The Sha Tin to Central Link (沙田至中環線/沙中線), with the code SCL, is a heavy railway project, which is formed by two sections: "Tai Wai to Hung Hom Section" (大圍至紅磡段) and "Hung Hom to Admiralty Section" (紅磡至金鐘段).
The "Tai Wai to Hung Hom Section" (once named East West Line/East West Corridor, code EWL/EWC), which is 11km long, extends Ma On Shan Line from Tai Wai to Hung Hom via Diamond Hill, connecting to the West Rail Line and forming Tuen Ma Line. The "Hung Hom to Admiralty Section" (once named North South Line/North South Corridor，code NSL/NSC), which is 6km long, is the 4th cross-harbour railway in Hong Kong, extending East Rail Line from Hung Hom to Admiralty; after completion, the journey time for taking East Rail Line from Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau stations directly to Admiralty is just only 50 minutes, which is much faster than interchanging 2 times in the railway network.
The Tuen Ma Line and the East Rail Line are operated by 8-car and 9-car trains respectively, with about 20 trains per hour on the former and 27 trains per hour on the latter during peak hours. The two corridors provide a total of 430 carriages per hour, which is nearly 68% higher than the current 240 carriages per hour on the East Rail Line during peak hours[2]. The Tuen Ma Line and the extension of the East Rail Line to Hong Kong Island provide passengers with more choices of railway routes and divert patronage away from the old railway lines, such as the Kwun Tong Line and the Tsuen Wan Line, which will help enhance the overall carrying capacity of the railway network.
The Government has funded the construction of the SCL and its ancillary infrastructure under the "service concession" approach and ultimately owns the railway. The MTRCL was granted a service concession to operate this section of the railway and is required to pay a service concession fee, the amount of which depended on the fares, actual patronage and non-fare revenue generated from the commissioning of this section of the railway. It was originally expected that the Tuen Ma Line could be commissioned in mid-2019. In view of the series of construction quality incidents at Hung Hom Station and the related investigation work, the target commissioning date of this section needs to be further reviewed. Regarding the need and feasibility of partial opening of some stations and sections of the line, the Government will actively explore with the MTRCL on suitable options, with practical feasibility and safety as the top priority, and the target opening date of 2022 for the Hung Hom to Admiralty section was maintained for the time being.
In order to enable the public to use the newly completed railway as soon as possible, the Government considers it necessary to partially commission the "Tai Wai to Hung Hom Section". After months of study by the MTRCL and due consideration of safety and other operational feasibility factors, the MTRCL has proposed and the Government has agreed that the three new stations, namely Hin Keng Station, Diamond Hill Station Extension and Kai Tak Station, should be commissioned first, and the entire railway from Wu Kai Sha Station to Kai Tak Station will be formally known as the "Tuen Ma Line Phase 1" (TML Phase 1, 屯馬綫一期). The MTRCL had been actively conducting final testing and commissioning, and the new line was eventually opened to service on 14 February 2020, providing a new railway service for residents of Kai Tak and Hin Keng. The remaining section of the Tuen Ma Line was commissioned on 27 June 2021.
As for the cross-harbour section, the MTRCL finally commenced final testing and commissioning of the new section in December 2021 for opening on 15 May 2022, after a long delay caused by the discovery of a World War II bomb at Exhibition Centre Station.
History[]
On 25 June 2002, the government announced that the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) had won its bid against the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) to build and operate the Sha Tin to Central Link. The route was originally planned to go from Tai Wai Station to Central West Station (a proposed station located under the Mid-Levels).
The KCRC announced modifications to the proposal in 2005, with the East Kowloon portion of the line joining KCR Ma On Shan Rail (Ma On Shan Line) at Tai Wai and West Rail (West Rail Line) at Hung Hom, and the cross-harbour portion joining KCR East Rail (East Rail Line) at Hung Hom. However, the KCRC's proposal had not yet been finalised.
At the same time, the MTRC submitted a new proposal to the government. According to the proposal, Kwun Tong Line would be extended from Yau Ma Tei Station to Whampoa. Also, the route of Sha Tin to Central Link will be built according to the original proposal instead of the KCRC's modified proposal.
On 11 April 2006, MTRC signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the Hong Kong Government, the owner of KCRC, to merge the operations of the territory's two railway networks. According to the memorandum, the current MTR lines may be fully integrated with the Sha Tin to Central Link. Also, the government intends to choose the KCRC's modified proposal to build the railway, that is, extending the current East Rail Line to the Hong Kong Island. However, final decisions will not be made before conducting further studies on the proposal with the MTRC.
On 12 July 2007, both companies announced the new proposal .[1]
KCRC's original proposal[]
KCR's original bid
Ma On Shan Rail Extension (Tai Wai to Central West)[]
Originally, the KCRC chose to extend the current Ma On Shan Line from Tai Wai to Central West via stations in East Kowloon and northern shore of the Hong Kong Island in the original bid for the line.
The following is a list of proposed stations in the KCRC's original bid for the line:
- Tai Wai (大圍, Interchange to East Rail Line)
- Tsz Wan Shan (慈雲山)
- Diamond Hill (鑽石山)
- Kai Tak (啟德, original site of Hong Kong International Airport)
- Ma Tau Wai (馬頭圍)
- To Kwa Wan (土瓜灣)
- Ho Man Tin (何文田, Interchange to Kwun Tong Line)
- Whampoa Garden (黃埔花園)
- Hung Hom (紅磡, Interchange to East Rail Line and West Rail Line)
- Exhibition (會展, Interchange to Island Line)
- Admiralty (金鐘)
- Central West (中環西)
KCRC's modified proposal[]
KCR's 2004 modified proposal
In 2004, the KCRC sent a modified proposal of the railway to the government. According to the proposal, Ma On Shan Line will be extended to East Kowloon and join West Rail Line at Hung Hom. In addition, the cross-harbour portion will become an extension of East Rail Line, running from Mong Kok to Central South.
Ma On Shan Rail East Kowloon Extension (Tai Wai to Hung Hom)[]
Ma On Shan Line will be extended from Tai Wai to Hung Hom via East Kowloon. The extension will join West Rail Line at Hung Hom to the northwest New Territories via the Kowloon Southern Link and the current route of West Rail Line, forming an East-to-West railway corridor. Also, the KCRC had decided not to build stations in Tsz Wan Shan and Whampoa Garden. However, both stations will be linked by the Automatic People Mover from Diamond Hill and Hung Hom respectively.
The following is a list of proposed stations of the Ma On Shan Rail East Kowloon Extension:
- Tai Wai (Interchange to East Rail Line)
- Diamond Hill (Interchange to Automatic People Mover to Tsz Wan Shan)
- Kai Tak
- To Kwa Wan / Ma Tau Wai
- Ho Man Tin
- Hung Hom (Interchange to East Rail Line and Automatic People Mover to Whampoa Garden) - Joining West Rail Line to East Tsim Sha Tsui
Cross-harbour Extension (Mong Kok to Central South)[]
According to the proposal, a new Mong Kok East station will be relocated a few hundred metres to the south of the current Mong Kok East station. Also, a new underground tunnel will be built to link between Mong Kok East and Hung Hom, which will join the cross-harbour tunnel to the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, forming a North-to-South railway corridor.
The following is a list of proposed stations of the Cross-harbour Extension:
- Mong Kok East
- Hung Hom (Interchange to Ma On Shan Line / West Rail Line and Automatic People Mover to Whampoa Garden)
- Causeway Bay North
- Exhibition
- Admiralty East
- Central South
MTRC's proposal[]
MTR's original bid
Sha Tin to Central Link (Tai Wai to Central)[]
The following is a list of stations proposed in the MTRC's original bid for the line:
- Tai Wai (Interchange to East Rail Line and Ma On Shan Line)
- Tsz Wan Shan
- Diamond Hill (Interchange to Kwun Tong Line)
- Kai Tak
- Ma Tau Wai
- To Kwa Wan
- Ho Man Tin (Interchange to Kwun Tong Line)
- Hung Hom (Interchange to East Rail Line and West Rail Line)
- Exhibition
- Admiralty (Interchange to Island Line)
- Central West (Interchange to Island Line, Tsuen Wan Line, Tung Chung Line and Template:Airport Express Line)
An underground train depot would be built beneath the passenger terminal of the former Kai Tak International Airport, adjacent to Prince Edward Road East in Kowloon City.
Kwun Tong Line Extension (Yau Ma Tei to Whampoa)[]
In addition, the MTRC had previously proposed extending the Kwun Tong Line to Whampoa Garden. As the KCRC had decided not to build a station in Whampoa Garden on the Sha Tin to Central Link, the MTRC sent this proposal again to the government.
The extension would run from the current Yau Ma Tei terminus to:
- Ho Man Tin (Interchange to Sha Tin to Central Link)
- Whampoa
MTR-KCR merger proposal[]
Merger proposal
As the MTR and KCR were merging, the two companies announced the new proposal on 12 July 2007.
East-west Line[]
The stations will be:
- Tai Wai (大圍, interchange to East Rail Line and connects Ma On Shan Line)
- Diamond Hill (鑽石山, Interchange to Kwun Tong Line)
- Kai Tak (啟德)
- Ma Tau Wai (馬頭圍)
- To Kwa Wan (土瓜灣)
- Ho Man Tin (何文田, Interchange to Kwun Tong Line)
- Hung Hom (紅磡, Interchange to North-south Line and connects West Rail Line)
North-south Line[]
The original Causeway Bay North (銅鑼灣北) station was cancelled due to potential effects on traffic during the construction of the station.
- Hung Hom (紅磡, Interchange to East-west Line and connects East Rail Line)
- Exhibition (會展)
- Admiralty (金鐘, Interchange to Island Line and Tsuen Wan Line)
- Central South (中環南)
Kwun Tong Line extension[]
- Yau Ma Tei (油麻地, Interchange to Tsuen Wan Line and connects Kwun Tong Line)
- Ho Man Tin (何文田, Interchange to East-west Line)
- Whampoa Garden (黃埔)
MTR-KCR revised proposal[]
Revised proposal
The MTRC announced a revised proposal on 11 March 2008. The Government will fund all of the required HK$37.4 billion for construction.[2]
East-west Line[]
For the section assigned to East-west Line, the stations will be:
- Tai Wai (大圍, interchange to East Rail Line and connects Ma On Shan Line)
- Hin Keng (顯徑)
- Diamond Hill (鑽石山, Interchange to Kwun Tong Line)
- Kai Tak (啟德)
- Ma Tau Wai (馬頭圍)
- To Kwa Wan (土瓜灣)
- Ho Man Tin (何文田, Interchange to Kwun Tong Line)
- Hung Hom (紅磡, Interchange to North-south Line and connects West Rail Line)
Construction started in 2012 and was completed in 2018. Trains were able to travel the full route starting in 2021 with the completion of new platforms at Ho Man Tin and Hung Hom.
North-south Line[]
The original Causeway Bay North (銅鑼灣北) station was cancelled due to potential effects on traffic during the construction of the station.
- Hung Hom (紅磡; Interchange to East-west Line and connects East Rail Line)
- Exhibition Centre (會展)
- Admiralty (金鐘; Interchange to Island Line, South Island Line and Tsuen Wan Line)
Central South (中環南) has not been cancelled, but excluded in the modified plan because no suitable sites have been found at this stage. Construction was slated to be completed in 2020, although the line was completed in early 2022 as an extension of the East Rail Line. Central South, however, was ultimately not built and the line terminates at Admiralty.
Before the extension of the East Rail Line opened, the Hyundai Rotem EMUs entered service and the 12-car Metro Cammell (AC) EMUs were retired, as space constraints do not permit 12-car trains on the extension. In addition, the original platforms of Hung Hom Station are no longer in use with through train services also discontinued, with East Rail Line services relocated to new platforms.
Kwun Tong Line extension[]
- Yau Ma Tei (油麻地, Interchange to Tsuen Wan Line)
- Ho Man Tin (何文田, Interchange to Tuen Ma Line)
- Whampoa (黃埔)
Construction was finished in 2015 and the extension opened the same year.
See also[]
- Tai Hom Village, for details about the planned depot