Island Line (MTR)

The HK-MTR lines|Island is one of 10 lines of the MTR, the mass transit system in Hong Kong. It runs from Sheung Wan in the Central and Western District to Chai Wan in the Eastern District. The line first opened in May 31, 1985. It currently travels through 14 stations in 25 minutes along its route.

The line is indicated by the colour HK-MTR color|Island>blue on the MTR map.

History

The Hong Kong Government authorised the construction of the 13.1 km long Island Line in December 1980, after rejecting plans to extend the tram to Chai Wan. On 31 May 1985 the Island Line opened with services operating between Admiralty and Chai Wan stations. Services were then extended to Central and both Admiralty and Central stations became interchange stations with the HK-MTR lines|Tsuen Wan. As part of this extension, each train was extended to eight cars in length. On 23 May of 1986, the Island Line extended its reach to Sheung Wan station.

After the HK-MTR lines|Kwun Tong was extended to Quarry Bay station on 1 October 1989, that station became an interchange station with the Island Line. In a response to passenger congestion at Quarry Bay station, the government recommended the Quarry Bay Congestion Relief Works project, and decided to expand North Point station to include a second interchange with the Kwun Tong Line, with construction starting in September 1997.

The North Point interchange opened on 27 September 2001, and proved to be a much more efficient method of interchanging, as the new station featured cross-platform interchange, reducing the time required to interchange from five minutes at Quarry Bay station to less than one minute. On 4 August 2002, North Point and Quarry Bay became interchange stations with the new HK-MTR lines|Tseung Kwan O.

Route description

The Island Line is the MTR line that resembles the deep-level lines of the London Underground the most, as most of the route and stations along the line are deep underground and consist of cylindrical tunnels. This is the result of a lack of available land, as the construction plans for the line required it to be built under major roads.

The major roads that the Island Line runs under are:
*Des Voeux Road Central (Sheung Wan and Central)
*Queensway (Admiralty)
*Hennessy Road (Wanchai and Causeway Bay)
*Causeway Road (Between Causeway Bay and Tin Hau)
*King's Road (Between Tin Hau and Tai Koo)
*Shau Kei Wan Road (Sai Wan Ho and Shau Kei Wan)Only the segment of the line east of Shau Kei Wan has space for track expansion and thus the line emerges to the surface at Heng Fa Chuen, and then on a viaduct all the way to Chai Wan.

The route of the underground section of the line (as well as the proposed extension to Kennedy Town) is also served by local trams at surface level. This brought concerns of the tram system might be abolished when the MTR line was going to be built (See Hong Kong Tramways for more information about the concern).

Because of the depth of the line, most underground stations on this line (except Admiralty, Shau Kei Wan and Tai Koo) have curved walls on the platforms, which are due to the routes' cylindrical tunnels, only with a greater diameter. Of the underground stations not bearing this feature, Tai Koo Station is itself a large tube containing both the concourse and the platform, while both Shau Kei Wan and Admiralty stations are built using cut-and-cover method.

Because most stations were built under roads, most of the platforms are curve, the platform gaps are large. (Only North Point Station, Heng Fa Chuen Station and Chai Wan Station do not have large gaps)

All but two of the stations along the route have their station names written in Chinese calligraphy as part of the stations' livery. The only stations that do not have this feature are Heng Fa Chuen and Chai Wan, which are also the only above-ground stations. The retired architecture explained such calligraphy are written in large fonts to levitate the psychological effect caused by the small platforms and curvature of the walls, in addition to remind passengers what this stop is. This explains why Heng Fa Chuen Station and Chai Wan Station do not have such calligraphies, as they are built above-ground. This feature is also shared amongst some newer MTR stations such as those on the Tseung Kwan O Line and Lam Tin Station on the Kwun Tong Line.

Also, due to geographical problems, the two platforms of 5 stations on this line (Wai Chai, Causeway Bay, Tin Hau, North Point, Sai Wan Ho) are located on two different levels, this also makes the platform and concourse separated in two parts, so there are some passageways on those stations to link between the platform and concourse.

The Island line is also one of the six MTR metro lines not crossing the Victoria Harbour, and is the first major urban line never to have done so.

tations

This is a list of all the stations on the Island Line. The coloured boxes holding the station names represent the respective colour motif for the station.

Notes

* Proposed stations

^{^} Planning in progress

Connections with the West Island Line and South Island Line project suggested by MTRCL: Note that South Island Line (West Section) corresponds to "West Island Line" run by medium capacity rail in the prelimery proposals, while "West Island Line" as of June 2005 refers to the extension of the heavy-rail Island Line to Sai Ying Pun, University and Kennedy Town.

Future development

[
2001.] In 2002, the MTRC announced that it would use HK$300 million to construct the West and South Island Lines, provided that the Government would award subsidies towards the project. No sooner, in May 2002, the first proposal from the MTRC detailed an extension towards Kennedy Town. However the plan was abruptly brought to a halt due to land reclamation obstacles on the western coast of Hong Kong Island, and the enormous cost and uncertainties concerning Hong Kong Government's subsidies for the project. However, the current plan for the new lines to the Southern District would require parts of the Western extension in order for it to be completed. As a result, the MTR Corporation was conducting extensive surveys as well as public forums to gather opinion and suggestions concerning the alignment of the extension and location of the Sai Ying Pun, Shek Tong Tsui and Kennedy Town stations for the West Island Line.

(note: The latest proposal has changed the name of the station University to Shek Tong Tsui, since the panel has unanimously agreed that MTR stations should be named after districts, rather than after public infrastructures or landmarks.Fact|date=June 2008 However, this does not apply to the Airport Express Line.)

Siu Sai Wan was a proposed station of the MTR of Hong Kong. The plan was revealed in 2001 to extend the HK-MTR lines|Island to Siu Sai Wan on the eastern end of the Hong Kong Island, after many calls from the Eastern District Board (later District Council) since 1991. Although the population size in Siu Sai Wan is large enough to support a station, the alignment of the existing Island Line makes it difficult to extend the line from the terminus Chai Wan Station. Such an extension would require a U-shaped tunnel passing through the Pottinger Peak. An alternative plan was to build a Y-shaped branch from Heng Fa Chuen. The plan was later shelved, despite continued calls from the District Council.

According to implementation options revealed by the MTRC in February 2005, the Island Line will be extended to Kennedy Town, and the South Island Line (West Section) to begin at University station. This opinion suggests there would be two stations in the areas of Shek Tong Tsui and Sai Ying Pun, between Kennedy Town and Sheung Wan on the West Island Line.

As of June 30, 2005, the MTR Corporation Limited has been given approval to extend the existing Island Line to Kennedy Town, along with two intermediate stations at Sai Ying Pun and University (Shek Tong Tsui). The extension would be approximately 3 km long, making the Island Line the lengthiest urban line (16.1 km) and the one with the most stations (17 stations).

If the North Island Line is built along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, which is tentatively scheduled to be built after 2016, the Island Line will be split in two; the section from Sheung Wan to Tin Hau will be taken over by the Tseung Kwan O Line, and the Tung Chung Line will oversee operation of the section from Fortress Hill to Chai Wan.

Notes

#The siding at Tai Koo used to lead all the way out to the seashore, in order to facilitate the moving in of rolling stock, and to connect to a temporary depot used before the one at Chai Wan was opened. Most of the tracks have been removed and the tunnel filled in for the construction of Lei King Wan. [http://www.hk365day.com/mtr/Railway/line/ISL/TAK.html] [http://railway.zonasa.com/chi/mtrtrip.html]

ee also

*North Island Line
*Transport in Hong Kong
*List of areas of Hong Kong
*Siu Sai Wan Station