Tung Chung Line

The Tung Chung Line is one of the 10 lines of the MTR system in Hong Kong. It links Tung Chung with Hong Kong Island. A part of the Tung Chung Line was built along with the Kap Shui Mun Bridge and the Tsing Ma Bridge. It currently travels through eight stations in 27 minutes along its route.

The line is indicated by the colour orange.

History

In October 1989, the Hong Kong government decided to replace the overcrowded Kai Tak International Airport, located in Kowloon, with a new airport to be constructed at Chek Lap Kok. The government also invited the MTR, then called the MTRC, to build a train line to the airport called the Lantau Airport Railway. The project did not begin until the People's Republic of China government and the British government settled financial and land disagreements in November 1994.

The Lantau Airport Railway turned into two MTR lines, the Tung Chung Line as well as the Airport Express. On 21 June 1998, the Tung Chung Line was officially opened by Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa, and service commenced the next day.

On 16 December 2003, an open house for charity took place at the recently completed Nam Cheong Station, an interchange station between the Tung Chung Line and the West Rail Line. The station closed on 19 December 2003 in preparation for the opening of West Rail, and it was officially opened to the public on 20 December 2003. At the same time, the numbers of car units per train increased from seven to eight.

On 1 June 2005, Sunny Bay Station, the interchange station for Disneyland Resort Line (DRL), opened two months prior to the opening of DRL.

Between 2006 and 2007, four new Korean built trains were added in to Tung Chung Line to improve frequencies. The first train was received on 9 February 2006 and entered service on June 12, 2006. However, since the new trains were found to be few millimetres wider than the existing trains, some modifications were made to station platforms.^[1]

Route map

Route description

The Tung Chung Line, unlike most urban MTR lines, is mostly above ground. At the same time, most of the line runs along the Airport Express. The Tung Chung Line runs from the east to west. The line is underground from Hong Kong station and crosses the harbour to Kowloon Station. The line then emerges to the surface outside Olympian City 2, to reach Olympic Station at the surface.

After Olympic station, the line runs at ground level beneath the West Kowloon Expressway, stopping at Nam Cheong Station. Then, the line rises above the ground onto a viaduct, which is also built under the West Kowloon Expressway. The viaduct leads into a tunnel in the hills near Lai King. It emerges shortly at Lai King Station to provide cross platform interchange with the Tsuen Wan Line.

The line remains on viaduct past Lai King station, and crosses Rambler Channel on the Tsing Lai Bridge to Tsing Yi Island, where it enters Tsing Yi Station. Having passed Tsing Yi station, the line enters another tunnel through the hills of Tsing Yi. It travels on the Tsing Ma Bridge and the Kap Shui Mun Bridge.

Eventually, the line leaves the tunnel and travels on the surface along the North Lantau Expressway. It stops at Sunny Bay Station on the way. The line then shares tracks with the Airport Express before splitting from it just before it reaches Tung Chung New Town. Having re-entered the tunnel, the line terminates at Tung Chung Station, located underground.

Stations

The following is a list of all the stations on the Tung Chung Line. The coloured boxes holding the station names represent the unique colour motif for the station.

Notes

* Proposed as part of the North Island Line project. According to this project, an extension for Tung Chung Line will be built from Hong Kong to Fortress Hill, and it will also take the Fortress Hill - Chai Wan section of the existing Island Line.
⁼ There is an option for the Victoria Park Station to be constructed.
^# Under construction
^{^} Planning in progress
⁺ Ceremonial opening took place on June 21, 1998, while public opening occurred on June 22, 1998

Future development

The Tung Chung Line was designed to facilitate an extension from Hong Kong Station eastward. According to the Rail Projects Under Planning 2000 released by Hong Kong Highways Department, two new stations, Tamar Station and Exhibition Station, will form part of the extension. The line will then connect Fortress Hill Station and take up the eastern portion of the Island Line.

Residents of Yat Tung Estate have appealed to the government to extend the Tung Chung Line to Yat Tung to ease their transportation problems. Yat Tung currently has 40,000 residents. They claimed that when they moved in 11 years ago, the Housing Bureau's documents indicated a MTR station at the estate. The residents currently have to take a 10 minute bus journey to Tung Chung Station.^[2]

See also

• MTR
• North Island Line
• Transport in Hong Kong
• List of areas of Hong Kong

References