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West Island Line (Committed project)
First proposed some 20 years ago when the Island
Line was first built, extension of Island
Line from Sheung Wan to Kennedy Town has been given consent
by the HK government in mid-2005. The MTRC
and the HK government are in the progress of working out exact implementation
schedule and financing method. The line will be entirely in tunnel.
Construction of the line will take seven years.
 Northern
Link (Committed project)
The Northern Link will provide the 2nd railway corridor between
urban HK and Shenzhen. The KCRC
has confirmed that a "single-duct" mode will be applied on part of the
alignment to minimize cost, bring down the construction cost to HKD
5~6 billion (USD 700million). The extension will be entirely on viaduct.
Anticipated completion date is 2012. The Northern Link will terminate
also at Lok Ma Chau and share platforms with East Rail.
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Shatin-to-Central Link (Committed project without definite
timetable)
In what is probably the last piece of multi-billion railway project
in urban Hong Kong, the Shatin-to-Central Link is going to form
a strategic corridor connecting the North East New Territorities, new
developments in South East Kowloon and the central business area. The
Ma On Shan Rail will be extended
to the East of the Kowloon Peninsula and merge with the West
Rail at Hung Hom. The East Rail
will be extended across the Victoria Harbour to form the 4th Harbour
Crossing. In the meantime, an extension of the Kwun
Tong Line from Yau Ma Tei to Whampoa was proposed to serve
the area. All mentioned sections will be in tunnel.
The project was first proposed by the government in 2000 and was scheduled
to open in 2011. However, the project saw not much effective progress
because of the possible merger of KCRC
and MTRC. Final design is yet to
be confirmed after the successful merger of the two railway operators.
In any case, the opening date of the 4th Harbour Crossing (extension
of the East Rail) will fall behind
the rest of the project as a result of the slow growth in harbour crossing
traffic.
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South Island Line (in contemplation by the government)
In comparison with the north shore of the island, the southern district
is much less populous. The southern Hong Kong Island is the home to
the aquatic theme park, Ocean Park, and houses some 400,000 habitants.
Responding to the increasing traffic and the public demand for metro
service, the MTRC submitted a proposal
on the 7 km South Island Line at the request of the HK government,
which was approved in Dec. 2007, for construction to start in 2011 and
completion in 2015. The South Island Line (West), however, is
less likely because of the low population coverage. The proposed lines
will be run by medium-sized trains considering the low population.
- North Island Line (postponed)
- In light of the reduced patronage forecast
of the railway system, the North Island Line
- (Island Line Fortress Hill<>Hong Kong
+ Tseung Kwan O Line North Point<>Tin Hau) has
- been shelved and might be completed
beyond 2016.
- See
this map by Eric Kung incl. projects
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