Central Station (MTR)

Central 中環

Platforms 1 and 2 on the Tsuen Wan Line.

Line      Island Line      Tsuen Wan Line Code CEN Service hours 0607/0058 Connections Bus, Minibus, Tram, Ferry, Peak Tram

District Central and Western Area Central Map MTR Website Coordinates 22°16′55″N 114°09′27″E / 22.281978°N 114.157626°E / 22.281978; 114.157626Coordinates: 22°16′55″N 114°09′27″E / 22.281978°N 114.157626°E / 22.281978; 114.157626

Opened 12 February 1980 / 23 May 1986 Type of station Underground Type of platforms Side (Island Line), Island (Tsuen Wan Line) No. of platforms 4 No. of exits 13

Station location

Central Station (MTR)
Traditional Chinese	中環
Simplified Chinese	中环
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Zhōnghuán Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping zung1 waan4 - Yale Romanization jung1 waan4

The platforms of Tsuen Wan Line are located under the Chater Road, next to the Legislative Council Building

Platform 3 on the Island Line

There are many Exits in Central Station.

Central Station Exit B

Central Station Exit K

Central station is an MTR station located in the Central area of Hong Kong Island. The station's livery is firebrick red, except for the station's Tsuen Wan Line platform where its livery is dark brown. The station is the southern terminus for the Tsuen Wan Line and also connects with the Island Line, and also the Tung Chung Line and the Airport Express via Hong Kong station.

The Station was once known as Chater Station.

Chater station was initially conceived to cater for average daily traffic of 330,000 passengers, and was to have been 380 metres long - amongst the longest station in the world.^[1] More than 200,000 passengers use this station daily. The longest distance between two subway exits is approximately 700 m.

History

Early plans

Central Station was in the Hong Kong Mass Transport Study, a system proposed in Sept 1967.^[2] Together with Western Market Station, it was to serve as the interchange station of the Kwun Tong Line and Island Line. In the recommended system, Tsuen Wan Line would end in Admiralty rather than Central. Its designated position was originally under Des Voeux Road Central between Jubilee Street and Pedder Street (between Queen Victoria Street and Theatre Lane).

Subsequently, it is also included in the Hong Kong Mass Transit Further Studies, in 1970. However, the 1967 Central Station was replaced with two separate but connected stations, namely Chater Station (遮打站, under Chater Road) and Pedder Station (必打站, under Pedder Street), which would serve the Kong Kow Line (now Tsuen Wan Line) and Island Line respectively.

Modified Initial System and opening

The station first opened as Chater Station in Feb 10, 1980 as the terminus of the Modified Initial System (MIS). Since then, people can travel on a direct train between Central and Kwun Tong. Only part of the station came into operation as the Island Line were not in operation yet.

The Island Line was built with 2 phases, with Central being opened at a later date than most ofn he other stations. Construction carried out in early 1983' by connecting the new Island line platforms with the original structure. The line was extended to Sheung Wan in 23 May, 1986, and the whole station came into service.

At first, although the station is named "Chater", the Chinese name was "中環". This would be misleading as many thought that the Chinese name would be "遮打" (Chinese translation of "Chater"). The English name was renamed "Central" along with several stations on the Tsuen Wan Line, which is the English equivalent of "中環", when the section between Admiralty and Chai Wan of the Island Line opened on May 31, 1985. When the Island line part opened in 1986, it is known as one station as "Central".

Passageway to Hong Kong Station

One of the components of the Airport Core Programme between 1991 and 1998 is a railway connecting the new airport to the city center. In order to link Central with the nearby Hong Kong Station, southern terminus of the new Tung Chung Line and the Airport Express, a passageway has been built under Connaught Road to connect the two stations. The Pedder Street concourse, where the passageway starts, has also been refurbished with a design similar to Hong Kong Station.

Station layout

Central Station has 4 platforms on three levels, excluding those of Hong Kong Station. Hong Kong Station and Central Station are linked by a pedestrian passage.

Ground	-	Exits
Penthouse	Chater Rd Concourse	-
L1 Concourse	Pedder St Concourse	Customer Service, MTRShops
		Hang Seng Bank, vending machines
		Octopus promotion machine
	Chater Rd Concourse	Customer Service, MTRShops
		ATM
L2 Platforms	Chater Rd Concourse	Customer Service, MTRShops
		Hang Seng Bank, vending machines
	Pedder St Concourse	Customer Service, MTRShops
		Subway to Hong Kong Station for      Tung Chung Line &      Airport Express
		Octopus promotion machine, i-centre internet service
	Side platform, doors will open on the left
	Platform 3	Island Line towards Chai Wan
L3 Platforms	Platform 1	Tsuen Wan Line towards Tsuen Wan
	Island platform, doors will open on the left/right
	Platform 2	Tsuen Wan Line towards Tsuen Wan
L4 Platform	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Platform 4	Island Line towards Sheung Wan

Platforms 1 and 2 are situated on a shared island platform on the middle level. They are served by the Tsuen Wan Line and were built directly under Chater Road, extending from Des Voeux Road Central to Club Street. These platforms make up the southern terminus of the Tsuen Wan Line.

Platforms 3 and 4 are built beneath Des Voeux Road Central at the intersection of Pedder Street, stretching from World-Wide House to Alexandra House. Platform 3 is situated on the upper level, whilst platform 4 is on the lowermost level, and they sandwich Platforms 1 and 2. They are side platforms built on the northern side of the road, with Platform 3 on top of Platform 4. Escalators are provided between the 3 levels, to facilitate passengers who interchange.

Most of the platforms are straight. However, the east parts (near Admiralty Station) of platform are curved, the gap is large.

As part of the Airport Core Programme ([1]) during the 1990s, an underground passage was built between Central and Hong Kong stations to allow transfers from the Island Line and Tsuen Wan Line to the Airport Express and Tung Chung Line. The passage opened in 1998 with the opening of these two new lines of the MTR.

Exits

Central Station stretches across the entire length of Chater Road to Statue Square in the east, and along Des Voeux Road to Li Yuen Street East in the west. The distance between the easternmost and westernmost exits is approximately 700 m.

Transport Connections

Central is also one of the transport hubs of Hong Kong. The area around Central (and Hong Kong stations) has a wide range of transport options that includes tramways, buses, ferries, minibuses and more. These are all the connections the commuter can refer to when travelling to areas not served by the MTR network from Central.

The area is a major transport hub for Hong Kong (see also Transport in Hong Kong).

• Bus
  • KMB, serving only cross-harbour routes on Hong Kong Island
  • First Bus
  • Citybus
  • Nearby bus termini:
    • Central (Exchange Square) Bus Terminus (access by footbridge connecting Exit A or Hong Kong Station)
    • Central (City Hall) Bus Terminus (access by Exit K then tunnel)

• Minibus

• Trains and Trams
  • MTR - Island Line, Tsuen Wan Line, Tung Chung Line, Airport Express at Hong Kong
  • Tram (exits B, C and K)
  • Peak Tram (exit J3)

• Ferries - Commuters can access walk across the bus terminus to their respective pier from the exit near the In Town Check-in Counters in Hong Kong station. Passengers who wish to use the Star Ferry can get out at Exit A and walk across the Central Elevated Walkway to the Star Ferry Pier.
  • New World First Ferry, to Silvermine Bay (Mui Wo), Peng Chau and Cheung Chau
  • Hong Kong & Kowloon Ferry, to Sok Kwu Wan and Yung Shue Wan on Lamma Island
  • Star Ferry, to Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom
  • Discovery Bay Ferry, to Tsim Sha Tsui East and Discovery Bay
  • Park Island Ferry

Neighbouring stations

Preceding station		MTR		Following station
Terminus		Tsuen Wan Line		Admiralty towards Tsuen Wan
Sheung Wan Terminus		Island Line		Admiralty towards Chai Wan
Kowloon towards AsiaWorld-Expo		Airport Express Transfer at: Hong Kong		Terminus
Kowloon towards Tung Chung		Tung Chung Line Transfer at: Hong Kong		Terminus

References

1. ^ "MTR briefing for public". Hong Kong: South China Morning Post. 1976-12-03. 
2. ^ Freeman, Fox, Wilbur Smith & Associates (1967), Hong Kong Mass Transport Study.