Tsuen Wan Line (MTR)
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The Tsuen Wan line is one of the eleven lines of the
metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
network in Hong Kong's
MTR The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is a major public transport network serving :Hong Kong. Operated by the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), it consists of heavy rail, light rail, and feeder bus service centred on a 10-line rapid transit network ...
. It is indicated in red on the MTR map. There are 16 stations on the line. The southern terminus is Central station on
Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...
and the northwestern terminus is Tsuen Wan station in the New Territories. A journey on the entire line takes 35 minutes. As a cross-harbour route that goes through the heart of Kowloon and densely populated Sham Shui Po and Kwai Chung, the line is very heavily travelled.


History


Construction

The Tsuen Wan line was the second of the three original lines of the MTR network. The initial plan for this line is somewhat different from the current line, especially in the names and the construction characteristics of the New Territories section. The original plan envisioned a terminus in a valley further west of the present Tsuen Wan station. That Tsuen Wan West station is different from the current Tsuen Wan West station on the Tuen Ma line, which is located under land reclaimed at a much later time. The line was supposed to run underground in Tsuen Wan rather than as currently on the ground level. The approved route was truncated, terminating at Tsuen Wan station. The construction of the Tsuen Wan Extension project was approved in 1975 and commenced soon afterwards. Testing of the new line began on 1 March 1982. The extension was formally opened on 10 May 1982 by Sir Philip Haddon-Cave, the acting governor and former chairman of the Mass Transit Railway Provisional Authority. The project was opened seven and a half months ahead of schedule, and cost HK$3.9 billion, under budget compared to the original estimate of HK$4.1 billion. The new section from Tsuen Wan to Lai King and skipping all intermediate stations to Prince Edward opened on 10 May 1982 and joined the section under Nathan Road in Kowloon that had been in service since 1979 as part of the Kwun Tong line. On opening, Prince Edward was an interchange-only station with no option to enter or exit. It did not become a standard station until the remaining stations on the line in Sham Shui Po District, i.e. Sham Shui Po, Cheung Sha Wan, Lai Chi Kok and
Mei Foo Mei Foo Sun Chuen or simply Mei Foo is a large private housing estate in Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Mei Foo Sun Chuen was the first large scale private housing estate in Hong Kong and at the time of completion, the 99-tower complex wa ...
, opened a week later. Several stations differ in names or location from the initial plan. During planning, Kwai Hing was named Kwai Chung, Kwai Fong was
Lap Sap Wan Gin Drinkers Bay or Gin Drinker's Bay, also colloquially known as Lap Sap Wan, was a bay in Kwai Chung, Hong Kong. The bay was reclaimed in the 1960s and became Kwai Fong and part of Kwai Hing. At the mouth of the bay stood the island of Pilla ...
(literally "rubbish bay", as the location was close to a now-disused
landfill A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...
in Gin Drinker's Bay), Lai Wan (now Mei Foo) was Lai Chi Kok, Lai Chi Kok was Cheung Sha Wan, Cheung Sha Wan was So Uk. These stations were all renamed in English and Chinese before service began. Upon the opening of the Island line, Chater, Waterloo, and Argyle, originally named based on the streets crossing or above the stations, Chater Road, Argyle Street, and Waterloo Road respectively, were renamed to Central, Yau Ma Tei, and Mong Kok, resembling the names of the station in Chinese. Lai Wan was renamed to Mei Foo in both English and Chinese. Mong Kok station was planned to be built a bit further north of its present location and Sham Shui Po a bit further south of its present location before the need to accommodate an intermediate station, Prince Edward.


Transfer with Tung Chung line

When the Tung Chung line was constructed,
Lai King Lai King, or Lai King Hill, is the colloquial name for a residential area including a number of private housing and public housing estates, located on Mo Shek Shan (), east of Kwai Chung, New Territories, Hong Kong. It is centred on Lai King Estat ...
was selected as an interchange so that passengers did not have to go all the way to
Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...
to change trains. The northbound tracks on the Tsuen Wan line were moved to run above the southbound tracks at Lai King to support cross-platform interchange with the Tung Chung line. The original platform 1 for Tsuen Wan-bound trains was removed and filled, becoming part of the current, wider low-level island platform. This allowed interchange with platform 4 for Hong Kong-bound Tung Chung line trains, which run on tracks further away from the original platform. The new platform was opened in 1997, nearly a year before the Tung Chung line began service. Tracks were also built to the south of Lai King station linking the Tsuen Wan line and Tung Chung line; this is the only point where the Tung Chung line's tracks connects with the other urban lines.


Transfer with former KCR systems

To cope with extensions and new lines, Mei Foo and Tsim Sha Tsui stations had new
subsurface In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of bedro ...
walkways added to connect to West Rail line's
Mei Foo Mei Foo Sun Chuen or simply Mei Foo is a large private housing estate in Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Mei Foo Sun Chuen was the first large scale private housing estate in Hong Kong and at the time of completion, the 99-tower complex wa ...
and
East Tsim Sha Tsui Tsim Sha Tsui, often abbreviated as TST, is an urban area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hung Hom Bay now east of Tsim ...
stations. The interchange facilities at Mei Foo opened in 2003 when the
West Rail The West Rail line () was a rapid transit line that formed part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong until 27 June 2021. Coloured magenta on the MTR map, the line ran from Tuen Mun to Hung Hom, with a total length of , in ...
was opened. The interchange located at Tsim Sha Tsui entered service in 2004, along with the completion of the East Rail line's (formerly KCR East Rail) extension to East Tsim Sha Tsui.


Chronology

* 1967: Tsuen Wan line was included in Hong Kong Mass Transport Study * 1970: Tsuen Wan line was 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 on 1 March 1979 * 16 Dec 1979: Jordan and Tsim Sha Tsui opened as part of Kwun Tong line * 22 Dec 1979: Waterloo and Argyle opened as part of Kwun Tong line * 12 Feb 1980: Admiralty and Chater opened as part of Kwun Tong line * 26 Apr 1982: The original Kwun Tong line was split into two sections: the new Kwun Tong line ran as far as Waterloo, while the Tsuen Wan line ran from Chater to Argyle; there were non-passenger Tsuen Wan line trains that continued to Tsuen Wan * 10 May 1982: The line opened with service from Tsuen Wan to
Lai King Lai King, or Lai King Hill, is the colloquial name for a residential area including a number of private housing and public housing estates, located on Mo Shek Shan (), east of Kwai Chung, New Territories, Hong Kong. It is centred on Lai King Estat ...
and then direct to Prince Edward station, which was opened as an interchange with the Kwun Tong line * 17 May 1982: The remaining stations, Lai Wan to Sham Shui Po, opened; Prince Edward became a standard station * 31 May 1985: On the opening of the Island line, 8 stations of the line were renamed. (See station list below for details) * 23 May 1986: Central became an interchange station upon the extension of the Island line to
Sheung Wan Sheung Wan is an area in Hong Kong, located in the north-west of Hong Kong Island, between Central and Sai Ying Pun. Administratively, it is part of the Central and Western District. The name can be variously interpreted as ''Upper Dist ...
* 11 Mar 1991: The line broke down and public transport was adversely affected * 23 Apr 1993: Two interlinking carriages disconnected during operation within the section between Tsuen Wan and Tai Wo Hau. Nobody was hurt, and MTRC reported that a hook between the two concerned carriages was not fastened, leading to the incident * Jun 1996: the current system (supposedly) that the line uses has fully replaced the old system * 2 Jul 1997: The new platform 1 situated on the new high-level platform at Lai King opened * 20 Mar 2003: To connect with the new KCR West Rail Mei Foo station, a passageway was built between the two stations, with a new exit D near about midway of the passageway to the
West Rail The West Rail line () was a rapid transit line that formed part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong until 27 June 2021. Coloured magenta on the MTR map, the line ran from Tuen Mun to Hung Hom, with a total length of , in ...
platforms. It's a 8-minute walk. * 5 Jan 2004: A fire started in a train on its way to Admiralty station with 14 people injured. A 55-year-old male arsonist was responsible for the fire and was arrested the following day. A similar incident occurred at Tsim Sha Tsui station on 10 February 2017. * 24 Oct 2004: A new exit G at Tsim Sha Tsui was constructed for a passageway under Mody Road to connect the station with new KCR East Rail * 30 Mar 2005: A new exit F at Tsim Sha Tsui was constructed for a passageway under Middle Road to connect to East Tsim Sha Tsui station * 21 Oct 2010: An overhead electric cable near Yau Ma Tei station had a problem during service hours; at least 280,000 passengers were affected, with noises above the train ceiling heard by the driver when the problem emerged, and the driver drove the train into Yau Ma Tei station and unloaded the passengers. Service resumed on the line three hours later. * 10 Feb 2017: In the first car of Metro Cammell EMU (DC) A113/A192, a 60-year-old man (surname Cheung) was talking to himself, and later yelled suddenly "You killed my son!", and swear words. He later got a flammable bottle, splashed it on him and some other passengers. Some passengers tried to stop him, but resulted in vain as he used a lighter and lit himself up. Some other passengers clothes caught on fire, and in return gave them burns. Emergency ventilation windows were opened, people escaped to other cars, and some yelled, creating a mad sight. The fire was extinguished at Tsim Sha Tsui station, but still caused all trains to not stop at Tsim Sha Tsui station for the day, with a temporary bus service connecting Tsim Sha Tsui station and Yau Ma Tei station. A total of 19 people were injured, including the perpetrator. The perpetrator had mental problems, and died three months later in Prince of Wales Hospital. * 7 Mar 2018: a driver fainted in the cockpit of a train, and was sent to hospital. The train was driven back to depot and all affected passengers were arranged to board a train 2 mins later. * 16 Mar 2019: a totally naked foreign man entered the tracks in
Lai King station Lai King is an MTR rapid transit station in the suburb of Lai King in the Kwai Tsing District. The station is located above ground on a viaduct and is an interchange for the Tsuen Wan and Tung Chung lines. The Chinese name of the station u ...
at 8 p.m. and left the tracks near Kwai Hing station. Police later arrested him and are investigating the reason why. Train service resumed at 8:35 p.m. after the delay due to the incident.


Route description

The Tsuen Wan line runs north–south. 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 Mei Foo), before emerging from the hills at Lai King. The line is elevated between Lai King and Kwai Hing. Between Kwai Fong and Kwai Hing, the tracks are covered to minimise disturbance to residents nearby. After Kwai Hing, the line re-enters the tunnel to
Tai Wo Hau Tai Wo Hau is a place in Tsuen Wan across Tsuen Wan District and Kwai Tsing District. Its area mainly includes Tai Wo Hau Estate, Kwai Yin Court, Kwai Yung Court, and private buildings along Texaco Road. It also includes Kwok Shui Road (the vi ...
before finally re-emerging at ground level at Tsuen Wan. Some of the underground stations on the line are significantly deeper than the others. Tsim Sha Tsui and
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...
stations are deeper because they precede harbour crossings. Admiralty and Central are deeper as they provide cross-platform interchange with the deep-level Island line.


Stations

This is a list of the
stations Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...
on the Tsuen Wan line. List


Notes


Incidents

On 18 March 2019, two trains crashed in the crossover track section between
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...
and
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
while MTR was testing a new version of the
SelTrac SelTrac is a digital railway signalling technology used to automatically control the movements of rail vehicles. It was the first fully automatic moving-block signalling system to be commercially implemented. What is now branded as SelTrac wa ...
train control system provided by Toronto-based Canadian unit of Thales Group. There were no passengers aboard either train, although the operators of both trains were injured. Before the crash site had been cleaned up, all Tsuen Wan line trains terminated at Admiralty instead of Central. Both MTR and Thales will be conducting their separate investigations. The same vendor also provided a similar signalling system in Singapore, which resulted in the
Joo Koon rail accident The Joo Koon rail accident, or sometimes referred to as the Joo Koon train collision, was an accident which happened on 15 November 2017, when a Kawasaki Heavy Industries & CSR Qingdao Sifang C151A, C151A train travelling at rear-end collision ...
in 2017. In July 2019, the
Electrical and Mechanical Services Department The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD; ) is a Hong Kong government department responsible for inspection and enforcement of operation and safety of many electricity and gas installations; railways and trams; lifts and escalat ...
(EMSD) published an investigation report into the incident and concluded that a programming error in the signalling system led the ATP system to malfunction, resulting in the collision.


See also

*
List of places in Hong Kong The following is a list of areashttp://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/MusicOffice/download/imts18.pdf of Hong Kong. Hong Kong Island * Central and Western District ** Central District ***Admiralty ** Mid-Levels ***Soho **Sai Wan ***Kenned ...
* Transport in Hong Kong


References

{{Crossings navbox , structure=Tunnel crossings , place= Victoria Harbour , bridge=Tsuen Wan line between Tsim Sha Tsui and
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...
, upstream= Tung Chung line and Airport Express between
Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...
and Hong Kong , upstream text=West , downstream= Cross-Harbour Tunnel , downstream text=East MTR lines Railway lines opened in 1979 1432 mm gauge railways in Hong Kong 1500 V DC railway electrification