What it takes to deliver a first-class transport network in Asia

Markets

Transportation

Kan Pang

Director - Highways, Transportation and Infrastructure • Transport Infrastructure & Ground Engineering, Hong Kong, China contact form+852 2972 1925

Delivering a first-class transport network goes far beyond design and build. It's about ensuring long-term performance – planning, maintaining, and operating systems that stay reliable for decades.

In Hong Kong, my team draws on the wider AtkinsRéalis network, combining UK rail expertise shaped by similar challenges, to fast-advancing technologies emerging from China. That global-to-local support is what makes us a true one-stop powerhouse – ready to step in at any stage of the asset lifecycle. Operating in a city that already runs one of the world's most advanced transport systems, we know that strong asset management is what keeps that standard high.

Gordon Choi, Deputy Head, Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing, Asia

"Watching passengers’ step into a new station, ride a new line, or drive along a new highway is the most rewarding part of what we do."

Kan Pang
Director, Transportation, Asia, AtkinsRéalis

Asset management: The backbone of a first-class network

Hong Kong has built a world-class transportation network over the last few decades. The challenge now is sustaining that performance. At AtkinsRéalis, we already play a key role - managing more than 70% of Hong Kong's bridge network and supporting MTR across rolling stock, track works, permanent way, and overhead lines.

Asset management is critical. In the UK, our teams have professionalized long-term maintenance over the last decade. While in China, we're advancing rapidly with new facilities, equipment, and asset technologies. By combining these lessons, we help keep Hong Kong's infrastructure safe, resilient, and sustainable – delivering solutions that are efficient, cost-effective, and proven in practice.

We saw this model succeed on the Dubai Metro project. By mobilizing four international offices around the clock, we were able to meet an extremely tight schedule. The client experienced a fully committed 24-hour design service. Today, with digital tools and globally integrated teams, we can achieve even more – connecting expertise across borders to deliver at scale. The same integrated approach underpins how we steward Hong Kong's assets across their full lifecycle.

Integrated delivery: Connecting global expertise to strengthen local performance

Asia's mega projects demand multidisciplinary expertise. Our approach united the best of AtkinsRéalis with advanced technology to deliver both design and operational systems.
Digital collaboration tools make it easier to work across borders, bringing specialists – from tunneling engineers, visualization experts and more – directly into our delivery teams, as one multinational technical community. By working this way, we draw on skills from different regions and apply them in local projects, building truly collaborative multidisciplinary teams.

By working on common design platforms, changes are shared transparently, even when teams are spread worldwide. This enables us to establish centers of excellence that combine technical expertise and innovation from across our network, improving efficiency and outcomes for clients and communities.

Whether for new systems or existing assets, this integrated way of working strengthens the long-term reliability of the entire network.

Innovation that endures: Resilient, sustainable infrastructure

Innovation only matters if it lasts. For us, that means balancing new ideas with durability, reliability, and cost efficiency across an asset's design life – driving cost down while maintaining service quality and performance.
That's why we focus on applying advanced facilities, equipment, and materials in our projects to enable sustainability and resilience. Too often, game-changing technologies remain in academic settings, without a clear path to implementation. With strong policy support, we now have the opportunity to move innovation out of the lab and onto the ground, where it can make a tangible difference.

Infrastructure decisions made today will shape decades of service – from planning and design through to construction and long-term operations. That's why we build sustainability into the design from the start. Staying ahead of the curve means ensuring assets remain reliable throughout their lifecycle, reflecting our commitment to clients and the communities we serve. Responsible innovation is ultimately what keeps a first-class network first-class.

Cross-border delivery: Raising rail standards across Asia

The Hong Kong–Shenzhen Western Rail Link is unlike most local projects. What makes it uniquely challenging is that there are few precedents to follow. Much of what we’re doing is first-of-its-kind and requires bold thinking. Success depends on close collaboration with Chinese Mainland and full government support on both sides of the border.

With this backing, we can raise standards through new codes, materials, and specifications – ensuring the link integrates seamlessly with Hong Kong's wider network and strengthens long-term performance. Aligning policy systems and rail operations enables a smoother passenger experience and supports a more resilient transport system overall. Projects like this show how first-class networks evolve: by connecting, expanding, and improving through regional collaboration.

End-to-end delivery that transforms communities

Ultimately, my passion is to see a design go from a piece of paper to reality – a system people rely on every day. Watching passengers’ step into a new station, ride a new line, or drive along a new highway is the most rewarding part of what we do. It proves that when strong, integrated teams deliver together, infrastructuretransforms – and so do the lives we serve.

Discover more about our markets and capabilities at AtkinsRéalis. Discover more about our markets and capabilities at AtkinsRéalis.