Tung Chung Line

Template:HK-MTR route/Tung ChungTemplate:Chinese

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[]

File:LAR ga map.png

MTR Tung Chung Line and Airport Express 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[]

Tung Chung Line Stations
Upward	Station Name and Livery	Station Code	Upward Platform	Downward Platform	Connection(s)	District	Opened on
	東涌 Tung Chung	TUC	1／2		Ngong Ping 360	Islands	June 22, 1998
	欣澳 Sunny Bay	SUN	1	2	Disneyland Resort Line	Tsuen Wan ^[SUB]	June 1, 2005
	青衣 Tsing Yi	TSY	3	4	Airport Express	Kwai Tsing	June 22, 1998
	荔景 Lai King	LAK	3	4	Tsuen Wan Line	Kwai Tsing	June 22, 1998	^[LAK]
	南昌 Nam Cheong	NAC	3	4	Tuen Ma Line	Sham Shui Po	December 16, 2003
	奧運 Olympic	OLY	1	2		Yau Tsim Mong District	June 22, 1998
	九龍 Kowloon	KOW	3	4	Airport Express Template:High Speed Rail（Hong Kong West Kowloon Station）	Yau Tsim Mong District
	香港 Hong Kong	HOK	3／4		Airport Express Tsuen Wan Line、Island Line（Central Station）	Central & Western
Downward	Station Name and Livery	Station Code	Upward Platform	Downward Platform	Connection(s)	District	Opened on
Remarks
^SUB Despite located on Lantau Island, it is allocated into Tsuen Wan District due to its historical ferry connections with Tsing Lung Tau of Tsuen Wan District. ^LAK The platform used by the downward train was opened on May 10, 1982 following the opening of the Tsuen Wan Line. After that, the platform was expanded and the original Tsuen Wan Line track was paved flat. The current position of the down track on the Tung Chung Line is different from that on the original Tsuen Wan Line.
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Future development[]

See: North Island Line

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]

References[]

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Template:MTR Template:MTRStations Template:Pearl River Delta transit Template:Crossings navbox 東涌綫

↑ [1]Template:Dead link
↑ Template:Zh-hk icon逸東邨居民要求建港鐵站 Wen Wei Po. 25 May 2011.

[1] [1]Template:Dead link

[2] Template:Zh-hk icon逸東邨居民要求建港鐵站 Wen Wei Po. 25 May 2011.

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