Tsuen Wan Line

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Tsuen Wan Line
荃灣綫
HKMTRPrinceEdward 20070725.jpg
Overview
Type Rapid transit
System MTR
Locale Districts: Central and Western, Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po, Kwai Tsing, Tsuen Wan
Stations 16
Ridership 1,058,300 daily average
(weekdays, September 2014)[1]
Operation
Opened 10 May 1982 (1982-05-10) (Tsuen Wan to Lai King section) 17 May 1982 (1982-05-17) (Rest of the line)
Technical
Line length 16 km (9.9 mi)
Track gauge 1,432 mm (4 ft 8 3⁄8 in)
Electrification 1.5 kV DC
Route map
Tsuen Wan Line.svg
Legend
Hong Kong          
Central     
Admiralty     
Island Line to Chai Wan
East Tsim Sha Tsui      (osi)
Tsim Sha Tsui
Jordan
Yau Ma Tei
Mong Kok     
Prince Edward     
Sham Shui Po
Cheung Sha Wan
Lai Chi Kok
Mei Foo     
Lai King     
Kwai Fong
Kwai Hing
Tai Wo Hau
Tsuen Wan Depot
Tsuen Wan
Reversing siding
Tsuen Wan Line
Traditional Chinese 荃灣綫
Simplified Chinese 荃湾线
Platform screen doors in Central Station on the Tsuen Wan Line

The Tsuen Wan Line is one of the ten lines of the metro network in Hong Kong's MTR. It is indicated in red on the MTR map.

The Tsuen Wan Line starts at Central station on Hong Kong Island, then goes into Tsim Sha Tsui, then runs through western Kowloon (Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei to the southwestern New Territories, where it ends at Tsuen Wan station. It currently travels through 16 stations in 30 minutes along its route. Because it travels under Victoria Harbour from Central and into the busy areas on Nathan Road, continuing into densely populated Sham Shui Po and Kwai Chung, it is a very heavily travelled line.

History

Early construction

The Tsuen Wan Line was one of the original lines of the MTR network. The initial plan for this line is somewhat different from what currently exists; especially in the names and the construction characteristics of the New Territories section. Original plans envisioned a terminus station in a valley further west of the present Tsuen Wan station terminus, named Tsuen Wan West. The station is different from the current West Rail Line Tsuen Wan West station located under reclaimed land. Furthermore, the line was supposed to run underground in Tsuen Wan, rather than the present line which was built on ground level.

The final route design allowed for a truncated line and construction to Tsuen Wan was approved in 1975 and commenced soon afterwards. While the main section of the line under Nathan Road in Kowloon started service in 1979, trains did not reach Tsuen Wan until 10 May 1982. All stations in the Sham Shui Po District (Sham Shui Po, Cheung Sha Wan, Lai Chi Kok and Mei Foo) opened a week later than the rest of the line. This was the only express service in the MTR, the journey time between Prince Edward and Lai King was shorter than a local service by two to three minutes.

Eight stations differ in names or location from the initial plan. Central, Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok stations were originally named after the streets crossing or above the stations, Chater Road, Waterloo Road, and Argyle Street respectively, but the name of each station was later changed to represent the district of the station. Moreover, Mong Kok station was planned to be built a bit further north of its present location, which would have taken the place of Prince Edward Station; and Sham Shui Po was planned to be built a bit further south of its present location.

Mei Foo was originally named Lai Chi Kok, which was originally named Cheung Sha Wan, and Cheung Sha Wan was originally named So Uk, after the Ming dynasty tombs in the area of the station. Kwai Fong was originally named Lap Sap Wan, which means "rubbish bay" since the station is close to a now disused landfill in Gin Drinker's Bay, and was intended to be further south to its present site. Kwai Hing was originally named Kwai Chung.

Kwai Fong, Kwai Hing, Lai Chi Kok, and Cheung Sha Wan stations gained their present names before opening, and Mei Foo was also renamed from "Lai Chi Kok" to "Lai Wan" (荔灣). The other stations had their Chinese name changed when they opened, and were renamed in 1985 together with Mei Foo station.

Transfer with Tung Chung Line

When the Tung Chung Line was constructed, it became necessary to build an interchange so that passengers did not have to go to Hong Kong Island to change lines. The site chosen for an interchange was at Lai King station. The northbound track on the Tsuen Wan Line was moved so that it ran above the southbound tracks at Lai King station. This allowed cross platform interchange with the Tung Chung Line possible at Lai King and the new platforms were opened in 1997, nearly a year before the Tung Chung Line started service. A pair of tracks was also built to the south of Lai King station linking the Tsuen Wan Line and Tung Chung Line, becoming the only point where the Tung Chung Line connects with the other urban lines.

Transfer with former KCR systems

To cope with extensions and new lines, Mei Foo station and Tsim Sha Tsui stations had new subsurface walkways added to connect to Mei Foo Station's West Rail Line platforms and East Tsim Sha Tsui Station. The interchange facilities at Mei Foo opened in 2003, when the West Rail Line was opened. The interchange located at Tsim Sha Tsui entered service in 2004, along with the completion of the East Rail Line extension.

Chronology

  • 1967: Tsuen Wan Line included in Hong Kong Mass Transport Study
  • 1970: Tsuen Wan Line included in Hong Kong Mass Transit Further Studies, as Kong Kow Line and Tsuen Wan Branch
  • 1977: Construction was approved and not long after, started in 1 March 1979.
  • 16 Dec 1979: Jordan and Tsim Sha Tsui stations opened, as part of Kwun Tong Line.
  • 16 Dec 1979: Waterloo and Argyle (later renamed Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok respectively) stations opened, also as part of Kwun Tong Line.
  • 12 Feb 1980: Admiralty and Chater (later renamed Central) stations opened, again, as part of Kwun Tong Line,
  • 26 Apr 1982: Kwun Tong Line officially breaks down into itself and Tsuen Wan Line sections. Kwun Tong Line trains only runs as far as Waterloo (Yau Ma Tei), while Tsuen Wan Line trains run from Chater (Central) to Argyle (Mong Kok), and continue to Tsuen Wan (not open at the time) for training purposes.
  • 10 May 1982: The line and part of its stations open to public. Only stations from Tsuen Wan to Lai King opened. Prince Edward Station was also opened for changing trains only.
  • 17 May 1982: The rest of the stations, from Lai Wan (later renamed Mei Foo) to Sham Shui Po, opened. Passenegers are also able to use exits at Prince Edward Station.
  • 31 May 1985: On the opening of the Island Line, 8 stations of Tsuen Wan Line were renamed. (See station list below for details)
  • 23 May 1986: Central Station became an interchange station upon the extension of the Island Line to Sheung Wan.
  • 11 Mar 1991: Tsuen Wan Line in breakdown, public transport in adverse effect.[citation needed]
  • 23 Apr 1993: Two interlinking carriages disconnected during operation within the section between Tsuen Wan and Tai Wo Hau stations. Nobody was hurt, and MTRC reported that a hook between the two concerned carriages was not fastened, leading to the incident.
  • 2 Jul 1997: To enable cross-platform interchange with the Tung Chung Line at Lai King Station, the original platform 1 (for westbound trains) was removed and filled, becoming part of today’s wider low-level island platform, allowing interchange with the new platform 4 (for Tung Chung Line eastbound trains) further behind. Tsuen Wan Line westbound trains now use the new platform 1 situated on the new high-level platform.
  • 20 Mar 2003: To connect with the new KCR West Rail (now West Rail Line) Mei Foo Station, a passageway was built between the two stations, with a new exit D on about midway of the passageway.
  • 5 Jan 2004: A fire started in a train on its way to Admiralty Station with 14 people injured. An arsonist was responsible for the fire, and the 65-year-old man was arrested the next day.
  • 24 Oct 2004: A new exit G was constructed to link with new KCR East Rail (concerned section of the line now transferred to West Rail Line) East Tsim Sha Tsui Station, linking the passageway under Mody Road.
  • 30 Mar 2005: Another new exit F was constructed to link with East Tsim Sha Tsui Station, linking the passageway under Middle Road.
  • 21 Oct 2010: An overhead electric cable in Yau Ma Tei Station was broken during operation. At least 280,000 passengers were affected.

Route description

The Tsuen Wan Line runs from south to north. It is mostly underground, beginning at Central and crosses Victoria Harbour after Admiralty to Tsim Sha Tsui. Then, the line first runs underneath Nathan Road (Tsim Sha Tsui to Prince Edward), then Cheung Sha Wan Road (Sham Shui Po to Lai Chi Kok), before emerging from the hills at Lai King Station.

The line is elevated between Lai King and Kwai Hing stations. Between Kwai Fong and Kwai Hing stations, the tracks are covered to minimise disturbance to residents nearby. After Kwai Hing station, the line re-enters the tunnel to Tai Wo Hau Station, before finally re-emerging at ground level at Tsuen Wan Station.

Some of the underground stations on the line are significantly deeper than the others. Tsim Sha Tsui and Admiralty stations are deeper than the others (such as Sham Shui Po) because they precede harbour crossings. Admiralty and Central stations are deeper than others because they provide cross-platform interchange with the deep level Island Line.

Tsuen Wan Line route map (with detailed interchanges)

Stations

This is a list of all the stations on the Tsuen Wan Line. The colored box holding the station name represents the respective color for each station.

Livery & Name District Connection(s) Date opened
Tsuen Wan Line
Central
Formerly Chater		 Central and Western      Island Line
Hong Kong Station for      Tung Chung Line and      Airport Express		 12 February 1980
(as part of Kwun Tong Line)
Admiralty      Island Line
     South Island Line (East)*
     North South Corridor*
Tsim Sha Tsui Yau Tsim Mong East Tsim Sha Tsui Station for      West Rail Line 31 December 1979
(as part of Kwun Tong Line)
Jordan
Yau Ma Tei
Formerly Waterloo		      Kwun Tong Line 10 May 1982
Mong Kok
Formerly Argyle
Prince Edward
Sham Shui Po Sham Shui Po 17 May 1982
Cheung Sha Wan
Lai Chi Kok
Mei Foo
Formerly Lai Wan		      West Rail Line
Lai King Kwai Tsing      Tung Chung Line 10 May 1982
Kwai Fong
Kwai Hing
Tai Wo Hau
Tsuen Wan
Tsuen Wan
Notes

* Proposed stations

1 Yau Ma Tei Station is an unannounced interchange station. Changing trains in this station lacks the convenience of cross-platform interchange in Mong Kok station. The platforms for the      Kwun Tong Line and      Tsuen Wan Line in Yau Ma Tei station are on separate levels.
2 Mong Kok Station is not an interchange station to the Mong Kok East Station of the      East Rail Line, but the two stations are connected with a footbridge that takes 10–15 minutes.
3 Tsuen Wan Station is not an interchange station to the Tsuen Wan West Station of but green public light bus route 95K (free transfer with an immediate West Rail journey record on the Octopus card) connects the two stations. It normally takes 15-20 minutes to go to Tsuen Wan West Station on foot.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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