Nam Cheong is a
MTR interchange station
An interchange station or a transfer station is a train station for more than one railway route in a public transport system that allows passengers to change from one route to another, often without having to leave a station or pay an additional ...
located at ground level beneath
West Kowloon Highway
West Kowloon Highway is a section of Route 3 in Hong Kong, built as part of the Airport Core Programme. This dual-three-lane expressway runs for 4.2 km (), connecting Western Harbour Crossing in the south with Tsing Kwai Highway in the nor ...
, in
Sham Shui Po
Sham Shui Po is an area of Kowloon, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei (). It is located in and is the namesake of the Sham Shui P ...
, Hong Kong opposite the
Fu Cheong Estate
Fu Cheong Estate () is a public housing estate in Sham Shui Po, Kowloon, Hong Kong, built on the reclaimed land of the southwest of Sham Shui Po near MTR Nam Cheong station. Built in 2001, the estate was constructed on the former site of the Sham ...
. It is served by the
Tung Chung
Tung Chung, meaning " eastern stream", is an area on the northwestern coast of Lantau Island, Hong Kong. One of the most recent new towns, it was formerly a rural fishing village beside Tung Chung Bay, and along the delta and lower courses of T ...
and
Tuen Ma lines and provides
cross-platform interchange
A cross-platform interchange is a type of interchange between different lines at a metro (or other railway) station. The term originates with the London Underground; such layouts exist in other networks but are not commonly so named. In the Uni ...
between platform 1 (Tuen Ma line towards Tuen Mun) and platform 4 (Tung Chung line towards Hong Kong). The livery of Nam Cheong station is pale yellow green.
Nam Cheong station was originally the southern terminus of the West Rail line before the opening of
Kowloon Southern Link
The Kowloon Southern link is a section of the MTR Tuen Ma line, linking Nam Cheong station and East Tsim Sha Tsui station. The rail link is fully underground, lies along the south-west coastline of Kowloon Peninsula, east of rail tracks of the ...
on 16 August 2009. The passes between the tracks of the Tung Chung line without stopping at this station. A public transport interchange, located to the east of the station, allows for transfers to other modes of public transport. Architecture firm
Aedas
Aedas is an architectural firm with eleven International offices founded by the Welsh architect Keith Griffiths. Aedas provides services in architecture, interior design, urban design, masterplanning and graphic design. It was established in 2002 ...
designed Nam Cheong station.
Although this station is on ground level,
platform screen doors
Platform screen doors (PSDs), also known as platform edge doors (PEDs), are used at some train, rapid transit and people mover stations to separate the platform from train tracks, as well as on some bus rapid transit, tram and light rail syste ...
are fitted.
History
Nam Cheong station was called Yen Chow Street station (after
Yen Chow Street
Yen Chow Street () is a main street in Sham Shui Po, New Kowloon, Hong Kong. It runs from hill side towards the shore of Victoria Harbour, between Castle Peak Road and Sham Mong Road. Its extension Yen Chow Street West () spans further to the re ...
, a major thoroughfare in the area) in its planning stage. The station was subsequently renamed "Nam Cheong" after
Nam Cheong Estate
Nam Cheong Estate () is a public housing estate in Sham Shui Po, Kowloon, Hong Kong near Nam Cheong Park, Tung Chau Street Park and MTR Nam Cheong station. It is named from nearby Nam Cheong Street, a main street in Sham Shui Po District. It ...
, a nearby
public housing estate
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...
, which in turn is named after
Nam Cheong Street
Nam Cheong Street ( zh, 南昌街) is a street in Shek Kip Mei and Sham Shui Po, Sham Shui Po District, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It begins in the north at Lung Ping Road and Yan Ping Road in Shek Kip Mei and terminates in the south at Tung Chau ...
(another thoroughfare). Nam Cheong Street was named after Mr. Chan Nam Cheong (
陳南昌), a local philanthropist. As "Nam Cheong" is also the
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
-based transliteration for
Nanchang
Nanchang (, ; ) is the capital of Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east ...
, some sources mistakenly state that the station was named after the mainland Chinese city.
Works for Nam Cheong station started on 5 October 2000; the station was built by a joint venture formed by
Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty plc () is an international infrastructure group based in the United Kingdom with capabilities in construction services, support services and infrastructure investments. A constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, Balfour Beatty works ac ...
and Zen Pacific. The station was opened for public use on 16 December 2003, coinciding with the pre-opening charity trial run day of the KCR West Rail (later West Rail line), and the part of the station started operation. On 20 December, the KCR West Rail officially commenced operation, and Nam Cheong became the southern terminus of the rail line.
Upon its completion, the station was a shared-use integrated station between MTR and
KCR, and the first integrated one between the two systems. The station concourse was divided into two parts (managed by the two rail operators respectively). Special transfer
turnstile
A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a t ...
s were located between the two parts, enabling passengers paying with
Octopus card to interchange between the two systems by tapping their card just once.
The operations of MTR and KCR merged on 2 December 2007, and the management of the station unified under MTRCL. Following the network-wide fare zone merger of the former MTR and KCR networks on 28 September 2008, the transfer turnstiles along with the barriers separating the two fare zones were removed, and
cross-platform interchange
A cross-platform interchange is a type of interchange between different lines at a metro (or other railway) station. The term originates with the London Underground; such layouts exist in other networks but are not commonly so named. In the Uni ...
is now provided between platform 1 (West Rail line towards ) and platform 4 (Tung Chung line towards ); several passageways were opened between the two platforms. One of the wider passages is aligned with the fifth and sixth carriages of the Hong Kong-bound trains on the Tung Chung line platform.
The
Kowloon Southern Link
The Kowloon Southern link is a section of the MTR Tuen Ma line, linking Nam Cheong station and East Tsim Sha Tsui station. The rail link is fully underground, lies along the south-west coastline of Kowloon Peninsula, east of rail tracks of the ...
extension of West Rail line opened on 16 August 2009, and the West Rail line was extended to on that day. Nam Cheong lost its status as the southern terminus of West Rail line, and became an intermediate station for both Tung Chung and West Rail lines.
On 27 June 2021, the officially merged with the (which was already extended into the ''Tuen Ma line Phase 1'' at the time) in
East Kowloon
Kowloon East is the eastern part of Kowloon, covering the Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong District, with Kowloon City District occasionally included.
History
The boundary of Kowloon East is not strictly defined and hence varies. While traditionally t ...
to form the new , as part of the
Shatin to Central link
The Sha Tin to Central Link (abbreviated SCL; ) is an extension of the MTR rapid transit network. It is divided into two sections.
The first section, named "Tuen Ma line (Phase 1)”, runs from Tai Wai station in the New Territories to Hung ...
project. Hence, Nam Cheong was included in the project and is now an intermediate station on the Tuen Ma line.
Station layout
![MTR NAC (18)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/MTR_NAC_%2818%29.JPG)
All four platforms are located at ground level. The platforms are curved because they were built around the existing tracks. However, the gaps are not very large.
Before the merging of fare systems on 28 September 2008,
Octopus card users transferring between the West Rail line and Tung Chung line had to use the transfer gates separating fare areas the MTR and KCR systems. Once the card was placed on a reader, the first section of journey fare would be deducted and passengers could walk over to the other fare area. Passengers who accidentally walked to the wrong area by mistake had to exit the station through the exit gates (not the transfer gates) within 15 minutes, or an extra fare was charged.
Entrances and exits
* A1: V Walk,
Fu Cheong Estate
Fu Cheong Estate () is a public housing estate in Sham Shui Po, Kowloon, Hong Kong, built on the reclaimed land of the southwest of Sham Shui Po near MTR Nam Cheong station. Built in 2001, the estate was constructed on the former site of the Sham ...
* A2: V Walk
* B: Cheung Sha Wan Wholesale Food Market
* C: Lin Cheung Road
* D1: Sham Mong Road
* D2: V Walk
References
{{Sham Shui Po District
MTR stations in Kowloon
Tung Chung line
Tuen Ma line
West Rail line
Sham Shui Po
Former Kowloon–Canton Railway stations
Railway stations in Hong Kong opened in 2003
2003 establishments in Hong Kong