shed

	Description	Predicted Leq(night) ^(1)from train movement within SSS	Maintenance Shed			Cumulative noise level from train movement and maintenance Shed	Criteria Leq(night)
NSR			SWL max	Hor D	Predicted Leq(night) from Maintenance Shed
		dB(A)	dB(A)	m	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)
SS2	Nam Hing Lei	37	101	1031	36	39	39
SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	39	80	975	15	39	39
SS5	51A Leung Uk Tsuen	40	102	461	44	45	45
SS6	32 Leung Uk Tsuen	36	101	345	45	45	45
SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen	42	95	148	46	47	47
SS10	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	40	92	109	47	47	47
SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	36	110	556	50	50	50
SS12	No. 265 Kam Tai Road	33	93	111	47	47	47
SS14	Planned village house at Village Zone	42	102	368	46	47	47
SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	44	101	331	45	47	47
	Max. Allowable SWL		80

Remark:

(1) Mitigated noise levels from train movement within SSS are taken from Table 5.26.

5.109 The predicted permissible sound power level emitted by the plant is 80dB(A), and therefore the chillers will need to be located within a partially enclosed plant room on the roof with acoustic louvres for air inlet and discharge, and acoustic louvres will also be required for air compressors.

5.110 In addition, the equipment should be free of the characteristics of tonality, impulsiveness and intermittency. If the selected equipment could not be free of characteristics of tonality, impulsiveness and intermittency, the Max SWL should be reduced in accordance with the correction factors, in the range of 3 to 6 dB(A), as given in Section 3.3 of IND-TM.

Construction Noise from Maintenance Train Movement During Night-time Period

5.111 The unmitigated noise levels from maintenance trains departing and arriving at the SSS during night-time period are shown in Table 5.20. Samples of detailed calculation are given in Appendix 5.5.

Table 5.20 Unmitigated Noise Levels from Maintenance Trains Movement During Night-time Period

GROUND FLOOR			Loco Launch / Arrive	CNP Criteria	Level of Exceedance
NSR	Description	ASR	Leq, night^(1)	Leq, night^(1)	Leq, night
			dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)
SS2	Nam Hing Lei	B	40	50	-
SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	B	43	50	-
SS5	51A Leung Uk Tsuen	B	44	50	-
SS6	32 Leung Uk Tsuen	B	41	50	-
SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen	B	29	50	-
SS10	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	B	28	50	-
SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	B	51	50	1
SS12	No. 265 Kam Tai Road	B	27	50	-
SS14	Planned village house at Village Zone	B	42	50	-
SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	B	42	50	-

TOP FLOOR			Loco Launch / Arrive	CNP Criteria	Level of Exceedance
NSR	Description	ASR	Leq, night	Leq, night	Leq, night
			dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)
SS2	Nam Hing Lei	B	40	50	-
SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	B	43	50	-
SS5	51A Leung Uk Tsuen	B	44	50	-
SS6	32 Leung Uk Tsuen	B	41	50	-
SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen	B	29	50	-
SS10^(2)	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	B	28	50	-
SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	B	51	50	1
SS12	No. 265 Kam Tai Road	B	27	50	-
SS14	Planned village house at Village Zone	B	42	50	-
SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	B	42	50	-

Note:

(1) Leq(day) and Leq(night) are both 30 minute Leq.

(2) NSR SS10 only has 1-storey high and the noise level is also predicted at top floor for completeness.

5.112 With the predicted noise levels exceeding the noise criteria at NSR SS11a, mitigation measures are required to alleviate the noise impact.

Fixed Plant Sources – Ventilation Building

5.113 Table 5.21 shows the maximum sound power levels calculated for the fixed noise sources identified in Table 5.11. Since each ventilation building will have typically louvres which can radiate noise, the cumulative noise levels from all louvres were assessed to ensure that it would comply with the noise criterion. The maximum sound power level determined is therefore for each louvre. Details of the calculation are given in Appendix 5.6.

Table 5.21 Maximum Sound Power Levels of Ventilation Buildings

Source ID	Plant item	Direction Facing	Maximum SWL during daytime, dB(A)	Maximum SWL during night-time, dB(A)
Mai Po Ventilation Building (MPV)
MPV	Ventilation Shaft	North Elevation 1	92	86
		North Elevation 2	92	86
		East Elevation 1	95	86
		East Elevation 2	95	86
		South Elevation 1	93	85
		South Elevation 2	93	85
		South Elevation 3	93	85
		West Elevation 1	88	84
		West Elevation 2	88	84
Ngau Tam Mei Ventilation Building (NTV)
NTV	Ventilation Shaft	North Elevation 1	84	73
		North Elevation 2	84	73
		North Elevation 3	83	72
		North Elevation 4	83	72
		North Elevation 5	83	72
		East Elevation 1	85	74
		East Elevation 2	85	74
		East Elevation 3	87	76
		South Elevation 1	84	73
		South Elevation 2	84	73
		South Elevation 3	85	74
		South Elevation 4	87	76
		South Elevation 5	87	76
		West Elevation 1	87	76
		West Elevation 2	87	76
		West Elevation 3	87	76
ERS Northern End Ventilation Building (ENV)
ENV	Ventilation Shaft	North Elevation	93	91
		East Elevation	92	90
		South Elevation	95	93
		West Elevation	95	93
ERS Southern End Ventilation Building (ESV)
ESV	Ventilation Shaft	North Elevation	98	95
		East Elevation	100	93
		South Elevation	99	93
		West Elevation	99	93
Pat Heung Ventilation Building (PHV)
PHV	Ventilation Shaft	North Elevation 1	91	85
		North Elevation 2	91	85
		North Elevation 3	91	85
		East Elevation 1	86	80
		East Elevation 2	84	78
		East Elevation 3	83	77
		South Elevation 1	81	75
		South Elevation 2	81	75
		South Elevation 3	82	76
		West Elevation	91	85
Shing Mun Ventilation Building (SMV)
SMV	Ventilation Shaft	North Elevation 1	90	80
		North Elevation 2	90	80
		East Elevation	-^(1)	-^(1)
		South Elevation	102	92
		West Elevation 1	92	82
		West Elevation 2	90	80
Kwai Chung Ventilation Building (KCV)
KCV	Ventilation Shaft	North Elevation 1	113	103
		North Elevation 2	113	103
		North Elevation 3	112	102
		East Elevation	-^(1)	-^(1)
		South Elevation 1	108	98
		South Elevation 2	108	98
		South Elevation 3	108	98
		West Elevation	108	98
Nam Cheong Ventilation Building (NCV)
NCV	Ventilation Shaft	North Elevation 1	90	80
		North Elevation 2	95	85
		East Elevation 1	95	85
		East Elevation 2	95	85
		East Elevation 3	95	85
		East Elevation 4	95	85
		South Elevation	95	85
		West Elevation	-^(1)	-^(1)
Mong Kok West Ventilation Building (MKV)
MKV	Ventilation Shaft	North Elevation 1	101	91
		North Elevation 2	100	90
		East Elevation	-^(1)	-^(1)
		South Elevation	-^(1)	-^(1)
		West Elevation	-^(1)	-^(1)
Ventilation Building for WKT
VS-2A	Ventilation Shaft	West Elevation	100	90
VS-2B	Ventilation Shaft	West Elevation	100	90
VS-4J	Ventilation Shaft	West Elevation	99	89
VS-5K	Ventilation Shaft	East Elevation	100	90
VS-5L	Ventilation Shaft	East Elevation	101	91
VS-6M	Ventilation Shaft	East Elevation	102	92
VS-7P	Ventilation Shaft	East Elevation	101	91
VS-8D	Ventilation Shaft	West Elevation	96	86
		South Elevation	93	83
VS-9F/9G/9H	Ventilation Shaft	South Elevation	92	82
		East Elevation	98	88
		West Elevation	96	86
VS-10A	Ventilation Shaft	South Elevation	100	90
VS-10B	Ventilation Shaft	West Elevation	100	90
VS-10C	Ventilation Shaft	West Elevation	100	90
Substation for WKT
S-1	Substation	East Elevation	99	89

Note:

(1) No louvers will be located at this facade.

5.114 The noise mitigation treatment, if required, will be provided in the form of large silencers, which are available in the market, fitted to the discharge sides of the fans to ensure that the noise levels at NSRs comply with the stipulated noise criteria. A preliminary analysis confirms that the allowable sound power levels can be achieved. For example, experience on other rail tunnel projects indicates that the sound power level generated by the ventilation fans in one building is likely to be approximately 120 – 125 dB(A). At Ngau Tam Mei ventilation building, the sound power level requirement per louvre is as low as 72 dB(A), but there are 16 louvres meaning that the total sound power level is more than 84 dB(A). Reduction of the sound power level from 125 dB(A) to 84 dB(A) requires a silencer providing an insertion loss of 41 dB(A). There are 3m long silencers on the market providing insertion loss values of up to 25 dB at 125 Hz and 60 dB at 1000 Hz, sufficient for the control.

5.115 In addition, the equipment should be free of the characteristics of tonality, impulsiveness and intermittency. If the selected equipment could not be free of characteristics of tonality, impulsiveness and intermittency, the Max SWL should be reduced in accordance with the correction factors, in the range of 3 to 6 dB(A), as given in Section 3.3 of IND-TM.

Noise from Public Transport Interchange (PTI)

5.116 With landscape deck covering the PTI, the major noise sources associated with the operation of PTI are the noise from vehicles movements at ingress and egress points (I/E). It is anticipated that the major noise issues would occur during early morning between 0600 and 0700 hours.

5.117 There are three ingress points located between Yan Cheung Road and Jordan Road on Road D1A, and an egress point located at the junction of Yan Cheung Road and Hoi Wang Road. Alternative location of I/E were considered to be located along Lin Cheung Road. The possibility of alternative locations is limited by the high traffic flow with a relatively fast speed on Lin Cheung Road, and also the minimum distance required from the adjacent road junctions in road planning.

5.118 During the operation of proposed new roads (Roads D1 and D1A) in West Kowloon, it is anticipated that the traffic noise from these new roads would be the dominant noise source affecting the future ambient noise level in West Kowloon.

5.119 The relevant guidelines of the HKPSG have been considered to alleviate the potential noise impact from the PTI. Mitigation measures, including the provision of landscape deck and locating the ingress and egress points away from sensitive receivers as far as possible, have been incorporated in the design of PTI. The potential noise impact at the NSRs due to the operation of PTI is expected to be minimised with these measures incorporated in the design of PTI. Consideration should also be given to adopt administrative controls so that the degree of noise disturbances could be further reduced.

Recommended Mitigation Measures

Construction Phase

5.120 The construction noise assessment indicated that, in the absence of any mitigation measures, there would be exceedance of the construction noise criteria at some of the NSRs. Various mitigation options have thus been considered in accordance with the guidelines laid down in the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance, Guidance Note No. 9/2004 “Preparation of Construction Noise Impact Assessment under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance” (GN 9/2004). It should be noted that the assumptions used in formulating mitigation measures and their practicality were based on the best available information from the preliminary design stage of the Project. Alternative mitigation proposals which could achieve the same noise reduction effect may be formulated in detailed design stage. Mitigation measures considered are discussed below.

Good Site Practice

5.121 Although the noise mitigation effects are easily quantifiable and the benefits may vary with site conditions and operating conditions, good site practices are easy to implement and do not impact upon the works schedule. The site practices listed below should be followed during each phase of construction:

§ Only well-maintained plant should be operated on-site and plant should be serviced regularly during the construction program

§ Silencers or mufflers on construction equipment should be utilized and should be properly maintained during the construction program

§ Mobile plant, if any, should be sited as far from NSRs as possible

§ Machines and plant (such as trucks) that may be in intermittent use should be shut down between work periods or should be throttled down to a minimum

§ Plant known to emit noise strongly in one direction should, wherever possible, be orientated so that the noise is directed away from the nearby NSRs

§ Material stockpiles and other structures should be effectively utilized, wherever practicable, in screening noise from on-site construction activities.

Adoption of Quiet PME

5.122 In order to reduce the excessive noise impacts at the affected NSRs during normal daytime working hours, quieter PME are recommended. The Contractors may use other types of quiet plant instead of specific items of quiet plant adopted in this assessment, which have the same total SWL, to meet their needs. Quiet PME adopted in the assessment were taken from the BS5228: Part 1:1997 (Appendix 5.7). It should be noted that the selected quiet PME for assessment could be found in Hong Kong.

5.123 A list of quiet PME recommended for adoption during the construction phase is presented in Table 5.22.

Table 5.22 Quiet PME Recommended for Adoption during Construction Phase

PME	Power rating/ size, weight	Reference	SWL, dB(A)
Pneumatic breaker	35kg	BS C2/10	110
Tracked Excavator Fitted with Hydraulic Breaker	200kg	BS C8/13	110
Truck Mixer	22kW, 6m^3	BS C6/23	100
Tracked Crane	62kW	BS C7/114	101
Dump Truck	450kW, 50t	BS C9/39	103
Tracked Excavator/Loader	52kW	BS C3/97	105
Dozer	46kW	BS C3/65	111
Road Roller	51KW	BS C8/30	101

Use of Movable Noise Barrier

5.124 The use of movable barrier for certain PME could further alleviate the construction noise impacts. In general, 5dB(A) reduction for movable PME and 10dB(A) for stationary PME can be achieved depending on the actual design of movable noise barrier.

5.125 Table 5.23 shows the assumed noise reduction effects achieved by the movable noise barrier for certain items of PME. The Contractor shall be responsible for design of the movable noise barrier with due consideration given to the size of the PME and the requirement of intercepting the line of sight between the NSRs and PME. Barrier material of surface mass in excess of 7 kg/m2 is recommended to achieve the predicted screening effect.

Use of Noise Enclosure/Acoustic Shed

5.126 Noise enclosure would be used to cover stationary PME such as air compressors, concrete pumps, grout pumps and shotcrete pumps. With the adoption of the noise enclosure, the PME could be completely screened, and noise reduction of 15 dB(A) could be achieved with reference to Paragraph 4.5 of EIAO Guidance Note No. 9/2004. Schematic configuration of a noise enclosure is depicted in Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M53/042.

Use of Acoustic Enclosure

5.127 Enclosing a rock drill in a portable or fixed acoustic enclosure with suitable ventilation would result in up to 20 dB(A) noise reduction (Table B1 of BS5228 refers). The acoustic enclosure should enclose the PME as fully as possible. It should possess adequate insulation so that noise energy would not readily pass through them. A sheet material mass of 10kg/m² should be used to give this insulation. It should be lined inside with an efficient sound absorbent so that noise would not be built up within them or reflected out through openings. The sound-absorbent lining inside the enclosure should normally be at least 25mm thick. Schematic configuration of an acoustic enclosure is depicted in Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M53/043.

Use of Silencer

5.128 To reduce noise emission from the ventilation fans, silencers are also recommended to be used in fan ventilation system to attenuate noise generated during fan operation to achieve a noise reduction of 15dB(A). The Contractor shall be responsible for selection of appropriate silencers for the ventilation fans.

Use of Noise Insulating Fabric

5.129 Noise insulating fabric (the Fabric) would be adopted for certain PME (e.g. drill rig, oscillator & casings etc). The Fabric should be lapped such that there would be no opening or gaps on the joints. With reference to MTRC Contract C4420 Tsim Sha Tsui Modification Noise Assessment Report for Variation of Environmental Permit (July 2003) and the technical data from manufacturer, a noise reduction of over 10 dB(A) could be achieved with the use of the Fabric. As a conservative approach, a noise reduction of 10 dB(A) for the PME lapped with the Fabric was assumed in this assessment.

5.130 A summary of the assumed noise reduction effects achieved by the use of movable noise barrier, noise enclosure, silencer, acoustic enclosure and the Fabric for certain item of PME is presented in Table 5.23.

Table 5.23 Noise Mitigation Measures for Certain PME during Construction Phase

PME	Mitigation Measures Proposed	Noise Reduction, dB(A)
Air compressor	Enclosure/Shed	15
Concrete pump	Enclosure/Shed	15
Drill rig	Fabric	10
Drilling jumbo	Acoustic Enclosure	20
Grab and chisel	Fabric	10
Grout pump	Enclosure/Shed	15
Oscillator & casings	Fabric	10
Piling rig	Fabric	10
Piling, large diameter bored, reverse circulation drill	Fabric	10
Piling, vibrating hammer	Fabric	10
Shotcrete pump	Enclosure/Shed	15
Mini backhoe	Movable Barrier	5
Breaker, mini-robot mounted	Movable Barrier	10
Vibratory poker	Movable Barrier	5
Handheld breaker	Movable Barrier	5
Excavator	Movable Barrier	5
Grab	Movable Barrier	10
Tracked Crane	Movable Barrier	5
Ventilation fans	Silencer	15

Use of Noise Insulating Cover (NIC)

5.131 The noise insulating cover (NIC) is recommended to cover the mucking out points at the Mei Lei Road construction shaft. It was reported in the EIA Report for the Kowloon Southern Link that the NIC could achieve an overall noise reduction of 22 dB(A). Typical configuration of acoustic panels that could achieve this insulation requirement would be 1.5mm GS outer skin, 100mm acoustic infill (e.g. fiber glass) with 80 kg/m³, and an inner perforated sheet. Schematic configurations of the noise insulating cover and acoustic panels are depicted in Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M53/043. A noise reduction of 20 dB(A) was assumed in this calculation.

Temporary hoardings

5.132 Temporary hoardings of 2.4m high are recommended for TBM removal at works area B (Ngau Tam Mei Ventilation Shaft). Identified noise sensitive receivers are located to the north of the works area, and therefore hoardings would be erected along the works boundary facing the noise sensitive receivers. The PME involved in construction would be completely screened by the erected site hoardings.

5.133 Similar to the above case, temporary hoardings of 2.4m high are recommended for construction of access road at works area D (Shek Kong Stabling Sidings) - TBM driving to the north. The PME involved in construction would be completely screened by erecting the site hoardings along the works boundary of access road.

5.134 Without direct line of sight from the affected NSRs, a noise reduction of 10 dB(A) could be achieved, provided that the barriers have no openings or gaps and have a superficial surface density of at least 10 kg/m².

Use of Alternative Quieter Construction Method

5.135 Substantial noise exceedance would be encountered at nearby NSRs during the demolition of infrastructure. High noise emission PME, including mini-robot mounted breaker (SWL = 110) and oscillator pile (SWL = 115) would typically be adopted for demolition works. In view of this, demolition works would be separated into two phases which are removal of superstructures and foundation.

5.136 Wire saw with a SWL of 101 dB(A) is a quieter alternative to replace the conventional mini-robot mounted breaker and oscillator pile for the removal of superstructures.

5.137 It is recommended to use wire saw for removal of existing structures in works area N, O and S, Nam Cheong Works Area.

Scheduling of Construction Works outside School Examination Periods

5.138 The daytime construction noise criterion during school examination period is 65 dB(A), which is lower than the normal daytime school criterion of 70 dB(A). During construction phase, the contractor should liaise with the educational institutions (including NSRs SM2, SY2, KC5, ML1, NC9, NC10, NC11, NC12, NC13, NC17, MK1, MK2 and WK7) to obtain the examination schedule and avoid the noisy construction activities during school examination period.

Mitigated Construction Noise Impacts

5.139 With the implementation of all the above-mentioned mitigation measures, the total SWLs of each activity were predicted and are presented in Appendix 5.7. The predicted noise levels at most of the NSRs would comply with the EIAO-TM noise criteria. Table 5.24 presents the mitigated noise levels at NSRs. Details of the calculation are given in Appendix 5.8.

Table 5.24 Summary of Mitigated Construction Noise Levels

Location	NSR No.	Description	Predicted Mitigated Construction Noise Levels, dB(A)			EIAO-TM Noise Criteria, dB(A)
Mai Po	MP1	House 5 Phase A Royal Palms	57	-	70	75
	MP2	Mai Po San Tsuen Village House	60	-	70	75
	MP3	No. 166 Mai Po San Tsuen	55	-	67	75
	MP4	Mai Po San Tsuen Village House	56	-	66	75
	MP5	Proposed Comprehensive Development at Wo Shang Wai	59	-	62	75
	MP6	Planned Village House at Village Zone	64	-	74	75
Ngau Tam Mei	NT1	Yau Tam Mei Village House	60	-	64	75
	NT2	Yau Tam Mei Village House	60	-	75	75
	NT3	Yau Tam Mei Village House	49	-	67	75
	NT4	Yau Tam Mei Village House	60	-	67	75
Tai Kong Po	TP1	Kong Tai Road Village House	59	-	73	75
	TP1a	Kong Tai Road Village House	58	-	71	75
	TP2	Kong Tai Road Village House	41	-	75	75
	TP3	No. 283, Kong Tai Road	43	-	68	75
	TP3a	No. 386, Kong Tai Road	42	-	63	75
	TP4	No.46 Chi Ho Road	45	-	75	75
	TP5	No.17 Kam Hing Wai	62	-	75	75
	TP6	House 232, Seasons Monarch	53	-	68	75
Shek Kong	SS1	630 Sheung Tsuen	52	-	74	75
	SS1a	Shek Tau Wai Village House	59	-	67	75
	SS2	Nam Hing Lei Village House	52	-	68	75
	SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	50	-	68	75
	SS5	51A Leung Uk Tsuen	47	-	68	75
	SS6	No.32 Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	55	-	69	75
	SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	46	-	72	75
	SS8	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	47	-	74	75
	SS8a	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	46		71	75
	SS9	House 93, Seasons Villas	63	-	74	75
	SS10	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	54	-	78	75
	SS11	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	52	-	77	75
	SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	52	-	73	75
	SS12	No. 265, Kam Tin Road	57	-	70	75
	SS13	Village House in Kam Tin Road	52	-	69	75
	SS14	Planned Village House at Village Zone	48	-	69	75
	SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	54	-	73	75
Tse Uk Tsuen	TU1	Tse Uk Tsuen	57	-	73	75
	TU2	No. 489H Tse Uk Tsuen	54	-	66	75
	TU3	No. 404A Tse Uk Tsuen	56	-	70	75
Pat Heung	PH1	DD 114 LOT 1405 Sheung Tsuen	66	-	72	75
	PH2	No. 305, Sheung Tsuen San Tsuen Village House	61	-	70	75
	PH3	No. 305B, Sheung Tsuen San Tsuen Village House	63	-	69	75
Shing Mun	SM1	Sau Shan House, Cheung Shan Estate	62	-	70	75
	SM2	Tsuen Wan Lutheran School	53	-	63	65/70^(1)
	SM3	Block 3, Lei Muk Shue Estate	46	-	56	75
	SM4	Shui Hong Nursing Home (Cheung Shan Estate Branch)	60		67	70
Shek Yam	SY1	No. 168, Yau Ma Hom Resite Village	46	-	73	75
	SY1a	Planned development at Cheung Wing Road	63	-	66	75
	SY2	Kwai Chung Public School	61	-	66	65/70^(1)
	SY3	Planned Development at Kwok Shui Road	57	-	63	75
Kwai Chung	KC1	Kwai Oi House, Kwai Fong Estate	44	-	58	75
	KC2	No. 1, Ha Kwai Chung Village	54	-	63	75
	KC3	Planned development at Kwai Yi Road	64		72	75
	KC4	Tin Hau Temple	52	-	61	75
	KC5	Kwai Chung Training Centre Complex	46	-	59	65/70^(1)
Mei Lai Road	ML1	Po Leung Kuk Tong Nai Kan College	63	-	73	65/70^(1)
	ML2	Block 42, Mei Foo Sun Chuen Phase 6	54	-	64	75
Nam Cheong	NC1	West Kowloon Disciplined Services Quarters Block 1	59	-	72	75
	NC2	Tower 6, Harbour Green	60	-	71	75
	NC4	Tower 1, Metro Harbour View	54	-	68	75
	NC5	Cheong Chit House, Nam Cheong Estate	51	-	67	75
	NC6	Cheong Yat House, Nam Cheong Estate	58	-	71	75
	NC7	Fu Yun House, Fu Cheong Estate	45	-	67	75
	NC8	Fu Hoi House, Fu Cheong Estate	66	-	74	75
	NC9	Ying Wah College	61	-	70	65/70^(1)
	NC10	St. Margaret's Co-educational English Secondary & Primary School	60	-	67	65/70^(1)
	NC11	Tack Ching Girls' Secondary School	40	-	65	65/70^(1)
	NC12	Sham Shui Po Government Primary School	58	-	61	65/70^(1)
	NC13	HKIVE Haking Wong Waterfront Annex	51	-	77	65/70^(1)
	NC14	Lai Chi Kok Fire Quarters	58	-	71	75
	NC15	Hoi Ming House, Hoi Lai Estate	58	-	63	75
	NC16	Tower 3 Aqua Marine	38	-	65	75
	NC17	St. Andrew Primary School	45	-	59	65/70^(1)
Mong Kok West	MK1	Yaumati Catholic Primary School (Hoi Wang Road)	55	-	74	65/70^(1)
	MK2	HKMA David Li Kwok Po College	53	-	69	65/70^(1)
	MK3	Block 11 Charming Garden	50	-	68	75
	MK4	Block 1, Charming Garden	61	-	71	75
	MK6	Planned development at GIC Zone	59		82	70
West Kowloon	WK1	Planned Residential Development at Hoi Ting Road	55	-	67	75
	WK2	Man Yiu Building, 45-47 Man Wai Street	56	-	69	75
	WK3	Man King Building, 46-48 Man Ying Street	60	-	73	75
	WK4	Tower 6, Sorrento	65	-	76	75
	WK5	Wai On Building, Block A	48	-	66	75
	WK6	Tower 1, Victoria Towers	56	-	67	75
	WK7	Lai Chack Middle School	57	-	66	65/70^(1)
	WK7a	Tsim Sha Tsui Fire Station	55	-	72	75
	WK8	Tower 3, Waterfront	65	-	78	75
	WK9	Sky Tower, The Arch	57	-	70	75
	WK10	Tower 2, Harbour Side	47	-	75	75
	WK11	Planned Development	64	-	72	75
	WK12	Future Residential Area	64	-	72	75
	WK14	Moon Tower, The Arch	63	-	76	75
	WK15	Hong Kong Girl Guides Association Headquarters and Related Hostel Use	61		70	70
Siu Lam	SLB1	Aqua Blue Block 36	63	-	63	75
	SLB2	Aqua Blue Block 3	64	-	64	75
Siu Lang Shui	TM1	Planned Sensitive Use at the Former Siu Lang Shui Landfill	50	-	50	75
So Kwun Wat	SKW	Grandview Terrace	63	-	66	75
Tai Shu Ha Road West	TS1	Village House next to Tai Shu Ha Road West	48	-	69	75
Lung Kwu Shang Tan	LK1	Tsz Tong in Lung Kwu Tan Road	67	-	67	70

Note:

(1) EIAO-TM noise limits of Leq(30 min) 70dB(A) for schools during normal hours (65 dB(A) during examination periods).

Operation Phase

5.140 With the predicted operational noise levels exceeding the criteria at NSRs in Shek Kong, the following mitigation proposals were proposed:

§ A 8m high barrier along the access road on eastern side of SSS;

§ 5.5m barrier along western boundary facing Leung Uk Tsuen squats; and

§ 13m absorptive panels on both sides and full length of ERS.

5.141 The extent of the mitigations proposed above is illustrated in Figure Nos. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/202-204 and the effectiveness of the mitigation proposal was examined, as discussed below.

5.142 Flexibility has been allowed in the design for the implementation of further mitigation measures (e.g. installation of additional noise absorptive panels at ERS and extension of noise barriers) during commissioning/operation stages of the Project to deal with any unforeseeable impact to the NSRs.

Airborne Railway Noise from ERS and SSS

5.143 Unmitigated noise levels from ERS and SSS train operations would exceed the criteria at some locations, primarily because of noise from the ERS, and particularly as a result of the reverberant build-up of noise within a depressed box. To eliminate the reverberant noise inside the ERS, sound absorption treatment is recommended to be provided at the interior walls of the ERS. Figure Nos. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/202-204 show the extent of the required absorption treatment, being for a height of 13m located 3m above top of rail, on both sides and for the full length of the ERS. A 8 high barrier is also recommended to further minimise the noise impact from the train passby in ERS and train shunting movements in SSS.

5.144 With the provision of sound absorption treatment and noise barrier, the predicted noise levels, as presented in Table 5.25, would comply with the noise criteria. Details of the calculation are given in Appendix 5.9. Predicted noise levels at SS2 and SS10, which are located at approximately 75m and 45m respectively from SSS, are well within the noise criteria for ASR “B” and even for more stringent ASR “A”. As such sensitive receivers with ASR “A” (e.g. SS1, which are located at approximately 270m away from SSS) would be subject to airborne railway noise levels complying with stipulated daytime and night-time noise limits of 60 and 50 dB(A) respectively.

Table 5.25 Mitigated Airborne Railway Noise Levels from ERS and SSS

GROUND FLOOR			ERS Railway Noise Result (dB(A))				SSS Railway Noise Result (dB(A))				Overall Result (dB(A))				Noise Criteria ANL (dB(A))			Level of Exceedance (dB(A))
NSR	Description	ASR	Leq, day	Leq, night	Leq, 24h	Lmax	Leq, day	Leq, night	Leq, 24h	Lmax	Leq, day^(1)	Leq, night^(1)	Leq, 24h	Lmax	Leq, day	Leq, night	Lmax	Leq, day	Leq, night	Lmax
SS2	Nam Hing Lei	B	42.1	37.1	39.3	70.1	39.0	36.5	35.0	41.8	44	40	41	70	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	B	43.9	38.9	41.1	72.5	44.6	42.2	41.3	48.0	47	44	44	72	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS5	51A Leung Uk Tsuen	B	54.3	49.3	51.5	69.2	47.5	45.1	44.1	49.5	55	51	52	69	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS6	32 Leung Uk Tsuen	B	53.9	48.9	51.1	69.1	46.6	44.2	43.0	50.5	55	50	52	69	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen	B	49.0	44.0	46.3	73.4	44.7	42.4	41.7	54.9	50	46	48	73	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS10	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	B	47.0	42.0	44.2	76.7	43.8	41.6	41.0	54.7	49	45	46	77	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	B	51.5	46.5	48.7	68.1	38.7	36.4	40.4	47.5	52	47	49	68	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS12	No. 265 Kam Tai Road	B	45.6	40.6	42.8	70.4	32.9	30.0	27.9	44.7	46	41	43	70	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS14	Planned village house at Village Zone	B	57.3	52.2	54.5	71.8	46.8	44.5	43.4	53.3	58	53	55	72	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	B	58.5	53.4	55.7	73.0	47.3	44.9	43.9	55.6	59	54	56	73	65	55	85	-	-	-

TOP FLOOR			ERS Railway Noise Result (dB(A))				SSS Railway Noise Result (dB(A))				Overall Result (dB(A))				Noise Criteria ANL (dB(A))			Level of Exceedence (dB(A))
NSR	Description	ASR	Leq, day	Leq, night	Leq, 24h	Lmax	Leq, day	Leq, night	Leq, 24h	Lmax	Leq, day^(1)	Leq, night^(1)	Leq, 24h	Lmax	Leq, day	Leq, night	Lmax	Leq, day	Leq, night	Lmax
SS2	Nam Hing Lei	B	42.1	37.1	39.3	70.1	39.0	36.5	35.0	41.8	44	40	41	70	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	B	45.9	41.0	43.2	74.7	44.7	42.3	41.5	48.0	48	45	45	75	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS5	51A Leung Uk Tsuen	B	54.0	49.0	51.3	69.1	47.5	45.1	44.1	49.5	55	51	52	69	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS6	32 Leung Uk Tsuen	B	53.6	48.6	50.8	68.9	46.6	44.2	43.0	50.5	54	50	51	69	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen	B	48.9	43.9	46.1	73.2	44.7	42.4	41.7	54.9	50	46	47	73	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS10^(2)	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	B	47.0	42.0	44.2	76.7	43.8	41.6	41.0	54.7	49	45	46	77	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	B	51.5	46.5	48.7	68.0	38.7	36.4	40.4	47.5	52	47	49	68	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS12	No. 265 Kam Tai Road	B	45.4	40.4	42.6	70.3	32.9	30.0	27.9	44.7	46	41	43	70	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS14	Planned village house at Village Zone	B	57.2	52.1	54.4	71.7	46.8	44.5	43.4	53.3	58	53	55	72	65	55	85	-	-	-
SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	B	58.3	53.3	55.5	72.8	47.3	44.9	43.9	55.6	59	54	56	73	65	55	85	-	-	-

Note:

(1) Leq(day) and Leq(night) are both 30 minute Leq.

(2) NSR SS10 only has 1-storey high and the noise level is also predicted at top floor for completeness.

(3) Apart from adopting the worst case scenario of maximum XRL operation capacity in airborne railway noise assessment, conservative approach has been adopted by taking the maximum allowable barrier attenuation (i.e. 15dB(A) for propulsion and 20dB(A) for wheel rail), as recommended in the Table 5-3 of FRA Manual . Based on this calculation method, the prediction would underestimate the level reduction for such a large barrier spaced well away from the noise source (i.e. 8m barrier + 19m ERS wall) because the FRA Manual barrier calculation is based mainly on barriers close to the rail track. Based on the worst case scenario, the airborne railway noise levels at the NSRs to the east of ERS are expected to have considerable amount of 1-2 dB(A) margin to compensate for the penalty factor, if applicable, due to the characteristic of noise radiated from open box at ERS, such as intermittency subject to future noise measurement for determination of noise characteristics. There is flexibility in the design to allow implementation of further mitigation measures (e.g. installation of additional noise absorptive panels at ERS) during commissioning/operation stages of the Project to deal with any unforeseeable impact to the NSRs.

Fixed Plant Sources - Shek Kong Stabling Sidings and Maintenance Facility

5.145 A 5.5m high barrier is recommended to be erected along part of the western boundary in front of SS11a. With the provision of recommended mitigation measures as stated in Section 5.140, the resultant noise levels would comply with the criteria, as shown in Table 5.26 and samples of detailed calculation are shown in Appendix 5.10.

Table 5.26 Mitigated Noise Levels from Train Movement/Operation at SSS

GROUND FLOOR							Predicted Noise Level		Criteria ANL-5 or background		Level of Exceedence
NSR	Description	ASR	Daytime Background incl façade	Criteria Leq, day	Night time Background incl façade	Criteria Leq, night	Leq, day	Leq, night	Leq, day	Leq, night	Leq, day	Leq, night
			dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)
SS2	Nam Hing Lei	B	49	49	39	39	44	37	49	39	-	-
SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	B	49	49	39	39	47	39	49	39	-	-
SS5	51A Leung Uk Tsuen	B	52	52	45	45	45	38	52	45	-	-
SS6	32 Leung Uk Tsuen	B	52	52	45	45	42	35	52	45	-	-
SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen	B	49	49	47	47	46	42	49	47	-	-
SS10	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	B	49	49	47	47	45	40	49	47	-	-
SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	B	52	52	50	50	46	33	52	50	-	-
SS12	No. 265 Kam Tai Road	B	49	49	47	47	41	33	49	47	-	-
SS14	Planned village house at Village Zone	B	49	49	47	47	39	33	49	47	-	-
SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	B	49	49	47	47	38	31	49	47	-	-

TOP FLOOR							Predicted Noise Level		Criteria ANL-5 or background		Level of Exceedence
NSR	Description	ASR	Daytime Background incl façade	Criteria Leq, day	Night time Background incl façade	Criteria Leq, night	Leq, day	Leq, night	Leq, day	Leq, night	Leq, day	Leq, night
			dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)
SS2	Nam Hing Lei	B	49	49	39	39	44	37	49	39	-	-
SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	B	49	49	39	39	47	39	49	39	-	-
SS5	51A Leung Uk Tsuen	B	52	52	45	45	47	40	52	45	-	-
SS6	32 Leung Uk Tsuen	B	52	52	45	45	43	36	52	45	-	-
SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen	B	49	49	47	47	46	42	49	47	-	-
SS10^(2)	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	B	49	49	47	47	45	40	49	47	-	-
SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	B	52	52	50	50	51	36	52	50	-	-
SS12	No. 265 Kam Tai Road	B	49	49	47	47	41	33	49	47	-	-
SS14	Planned village house at Village Zone	B	49	49	47	47	47	42	49	47	-	-
SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	B	49	49	47	47	47	44	49	47	-	-

Note:

(1) Leq(day) and Leq(night) are both 30 minute Leq.

(2) NSR SS10 only has 1-storey high and the noise level is also predicted at top floor for completeness.

Construction Noise from Maintenance Train Movement During Night-time Period

5.146 With the provision of 5.5m barrier along part of the western boundary, the predicted construction noise levels at NSRs would comply with the noise criteria. Sample of detailed calculation is given in Appendix 5.11.

Table 5.27 Mitigated Noise Levels from Maintenance Train Movement During Night-time Period

GROUND FLOOR			Loco Launch / Arrive	CNP Criteria	Level of Exceedence
NSR	Description	ASR	Leq, night^(1)	Leq, night	Leq, night
			dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)
SS2	Nam Hing Lei	B	40	50	-
SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	B	43	50	-
SS5	51A Leung Uk Tsuen	B	41	50	-
SS6	32 Leung Uk Tsuen	B	39	50	-
SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen	B	29	50	-
SS10	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	B	28	50	-
SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	B	39	50	-
SS12	No. 265 Kam Tai Road	B	27	50	-
SS14	Planned village house at Village Zone	B	34	50	-
SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	B	34	50	-

TOP FLOOR			Loco Launch / Arrive	CNP Criteria	Level of Exceedence
NSR	Description	ASR	Leq, night^(1)	Leq, night	Leq, night
			dB(A)	dB(A)	dB(A)
SS2	Nam Hing Lei	B	40	50	-
SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	B	43	50	-
SS5	51A Leung Uk Tsuen	B	42	50	-
SS6	32 Leung Uk Tsuen	B	39	50	-
SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen	B	29	50	-
SS10^(2)	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	B	28	50	-
SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	B	45	50	-
SS12	No. 265 Kam Tai Road	B	27	50	-
SS14	Planned village house at Village Zone	B	39	50	-
SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	B	38	50	-

Note:

(1) Leq(day) and Leq(night) are both 30 minute Leq.

(2) NSR SS10 only has 1-storey high and the noise level is also predicted at top floor for completeness.

Evaluation of Residual Impacts

Construction Phase

5.147 Residual construction noise impacts were assessed and presented in the Table 5.28 below. Residual impacts of 1-12 dB(A) would be expected at some of the NSRs (including SS10, SS11, ML1, NC13, MK1, MK6, WK4, WK8 and WK14), mainly due to the proximity of works areas to NSRs. The construction activities contributed to the residual impacts are possession of site, drill and blast tunnelling works, removal of TBM and foundations, reprovision of bridge, construction of diaphragm wall and foundation, excavation or fill of soft and rock materials, piling and backfilling.

Table 5.28 Predicted Residual Impacts Due to the Project

Location	NSR No.	Description	Range of Residual Impact throughout Construction Period (dB(A))^1			Duration of Residual Impact (months)	Construction Activities Causing Exceedance
Shek Kong	SS10	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	1	-	3	13	Construction of diaphragm wall, excavation/fill of soft material and rock
	SS11	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats		2		2	Piling and excavation of soft material
Mei Lai Road	ML1	Po Leung Kuk Tong Nai Kan College	1	-	3	12	Drill and blast tunnelling and removal of TBM.
Nam Cheong	NC13	HKIVE Haking Wong Waterfront Annex	3	-	7	34	Removal of superstructures and foundations and reprovisioning of bridge
Mong Kok West	MK1	Yaumati Catholic Primary School		4		6	Construction of diaphragm wall
	MK6	Planned development at GIC Zone	3	-	12^(2)	11	Possession of site, construction of diaphragm wall and backfilling works
West Kowloon	WK4	Tower 6, Sorrento		1		4	Construction of diaphragm wall and foundation
	WK8	Tower 3, Waterfront	2	-	3	9	Construction of diaphragm wall and foundation
	WK14	Moon Tower, The Arch		1		5	Construction of diaphragm wall and foundation

Note:

1. Construction works during school examination period would be avoided by scheduling of works. As a result, there will be no residual construction noise impact during examination period.

2. There is no committed development at this GIC zone (i.e. NSR MK6) at the time of reporting, and therefore there might not have potential cumulative impact at this planned NSR prior to the completion of construction works at Mong Kok West.

5.148 With residual noise impacts predicted at 9 representative NSRs, further mitigation measures have been examined to further alleviate the noise impact. However, mitigation measures have been exhausted due to site constraints and safety issue to site workers and passers-by. Details of the practicability and feasibility of further mitigation measures are discussed in following sections.

Works Area D – Shek Kong Stabling

5.149 Residual impact predicted at NSR SS10 is due to the construction of diaphragm wall, excavation/fill of soft material for river diversion and excavation of rock. Movable barrier and noise insulating fabric have been recommended to alleviate the noise emission from PME. However, SS10 is located in close proximity of works areas such that it would experience residual impact even with the implementation of recommended measures. Additional practical measures could not further reduce the noise levels, and therefore mitigation measures have been exhausted.

5.150 Piling and excavation of soft material are the construction activities contributed to the residual impact at NSR SS11. Piling works would be constructed at the locomotive building which will be located in close proximity to SS11. The use of piling rig would generate high level of noise emission, thereby resulting in high noise level at SS11. Noise insulating fabric has already been proposed to alleviate the noise impact associated with the use of piling rig. Additional practical measures could not further reduce the noise levels, and therefore mitigation measures have been exhausted.

5.151 Cumulative effect of construction activities has also contributed to the residual impact at the NSRs SS10 and SS11. The construction activities within the works area of SSS (i.e. Works Area D) have been divided into 3 major zones, TBM Driving to the North, TBM Driving to the South and ERS and Stabling Sidings. Construction activities within the works area have already been scheduled to avoid heavy construction simultaneously as far as practicable for minimization of cumulative impacts. Further rescheduling of activities is not feasible as the activities are constrained by the programme and the construction sequences. In addition, all practical and effective noise mitigation measures as discussed in Section 5.148 and 5.149 have been exhausted to reduce the potential impact to the NSRs from the construction works.

Works Area L – Mei Lai Road Construction Shaft

5.152 Drill and blast tunnelling works and TBM removal would contribute to the residual impact at NSR ML1. The use of NIC has been proposed to screen the noise generated from the shaft excavation works, though the use of road trucks within the works site would still cause residual impact.

5.153 However, NSR ML1 of 7-storey high building adjoins to the works area, and thus the NSRs would have direct line of sight on the works areas even with the provision of movable or temporary barriers. Substantial noise barrier of more than 10m high may minimise the noise impact but it is not practical due to site and engineering constraint, and also there would be potential secondary impact due to the construction of a substantial noise barrier with a large footing.

5.154 NSR ML1 is provided with either split type or window type air conditioner, it is anticipated that the residual impact would not adversely affect this NSR with the use of air conditioner for ventilation. To further minimise the noise impact to NSR ML1, noisy construction works should be avoided during the examination period.

Works Areas N & O – Lai Chi Kok Works Area

5.155 Removal of foundation would involve the use of mini-robot mounted breaker and oscillator pile. These PME would contribute to the residual impact at NSR NC13. Alternative quieter method and noise insulating fabric has been recommended to reduce noise emission from piling rig oscillator pile, removing foundations of infrastructures.

5.156 The use of wire saw is practicable to removal of superstructures but infeasible for removal of foundations due to site and engineering constraints.

5.157 The teaching hours of NC13 would start from 0830 to 1730 hours and 1830 to 2200 hours, and therefore scheduling of foundation removal activity during non-teaching hours is not feasible.

5.158 As NSR NC13 adjoins to the works area and would have direct line of sight to the works areas even with the provision of noise barrier. Substantial noise barrier of more than 10m high may minimise the noise impact but it is not practical due to site and engineering constraint, and also there would be potential secondary impact due to the construction of a substantial noise barrier with a large footing. In addition, provision of noise enclosure is also not practical for demolition works. All feasible mitigation measures have been exhausted to minimise the noise impact at this NSR.

5.159 To avoid further adverse impact to NC13, noisy construction works should be avoided during the examination period.

Works Area V – West Kowloon Terminus and Mong Kok West

5.160 Construction of diaphragm wall would contribute to the residual impacts at NSR MK1. Possession of site, construction of diaphragm wall and backfilling works would contribute to the residual impact at NSR MK6. On the other hand, cumulative impact from construction of diaphragm wall and foundation works would contribute to the residual impacts at NSRs WK4, WK8 and WK14.

5.161 The practicability of using movable barriers in works area V has been reviewed. As these NSRs adjoining the works area are high-rise residential buildings of up to 52-storey high (NSRs WK4, WK8 and WK14) and schools of 8-storey high (NSRs MK1), such that they would have direct line of sight to the works areas even with the use of substantial noise barrier along the works boundary. It is also envisaged that no space is available for installation of barrier footing. Cantilever barrier has also been considered but it is not feasible for the construction of diaphragm wall. All feasible mitigation measures have been exhausted to minimise the noise impact at this NSR.

5.162 NSR MK6 is a planned development at government, institutional or community (GIC) zone. Potential noise sensitive uses within this GIC zone include religious institution, hospital, public clinic, educational institution, institutional use and library. As a worst case scenario, noise assessment point has been selected at the boundary of GIC zone without any setback distance for predicting the maximum construction noise impact. Considering the proximity of works areas to MK6, mitigation measures such as movable noise barriers would not be feasible due to spatial limitation. However, there is no committed development at this GIC zone at the time of reporting, and therefore there might not have potential cumulative impact at this planned NSR prior to the completion of construction works at Mong Kok West.

5.163 NSR MK1 is provided with either split type or window type air conditioner, it is anticipated that the residual impact would not adversely affect this NSR with the use of air conditioner for ventilation. To further minimise the noise impact to NSR MK1, noisy construction works should be avoided during the examination period.

Conclusion

5.164 Having taken into account the above, it was considered that all direct mitigation measures have been exhausted and the construction noise impact at the works areas has been minimized.

Operation Phase

5.165 With the implementation of recommended mitigation measures, residual noise impacts due to train and fixed plant operation are not anticipated.

Cumulative Impact

Construction Phase

5.166 There will be several concurrent designated projects located in the vicinity of the Project’s works areas, as such some NSRs may subject to cumulative construction noise impacts from these projects. Layout/works area of concurrent projects are shown in Figure No. NOL/ERL/300C/XRL/ENS/M51/401 and 402 of Appendix 5.12.

5.167 The concurrent projects in the vicinity of Works Area A include the Proposed Comprehensive Development at Wo Shang Wai, Yuen Long (CDWSW), Construction of Cycle Tracks and the Associated Supporting Facilities from Sha Po Tsuen to Shek Sheung River (CTSF) and Yuen Long and Kam Tin Sewerage and Sewage Disposal 2 (YLKTSSD2).

5.168 The concurrent projects in the vicinity of Works Area D are the Upgrading of Remaining Sections of Kam Tin Road and Lam Kam Road (UKRLR) and Yuen Long and Kam Tin Sewerage and Sewage Disposal 2 (YLKTSSD2).

5.169 The concurrent project in the vicinity of Works Area V is Road Works at West Kowloon (RWWK).

Works Area A – Mai Po Ventilation Building (MPV)

5.170 The western portion of works Area A falls within CDWSW site boundary and will be temporarily occupied for supporting the construction of the Project. This portion is anticipated to be returned to the project proponent of CDWSW in mid of 2013 as civil construction works at MPV would be completed in mid of 2013, and therefore it is envisaged that there would be no significant cumulative impact after mid of 2013.

5.171 According to the EIA of CDWSW (Register No.: AEIAR – 120/2008), construction works will be conducted from January 2009 to January 2012. As stipulated in the project’s Environmental Permit (EP-311/2008), the wetland restoration area (WRA) shall be constructed within the first 12 months after the commencement of construction and shall take place in a single wet season which is between 15 March and 15 November only. As the construction of WRA did not commence in March 2009, the construction programme would need to be deferred. In respect to the restriction on the construction of WRA and practicability of construction programme according to the proposed construction periods for the CDWSW, the earliest commencement date of construction works might be January 2010. As a conservative assumption, there would be construction works for the CDWSW from January 2010 to January 2013, with an overlapping period of about 36 months with the construction works at MPV. The construction noise impact assessment in the CDWSW EIA indicated that there would not be any residual impact resulted from the construction of CDWSW with the adoption of recommended mitigation measures.

5.172 According to the EIA of CTSF (Register No.: AEIAR-133/2009), the project is scheduled to commence from mid 2009 to early 2012. Construction works involved in the vicinity of MPV include construction of cycle tracks, fill slopes and retaining walls which would last for 10 weeks per 100m of cycle track. The potential construction noise impacts have been assessed in the EIA of CTSF. The result revealed that there would be no residual impact resulted from the construction of CTSF with the implementation of the recommended mitigation measures.

5.173 According to the EIA of YLKTSSD2 (Register No.: AEIAR-078/2004), construction works involved in the vicinity of MPV include construction of gravity sewers by open trench method. Construction noise assessment was conducted at a NSR in Mai Po San Tsuen. The result indicated that there would be residual impact of 78.5 dB(A) but the duration of residual impact would only last for a short period of time. This is because the sewer would be constructed in segments of up to a maximum of 50m in length at any one time and exceedances are likely limited only to time periods when the construction work is being carried out adjacent to the NSRs (within a radius of about 50m).

5.174 The proposed alignment of both cycle track and trunk sewer of the projects CTSF and YLKTSSD2 respectively lies on the same path along San Tin Highway. In view of the same construction works area, it is anticipated that construction activities could only be carried out for either one of the projects and there would be no cumulative impact resulting from construction of CTSF and YLKTSSD2. At the time of reporting, there is no information on the committed implementation of the programme of YLKTSSD2 and the construction activities to be involved in the vicinity of MPV. As such, cumulative construction noise impact from YLKTSSD2 could not be evaluated during the course of EIA study.

5.175 All NSRs identified in the vicinity of MPV would experience cumulative impact from the Project, CDWSW and CTSF. Apart from NSRs MP2, MP3 and MP6 selected as representative NSRs for the assessment of cumulative impact from the Project and CDWSW, 4 additional representative NSRs MP7, MP8, MP9 and MP10 were also identified to evaluate the cumulative impact resulted from the Project and CDWSW. Tables 5.29 present a summary of the additional NSRs and their locations are shown in Figure No. NOL/ERL/300C/XRL/ENS/M52/301 of Appendix 5.12. NSRs MP2 and MP3 were selected as representative NSRs for the assessment of cumulative impact from the Project, CDWSW and CTSF.

Table 5.29 Summary of Additional Noise Sensitive Receivers

Works Area	NSR	Description	Land Use	Existing / Planned NSR	No. of storey
Mai Po (Figure No. NOL/ERL/300/C/XRL/ENS/M52/001)
MPV	MP7	House No. 1 Ventura Avenue, Royal Palms	Residential	Existing	3
	MP8	House 20 Ventura Avenue, Royal Palms	Residential	Existing	3
	MP9	House 15 Santa Monica Avenue, Royal Palms	Residential	Existing	3
	MP10	Planned Receiver at Village Zone	Residential	Planned	3

5.176 It was assumed in the calculation that mitigation measures, including adoption of quieter plant and all noise barrier recommended in the CDWSW EIA and Condition 3.2 of EP-311/2008, would be in effect during its construction.

5.177 Table 5.30 presents the cumulative noise level at NSRs and details of the calculation are given in Appendix 5.12. Most of the cumulative construction noise levels at the NSRs would comply with the EIAO-TM criteria except for MP6, which would experience potential marginal exceedance of 1 dB(A).

Table 5.30 Summary of Cumulative Construction Noise Levels in MPV

NSR	Predicted Construction Noise Levels^(1), dB(A)																		EIAO-TM Noise Criteria, dB(A)
	MPV			CDWSW			CTSF			Cumulative impact from MPV and CDWSW			Cumulative impact from MPV and CTSF			Cumulative impact from MPV, CDWSW and CTSF
MP2	58	-	71	63	-	71	69	-	69	58	-	73	58	-	73	58	-	74	75
MP3	54	-	69	61	-	71	59	-	59	54	-	71	54	-	69	54	-	72	75
MP6	62	-	75	66	-	74	/	-	/	62	-	76	/	-	/	62	-	76	75
MP7	52	-	66	63	-	73	/	-	/	53	-	73	/	-	/	53	-	73	75
MP8	53	-	68	61	-	71	/	-	/	55	-	71	/	-	/	55	-	71	75
MP9	53	-	69	59	-	70	/	-	/	55	-	71	/	-	/	55	-	71	75
MP10	63	-	75	64	-	71	/	-	/	63	-	75	/	-	/	63	-	75	75

Note:

(1) Construction noise levels are predicted based on the programmes of different projects.

5.178 MP3 and MP6 are the existing and planned NSRs in the village zone respectively. As indicated in Table 5.30, the existing NSR MP3, would not experience cumulative construction noise impact but the planned NSR MP6 would experience cumulative residual impact due to the construction of CDWSW and diaphragm wall in MPV.

5.179 Currently, there are no planned developments in this zone and further mitigation measures are not required to protect the existing NSRs in the village zone, as reflected by the compliance of cumulative impact at MP3. If noisy activities from construction of CDWSW and diaphragm wall in MPV would be conducted simultaneously, noise enclosure would be adopted to cover the bentonite plant before the occupancy of any future sensitive use (MP6) in the village zone. It was reported in the EIA Report for the Kowloon Southern Link that the use of enclosure could be effective for screening the noise from bentonite plant. According to GW-TM, a 10 dB(A) noise reduction could be achieved with the line of sight between the plant and NSR completely blocked. With the provision of noise enclosure for bentonite plant, the construction of MPV would have no contribution to noise exceedance at MP6.

5.180 With the implementation of the above-mentioned further mitigation measures, the cumulative construction noise impact at MP6 would comply with the EIAO-TM noise criteria. Table 5.31 presents the summary of further mitigated noise levels at NSRs. Details of the calculation are given in Appendix 5-12.

Table 5.31 Summary of Further Mitigated Cumulative Construction Noise Levels

NSR	Predicted Construction Noise Levels, dB(A)																		EIAO-TM Noise Criteria, dB(A)
	MPV			CDWSW			CTSF			Cumulative impact from MPV and CDWSW			Cumulative impact from MPV and CTSF			Cumulative impact from MPV, CDWSW and CTSF
MP6	62	-	73	66	-	74	/	-	/	62	-	75	/	-	/	62	-	75	75

5.181 It should be reiterated that the construction programme of CDWSW, CTSF and YLKTSSD2 are uncertain. In addition, the cumulative impact from CTSF/YLKTSSD2 would be limited to be a short period of time, and there would be only marginal exceedance anticipated if cumulative activities for CDWSW and CTSF/YLKTSSD2 carried out concurrently. The Project Proponent would therefore liaise with the contractors/project proponents of CDWSW, CTSF and YLKTSSD2 to avoid undertaking noisy activities concurrently, particularly to avoid concurrent activities during the construction of diaphragm wall in MPV as far as practicable.

Works Area D – Shek Kong Stabling

5.182 According to the EIA of UKRLR, upgrading works involved in the vicinity of SSS include minor excavation, minor slope works and paving. The upgrading works would be conducted in segments of 50m which would last for less than 2 weeks. The potential construction noise impacts have been assessed at the NSRs along Kam Tin Road in the EIA of UKRLR. The result revealed that there would be no residual impact resulted from the construction of UKRLR with the implementation of the recommended mitigation measure. Among these assessed NSRs in UKRLR EIA, 2 assessment points are the same as SS12 and SS13 in this EIA.

5.183 Liaison with Highway Department (HyD) was being carried out during the course of EIA study and the committed implementation programme of UKRLR near SSS has yet to be confirmed. Given Kam Tin Road would be used as part of the assess road for SSS construction, the upgrading of Kam Tin Road in the vicinity of Works Area D would be conducted upon completion of construction works in SSS. As such, construction of SSS and UKRLR are not anticipated to conduct simultaneously and cumulative impact from construction of SSS and UKRLR is not anticipated.

5.184 According to the EIA of YLKTSSD2, construction works involved in the vicinity of SSS include construction of gravity sewers and rising mains along the existing road, and sewage pumping station (SPS). A sewage pumping station with the connecting sewers would be constructed along the access road connecting to TPP/SSS. It is also stated in the EIA of YLKTSSD2 that the construction of sewers and SPS would not be conducted simultaneously. As the construction of SPS is more than 1km away from major construction works involved in Works Area D, cumulative impact from construction of SSS and SPS is therefore not anticipated.

5.185 As the residual impact, if any, from construction of sewers and rising mains under YLKTSSD2 would only last for a short period of time. Moreover, the proposed alignment of both trunk sewer and Kam Tin Road in YLKTSSD2 and UKRLR respectively lies on the same path along Kam Tin Road. Similar to the situation mentioned in Section 5.175, it is anticipated that construction activities could only be carried out for either one of the projects and there would be no cumulative impact resulting from the construction of these projects. In addition, the upgrading of Kam Tin Road and construction of sewer and rising mains in the vicinity of Works Area D would be conducted upon completion of SSS and tunnelling works. Therefore, cumulative construction noise impact from construction of UKRLR and sewers and rising main under YLKTSSD2 are not anticipated.

5.186 As the status of committed implementation of the programmes of YLKTSSD2 and UKRLR are unknown at the time of reporting, it is recommended that the Project Proponent should liaise with the contractors/project proponents of YLKTSSD2 and UKRLR to avoid undertaking noisy activities concurrently.

Works Areas E and F – Tse Uk Tsuen Construction Shaft and Pat Heung Ventilation Building (PHV)

5.187 Similar to Works Areas A and D, the status of committed implementation of YLKTSSD2 programme is unknown at the time of reporting and any residual impact from construction of sewers and rising mains under YLKTSSD2 would only last for a short period of time. It is recommended that the contractor of the Project Proponent should liaise with the contractors/project proponents of YLKTSSD2 to avoid undertaking noisy activities concurrently.

Works Area V – West Kowloon Terminus (WKT)

5.188 According to draft EIA of RWWK, the best available information during the course of EIA study, the project is scheduled to commence from August 2011 to September 2014. Construction works involved in the vicinity of WKT include construction of pipepile wall and diaphragm wall, concreting works and paving works.

5.189 All NSRs identified in the vicinity of WKT would experience cumulative impact from the Project, and RWWK. WK3, WK4, WK7a, WK8 and WK14 were selected as representative NSRs for the assessment of cumulative impact from the Project and RWWK. Construction noise impact assessment results in the EIA of RWWK indicate that all of the NSRs would comply with the EIAO-TM noise criteria.

5.190 Table 5.32 presents the cumulative noise level at NSRs and details of the calculation are given in Appendix 5.12.

Table 5.32 Summary of Cumulative Construction Noise Levels in WKT

NSR	Predicted Construction Noise Levels, dB(A)									EIAO-TM Noise Criteria, dB(A)
	WKT			RWWK			Cumulative impact from WKT and RWWK
WK3	60	-	73	55	-	74	60	-	75	75
WK4	65	-	76	64	-	69	65	-	76	75
WK7a	55	-	72	55	-	60	55	-	72	75
WK8	65	-	78	66	-	71	69	-	78	75
WK14	63	-	76	64	-	70	68	-	76	75

Note: Cumulative impact from WKT and RWWK were assessed according to the construction programme of these projects.

5.191 The potential cumulative noise impact would result in residual impacts of 1-3 dB(A) at WK4, WK8 and WK14. As indicated in table 5.32, cumulative impact from WKT and RWWK would not result in increment of noise exceedance level. Residual cumulative impacts at these NSRs would mainly be contributed from construction activities of the Project. As such, cumulative noise impact from these projects is considered to be insignificant. As demonstrated in Section 5.159-5.162, all practicable effective mitigation measures have been fully explored and exhausted to reduce the noise impact arising from the construction of WKT.

5.192 During the course of this EIA study, construction plant inventory for the construction of Central Kowloon Route (CKR) and West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) was not available and hence a detailed cumulative noise impact from CKR and WKCD could not be conducted in this assessment. It is however noted that the major west end works of CKR and the construction of WKCD would commence in 2013, as such the proposed works for CKR and WKCD would not coincide with major works at WKT. Furthermore, apart from the mitigation measures to be implemented during the construction of WKT, it is envisaged that mitigation measures would also be recommended and adopted for the construction of CKR and WKCD to minimise the construction noise impact, and therefore no adverse cumulative construction noise impact from CKR, WKCD and WKT is anticipated.

5.193 To monitor the potential cumulative construction noise impact at the NSRs, an EM&A programme is recommended to monitor the construction noise level and audit the implementation of recommended mitigation measures throughout the construction period for minimisation of the potential impact to the NSRs.

Operation Phase

5.194 Since there would be no other train noise sources in the vicinity, no cumulative noise impact from other projects is expected.

5.195 The cumulative noise impact from the railway noise and fixed plant noise from ERS and SSS respectively is however evaluated to investigate the cumulative noise levels at NSRs during the operation of SSS and XRL. The noise criteria of ANL are adopted in this evaluation. The predicted cumulative noise levels at top floor of NSRs are presented in Table 5.29. Results indicated that the NSRs would be subject to the noise levels complying ANL.

Table 5.33 Predicted Cumulative Operational Noise Levels

TOP FLOOR			Overall Result (dBA)			Noise Criteria ANL (dBA)
NSR	Address	ASR	Leq, day	Leq, night	Lmax	Leq, day	Leq, night	Lmax
SS2	Nam Hing Lei	B	47	42	70	65	55	85
SS4	Leung Uk Tsuen Village House	B	51	46	75	65	55	85
SS5	51A Leung Uk Tsuen	B	56	51	69	65	55	85
SS6	32 Leung Uk Tsuen	B	55	50	69	65	55	85
SS7	Leung Uk Tsuen	B	52	48	73	65	55	85
SS10	DD110 LOT 482, Wang Toi Shan	B	50	46	77	65	55	85
SS11a	Leung Uk Tsuen Squats	B	54	47	74	65	55	85
SS12	No. 265 Kam Tai Road	B	47	42	70	65	55	85
SS14	Planned village house at Village Zone	B	58	53	72	65	55	85
SS15	Abandoned village house in Shek Kong	B	59	54	73	65	55	85

5.196 According to the current design of CKR, the western ventilation building of CKR will be located close to West Kowloon Highway and at more than 150m away from the MKV. It is therefore anticipated that there would be no cumulative impact from the ventilation buildings of CKR and the Project.

Environmental Monitoring and Audit

Construction Phase

5.197 An Environmental Monitoring and Audit programme is recommended to be established according to the predicted occurrence of noisy activities. The recommended mitigation measures should be implemented during construction stage. Details of the programme are provided in a stand-alone EM&A Manual.

Operation Phase

5.198 Prior to the operation phase of the Project, a commissioning test should be conducted to ensure compliance of the operational airborne noise levels with the EIAO-TM noise criteria. Details of the EM&A programme are provided in a stand-alone EM&A Manual.

Conclusion

Construction Phase

5.199 Noise arising from the construction activities of the project would have unavoidable potential impact on the NSRs located in the vicinity of the works areas. Unmitigated construction noise levels at the representative NSRs are predicted, which are found to be in the range of 38 to 91 dB(A).

5.200 Mitigation measures are recommended to reduce the noise levels to within the EIAO-TM noise criterion, including good site practices, quieter plant, silencer, movable noise barrier, noise enclosure, noise insulating fabric, acoustic enclosure and noise insulating cover. With the recommended mitigation measures in place, noise levels at most of the NSRs are predicted to comply with the EIAO-TM daytime construction noise criterion. All practical mitigation measures have been exhausted and residual impact at some existing NSRs including SS10, SS11, ML1, NC13, MK1, WK4, WK8 and WK14, which are located in close proximity to the works areas, is anticipated. Noisy construction works should be avoided during the examination period to minimise adverse impact to ML1, NC13 and MK1.

Operation Phase

5.201 The major source of airborne railway noise is identified as the trains passing through the ERS in a high speed profile. The track through the ERS will be well shielded visually from all NSRs, but the reverberant noise build up inside the ERS will limit the shielding effect unless sound absorption panels applied within it. Sound absorption treatment of 13m high for each side along full length of the ERS and a 8m high noise barrier of 450m long along the access road on the eastern side of ERS is recommended to be provided. With the implementation of proposed mitigation measures, the airborne railway noise levels at NSRs would comply with noise criteria.

5.202 Noise levels from train movements and trains idling (in the maintenance shed) within the SSS will comply with the night-time noise criteria but exceed daytime noise criteria due to the operation of maintenance trains. A 5.5m high noise barrier is therefore required to be provided at the western boundary of SSS facing Leung Uk Tsuen. Apart from train operation, maximum allowable sound power level emitted from plant at the maintenance shed has been predicted. Acoustic treatment such as partial enclosure and acoustical louvers, if required, will be provided to ensure that the noise levels at NSRs would comply with noise criteria. With the implementation of proposed mitigation measures, the fixed plant noise levels at NSRs would comply with noise criteria.

5.203 The maximum sound power levels allowed to be emitted from each louvre of ventilation buildings were predicted. With the proper selection of plant and adoption of acoustic treatment, the NSRs located in the vicinity of ventilation buildings will not be affected by the noise from louvres.

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[1] Final Report of High-Speed Ground Transportation Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment, HMMH Report No. 293630-4

[2] Transit Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment. Report No. FTA-VA-90-1003-06