Tuen Ma line
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The Tuen Ma line (Chinese: 屯馬綫) is a rapid transit line that forms part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong. Coloured brown on the MTR map, the line in its current form, designated as Tuen Ma Line Phase 1 (Chinese: 屯馬綫一期), runs from Kai Tak to Wu Kai Sha. When fully operational, the line will be 57 kilometres (35 mi) in length, making it the longest line of the entire MTR network. It will have a total of 27 stations, more than any other in the MTR system.[2]
The Tuen Ma line, which is expected to be fully complete by Q1 2021[3], involves the connection of two existing MTR lines, the West Rail line and the Ma On Shan line, with a new railway line known as the "Tai Wai to Hung Hom section" (大圍至紅磡段) of the Sha Tin to Central Link project, consisting of 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) of track and six new intermediate stations. The Tai Wai to Kai Tak section opened on 14 February 2020, while the Kai Tak to Hung Hom section is planned to open by the first quarter of 2021, after the completion of reinforcement works at Hung Hom station.
During the planning and construction phase, this line was referred to as the "East West Corridor" (東西走廊). On 25 May 2018, the operational name was confirmed by the MTR Corporation to reflect the neighborhoods of the ultimate termini of the resulting line, namely Tuen Mun and Ma On Shan.
Overview
The line presently starts at Kai Tak station in Kai Tak, and ends at Wu Kai Sha station in Wu Kai Sha, Ma On Shan. It is 17 kilometres (11 mi) long with twelve stations, and a complete journey lasts 29 minutes in either direction. There are two interchange stations: one with the East Rail line at Tai Wai, and another at Diamond Hill with the Kwun Tong line. The maintenance depot, built by Gammon Construction, is located south of Tai Wai station.[4][5] Upon the opening of the full line, the interchanges and facilities of the present West Rail line, including the Kowloon Southern Link extension opened in 2009, will also serve the Tuen Ma Line, and Hung Hom will become a major interchange for passengers crossing the harbour to Hong Kong Island.
Most of the original Ma On Shan line (between Tai Wai and Wu Kai Sha) is built on a viaduct on land which had been reserved for the purpose of a railway from the outset of the development of Ma On Shan New Town.[6] However, the section between Shek Mun and Tai Shui Hang is at ground level, as it is located between the carriageways of Tate's Cairn Highway, along with the section between Tai Wai to Hin Keng, which is also partially on an embankment and parallel to the East Rail line. The remaining section to Kai Tak is underground, as will be much of the remaining section to Hung Hom. Construction methods predominantly include tunnel boring machines and cut-and-cover, though the Lion Rock Tunnel between Hin Keng and the Ma Chai Hang Recreation Ground was constructed using the drill-and-blast method.
While road and rail traffic in Hong Kong move on the left, the operating section of the Tuen Ma line is an exception, as trains move on the right. This allows the southbound tracks of this line and the East Rail line to lie opposite each other at Tai Wai, such that cross-platform interchange could be provided there. This design was to speed up passenger interchange between the East Rail line and Tuen Ma line to Kowloon during the morning commute, although the reverse transfer would require going down to the concourse level and back up again. This layout will be maintained as far as To Kwa Wan, which will have a split platform layout to allow the tracks to switch sides and adopt the left-hand running used on the West Rail line.
Since its opening as part of the KCR system, the interchange station at Tai Wai has not had ticket gates between the Ma On Shan Rail and East Rail platforms, unlike at the former KCR system's interchanges with the MTR system; a trip from either line to the other counted as one ride. There was no direct connection between these two lines and the West Rail while they were part of the KCR network. In June 2016, using the ubiquitous Octopus card, the fare for a single trip on the line ranged from HK$3.7 to HK$5.3, depending on the distance travelled. The fare from Ma On Shan to East Rail line stations in Kowloon ranged from HK$5.3 to HK$10.2.[7]
Rolling stock
For much of its existence, the Tuen Ma line has been, in the Hong Kong context, classified as a "medium-capacity system"; however, it is capable of passenger volumes up to 32,000 passengers per hour per direction (PPHPD),[8] which is comparable to the passenger capacity of a full rapid transit or "metro" system.[9] Furthermore, the line has been upgraded to the standard of a full-capacity system in anticipation of the Sha Tin to Central Link, which will extend it to the heart of Kowloon and result in a merger with the existing, full-capacity West Rail line.
KCRC initially ordered 18 sets of SP1950 trains, built by Kinki Sharyo, running in four-car configurations when serviced commenced on the line; they have all since been converted to eight cars. The train is the same model as the SP1900 sets used on the East Rail and West Rail lines, which runs on those lines with twelve-car and eight-car configurations respectively (previously seven cars on the latter, though all will be converted to eight cars and used on the entire line following its completion). They were the only trains in use until March 2017, when newly-built eight-car East West line trains, manufactured by CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles, entered service on the line. Both of these models have a maximum running speed of 160 km/h (99 mph), but only reach a maximum service speed of 120 km/h (75 mph) in the long section between Hin Keng and Diamond Hill stations; they reach 70 km/h (43 mph) between most other stations. Unlike the trains on the East Rail line, there are no first-class compartments. All trains are serviced at Tai Wai depot and are equipped with the SelTrac IS moving-block signalling system for train protection, with provision for upgrading to the radio-based SelTrac CBTC at a later stage to increase capacity.[10]
The first two converted 8-car SP1900 trains were introduced on 15 January 2017.[11] During the transition period with both 4-car and 8-car trains in service, passengers had to pay attention to the platform LCD screens and announcements to queue at the right part of the platforms.[12] Since December 2017, the line has been run fully by 8-car trains and all stations retrofitted with automatic platform gates identical to those installed at elevated stations on MTR's own lines.[13]
History
Before the merger of the two major Hong Kong railway operators, the MTR Corporation (MTRC) and the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) rail networks in 2007, both the West Rail (opened in 2003) and the Ma On Shan Rail (opened in 2004) were operated by KCRC. Both railways were envisaged to be extended in the near future; hence, the platforms were built with reserved structures for elongation than necessary for their initial operation.
Both MTRC and KCRC independently submitted their own proposals to the Hong Kong government for developing the Sha Tin to Central Link (SCL) by extending their own existing networks. After numerous revisions of their proposals, the government eventually approved the scheme by KCRC, which involved joining the West Rail and the Ma On Shan Rail via the Wong Tai Sin and Kowloon City districts (the phase 1 East West Corridor), and extending East Rail to the Hong Kong Island central business district (phase 2 North South Corridor).
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After the 2007 network merger, operations of all transport services (East Rail, West Rail, Ma On Shan Rail, Light Rail, feeder buses and Guangzhou–Kowloon through train) of the KCRC have been leased to the MTRC for 50 years. The MTRC also rebranded the 3 local commuter railways to bear the suffix "line" (East Rail line, West Rail line and Ma On Shan line) like their own railways. Subsequently the approved SCL schemes fall into the hands of the MTRC.
The construction of East West Corridor, which largely followed an aligned proposed by the MTRC in the 1970s as the East Kowloon line and later shelved, began in August 2016. At the time, it was unclear how MTRC would name the new lines or whether they would retain the project codenames "East West Corridor" and "North South Corridor"; the word "corridor" would set a precedent in the naming convention of MTR lines. Speculation of "East West Line" arose when a photograph of an info plate printed with "EWL" (東西綫) at Ho Man Tin station while it was under construction surfaced. The plate was removed before the opening of the station that year as part of the Kwun Tong line extension to Whampoa. MTRC eventually announced on 25 May 2018 that the finalised name is the Tuen Ma line.
Construction scandal and delay
The Tuen Ma line was planned to be fully operational in 2019, but after concrete structures of the newly built platforms at Hung Hom station failed a safety inspection which occurred between December 2018 and January 2019, its opening was significantly postponed.[14]
The head contractor of the SCL construction, Leighton Asia, subsidiary of the CIMIC Group, was accused of covering up the mistakes of the construction until a whistleblower from a subcontractor leaked photo evidence to the local press. This led to more thorough investigations, hearings and inspections behind the set concrete for assessing if it would require demolition and rebuilding the structure from scratch. The Hong Kong government also expressed disappointment in the MTRC executives for their incompetent supervision.
Michael Tien, former KCRC chairman, suggested that it was technically feasible to have the Ma On Shan line be initially extended from Tai Wai to Diamond Hill station instead of delaying the whole line, as this has the advantage of diverging the commuter traffic between Tai Wai and Kowloon Tong stations of the East Rail line, which is overcrowded during peak hours.[15] However, the current MTRC chairman, Frederick Ma, insisted that they aimed at inaugurating the whole line in mid-2019 to avoid the extra resources required for operating the line in separate phases.[16]
On 18 July 2019, the Transport and Housing Bureau announced that the Tuen Ma line would open in two separate phases. On 14 February 2020, the Ma On Shan line was extended from Tai Wai station to Kai Tak station because the latter has a crossover track which permits the operation of the station as a terminus. The extension, named Tuen Ma Line Phase 1, is expected to alleviate significant congestion on the East Rail Line between Tai Wai and Kowloon Tong stations in preparation for the shortening of trainsets as part of preparatory works for the cross-harbour extension of that line. Phase 2 of the Tuen Ma Line, from Kai Tak to Hung Hom, is expected to open by 2021, after the reinforcement works at Hung Hom is completed.[17]
Future extensions
In May 2020, the Government submitted a proposal for the Tuen Mun South Extension to the Legislative Council Subcommittee on Railway Matters. In addition to the "Railway Development Strategy 2014", which includes a proposal for Tuen Mun South Station near the Tuen Mun Ferry Pier, the MTRCL has proposed in the latest project proposal to add an additional station in Tuen Mun Area 16. Building an intermediate section in Tuen Mun Area 16 will require the Tuen Mun Swimming Pool to be relocated. A possible relocation for the Tuen Mun Swimming Pool is at the Tuen Mun Golf Centre; the specific plan depends on the technical feasibility study. If, after research, it is confirmed that the above-mentioned location is not suitable, MTRCL will identify other possible locations. Considering that the detailed planning and design of the project will take about two to three years, the Tuen Mun South Extension is expected to start construction in 2023 and be completed in 2030. The government has invited MTRCL to carry out the detailed planning and design of the Tuen Mun South Extension project, and will negotiate with the MTR Corporation on the financing arrangements for the Tuen Mun South Extension on the basis of the “ownership” model for the project.[18]
Stations
The following is a list of the stations on the Tuen Ma line.
| Livery and name | District | Connections | Opening date | Original line | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuen Ma line Phase 1 | ||||||
| Wu Kai Sha | Sha Tin | 21 December 2004 | Ma On Shan Line | |||
| Ma On Shan | ||||||
| Heng On | ||||||
| Tai Shui Hang | ||||||
| Shek Mun | ||||||
| City One | ||||||
| Sha Tin Wai | ||||||
| Che Kung Temple | ||||||
| Tai Wai | East Rail line | 15 August 1983 | ||||
| Hin Keng | 14 February 2020 | New stations | ||||
| Diamond Hill | Wong Tai Sin | Kwun Tong line | 1 October 1979 | |||
| Kai Tak | Kowloon City | 14 February 2020 | ||||
| Tuen Ma line (expected to open 1st quarter 2021) | ||||||
| Sung Wong Toi | Kowloon City | 1st Quarter 2021[19] | New stations | |||
| To Kwa Wan | ||||||
| Ho Man Tin | Kwun Tong line | 23 October 2016 | ||||
| West Rail line | ||||||
| Hung Hom | Yau Tsim Mong | East Rail line Through Train services to Mainland China |
30 November 1975[a] being relocated by 1st quarter of 2021 |
West Rail Line | ||
| East Tsim Sha Tsui | Free OSI: Tsim Sha Tsui station for Tsuen Wan line[b] | 24 October 2004[c] | ||||
| Austin |
|
16 August 2009 | ||||
| Nam Cheong | Sham Shui Po | Tung Chung line | 16 December 2003 | |||
| Mei Foo | Tsuen Wan line | 17 May 1982 | ||||
| Tsuen Wan West | Tsuen Wan | [e] | 20 December 2003 | |||
| Kam Sheung Road | Yuen Long | Northern Link (proposed) | ||||
| Yuen Long | Yuen Long stop for Light Rail 610 614 615 761P | |||||
| Long Ping | ||||||
| Tin Shui Wai | Tin Shui Wai stop for Light Rail 705 706 751 751P 761P | |||||
| Siu Hong | Tuen Mun | Siu Hong stop for Light Rail 505 610 614 614P 615 615P 751 | ||||
| Tuen Mun | Tuen Mun stop for Light Rail 505 507 751 | |||||
Notes
- ^ Originally opened as part of the Kowloon–Canton Railway.
- ^ East Tsim Sha Tsui and Tsim Sha Tsui stations are physically connected by underground walkways outside the stations' paid areas. The out-of-station interchange is only free for passengers using an Octopus card; passengers travelling with Single Journey Tickets need to buy another ticket for the trip after the interchange, with a resulting higher cost.
- ^ Originally opened as part of the East Rail line.
- ^ Kowloon Station of the Tung Chung Line and Airport Express and Austin Station of the West Rail Line are not physically connected. There is pedestrian transfer via a footbridge; the journey time is approximately 10 minutes on foot.
- ^ Tsuen Wan West Station of the West Rail Line and Tsuen Wan Station of the Tsuen Wan Line are not physically linked, 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 Station on foot.
References
- ^ "Weekday patronage of MTR heavy rail network from September 1 to 27 and September 28 to October 25, 2014" (PDF). Legislative Council. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ "Shatin to Central Link FAQ". MTR. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
- ^ https://www.hk01.com/%E7%A4%BE%E6%9C%83%E6%96%B0%E8%81%9E/471751/%E6%B2%99%E4%B8%AD%E7%B7%9A-%E5%9B%9E%E9%A1%A7%E7%B4%85%E7%A3%A1%E7%AB%99%E5%89%AA%E7%AD%8B%E9%86%9C%E8%81%9E-%E6%BA%9D%E9%80%9A%E6%B7%B7%E4%BA%82-%E6%93%85%E8%87%AA%E6%9B%B4%E6%94%B9%E5%BB%BA%E7%AF%89%E8%A8%AD%E8%A8%88.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Gammon Construction awarded £238m". The Engineer. 19 August 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
- ^ "Tai Wai maintenance centre: planning, design, and construction" (PDF). Arup Journal. 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
- ^ "Land set aside for light rail system". South China Morning Post. 17 May 1986.
- ^ "Octopus Fare Chart" (PDF). MTR Corporation. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ "MTR train frequencies of railway lines in different periods, number of cars on each train, train carrying capacity, train loading rates and number of seats" (pdf). MTR. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- ^ Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee, ed. (2005). Integrated Transport: The Future of Light Rail and Modern Trams in the United Kingdom. The Stationery Office. p. 216. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
- ^ "LCQ9: KCRC's rail signalling systems". Government of Hong Kong. 6 June 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ^ "First Two 8-car Trains Will Start Serving Ma On Shan Line Passengers Tomorrow" (PDF). MTR Corporation. 14 January 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ^ "Ma On Shan Line: 4-car trains modified to 8-car trains". mtr.com.hk. MTR Corporation. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ "Upgrade of 8-car Trains and Retrofitting of Automatic Platform Gates on Ma On Shan Line Fully Completed" (PDF). MTR Corporation. 23 December 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ^ "【沙中線】供應商稱螺絲帽有10圈 正確做法應完全扭入" (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). HK01. 24 December 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- ^ "Hong Kong's MTR Corporation to 'carefully consider' opening part of scandal-hit Sha Tin-Central rail link by mid-2019". South China Morning Post. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- ^ "【沙中線】通車存變數 馬時亨：屯馬線目標明年中全條開通" [SCL: Uncertain Inauguration. Frederick Ma: Tuen Ma line is expected to be fully operational in the next year (2019)] (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). am730. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- ^ "First section of Hong Kong's most expensive rail project, the Sha Tin-Central link, could open by early 2020 – but the cost has gone up again". South China Morning Post. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ "屯門南延線 (Tuen Mun South Extension)" (PDF). LegCo. May 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
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