Future of the MTR
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Several future projects on the MTR have been put forward by MTR Corporation to the Hong Kong Government, with some already under under construction. The network is also set to be significantly expanded with the merger of MTR Corporation Limited with the government-owned Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC), with the non-binding Memorandum of Understanding signed in 11 April 2006 to grant MTR Corporation operation of the existing KCR network with a service concession of 50 years. The new Sha Tin to Central Link that was originally awarded to KCRC would now also be operated by MTR Corporation Limited, which will run from Tai Wai Station in Tai Wai to Central.
Provisions are made to upgrade the existing infrastructure of the MTR. Airport Station on the Airport Express will have a new platform to serve departure passengers for Hong Kong International Airport's Skyplaza. New subway links to the stations are also being made for better access, and an extension for the Tseung Kwan O Line to create a branch line to Tseung Kwan O South has been gazetted. A further proposal to extend the existing Kwun Tong Line to Whampoa Garden, together in a tie-up with the Sha Tin to Central Link expansion have been made in April 2006.
The West Island Line and South Island Line, first put forward to the government by MTR Corporation Limited on 21 January 2003, only received approval on 30 June 2005 after its heavily-modified forth proposal. This consisted of West Island Line extending the Island Line to Kennedy Town, South Island Line (East section) from Admiralty to Ap Lei Chau and South Island Line (West section) that connects the previous two lines. Consultation is underway and the whole extension should be completed and operational by 2012.
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[edit] Infrastructure upgrade
[edit] Airport Station SkyPlaza departure platform
This new platform serves departure passengers for the SkyPlaza, which is the second passenger terminal of the Hong Kong International Airport. Agreement was made with the Airport Authority in July 2005 for the construction work by the Authority. It is scheduled to complete in time with the opening of SkyPlaza in July 2006.
[edit] Improvements on Tung Chung Line and Airport Express
To cope with the projecting passenger demand in 2016, an additional 4 trains have been ordered. They will be gradually introduced on the Tung Chung Line from the first quarter of 2006 to the first quarter of 2007. New trains are built by ROTEM with enhancement of "K-Stock" in mind.
Noise barriers will be built around Tung Chung, Tsing Yi and Olympic stations to migitate operational noise due to the increase in traffic. 4000m long barriers will be installed along the Airport Express Line. Cable diversion is underway in Tung Chung. These improvements will be completed by September 2007.
[edit] Pedestrian Links
MTR co-operates with the government, statutory authorities and private developers to provide pedestrian subways, footbridges and cover walkways to its stations. Three new subway links are now under construction or in statutory clearance stage. They are the Queensway Subway (Admiralty, to be completed in September 2006), Subway extension of Prince Edward station (works to be started in November 2005) and the Cheung Lai Street Pedestrian Subway (Lai Chi Kok, waiting for statutory clearance).
[edit] New lines
[edit] Tseung Kwan O Extension (Phase 2)
In the planning of Tseung Kwan O Extension (now Tseung Kwan O Line) in 1997, MTR has planned a dedicated station, Tseung Kwan O South, for the development on Area 86, dubbed the "Dream City". It is committed to open in 2009. A combined service of Tseung Kwan O Line trains to Po Lam and Tseung Kwan O South will be enacted. This project includes the building of Tseung Kwan O South station beside the Tseung Kwan O Depot with auxiliary road works and a temporary transport interchange. It was gazetted in February 2005 with some preliminary planning and tender preparation in progress.
[edit] West Island Line and South Island Line
On 21 January 2003, the Executive Council of Hong Kong granted MTR Corporation Limited permission to proceed with further planning on two proposed lines: West Island Line and South Island Line. These new lines are suggested in the Second Railway Development Study (RDS-2) to provide direct links between the residential areas of Wah Fu and Ap Lei Chau in Southern District and the CBD of Hong Kong.
Three proposals were previously submitted, each addressing the drawbacks of the prior plan. In this planning stage a feasibility study was conducted to optimize the new lines in terms of cost-effectiveness, external benefits and the effect on other modes of transport. The plan was eventually turned down by the government in favour of constructing highways in late March 2004.
The MTRC's fourth proposal was given in February 2005. This consisted of West Island Line extending the Island Line to Kennedy Town, South Island Line (East section) from Admiralty to Ap Lei Chau and South Island Line (West section) that connects the previous two lines. Legislative Councillors support an earlier completion of West Island Line. The West Island Line was finally approved by the HKSAR Government on 30 June 2005. Consultation is underway and the whole extension should be completed and operational by 2012.
[edit] Kwun Tong Line Extension
In 2004, a proposal was floated by MTR to extend the existing Kwun Tong Line to Whampoa Garden in Hung Hom. The extension will be extended from the current Yau Ma Tei terminus to Whampoa, with an interchange station for the proposed Sha Tin to Central Link in Ho Man Tin. Whampoa Garden is a major residential complex approximately 5-10 minutes of driving east of KCR Hung Hom station. Further study on this proposal will be conducted by MTR and the government along with the Sha Tin to Central Link project.
[edit] Sha Tin to Central Link
On April 11, 2006, the government has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with MTRC and KCRC on merging the two railway companies.
According to the non-binding memorandum of understanding signed with the government, the current MTR lines may fully integrated the interchange stations with the Sha Tin to Central Link in order to bring more convenience to the passengers. Also, the government will conduct further studies on the proposal with the MTRC along with the Kwun Tong Line Extension. Details of the project will be announced soon.
Originally, Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation won its bid to build and operate the Sha Tin to Central Link in 2002. Later the KCRC announced modification to the proposal, with the East Kowloon portion of the line joining Ma On Shan Rail at Tai Wai, and the cross-harbour portion joining East Rail at Hung Hom.
[edit] Outsourcing
The MTR Corporation is planning to outsource its services centres of 14 stations on the Island Line. Around 100 employees will be arranged to work at the Disneyland Resort Line and the AsiaWorld-Expo station. Services centres on the new stations of Tseung Kwan O Line are already outsourced when it started its service.
[edit] Projects outside Hong Kong
The MTR corporation has been involved in mass transit projects in mainland China. They are Line 4 of Shenzhen Metro, Line 4 of Beijing Subway and Line 9 of Shanghai Metro. The most notable one is Line 4 of Shenzhen Metro, which connects Huanggang (the checkpoint with Lok Ma Chau of Hong Kong) and Longhua (one of the main stops of the new intercity railway within the Pearl River delta).
