Tai Lam Tunnel

Tai Lam Tunnel (Chinese: 大欖隧道), running along Tsing Long Highway, is part of Route 3 Country Park Section (R3CPS) and is a transport link between the western New Territories in Ting Kau and Yuen Long.

Tai Lam Tunnel
Overview
Coordinates
StatusActive
SystemPart of Route 3
StartTing Kau
EndKam Tin
Operation
Opened25 May 1998 (1998-05-25)
OwnerHong Kong Government
OperatorRoute 3 (CPS) Company
TrafficVehicular
Vehicles per day140000
Technical
Length3.8 kilometres (2.4 mi)
No. of lanes6 lanes (3 lanes per direction)
Operating speed70 kilometres per hour (43 mph)

Tai Lam Tunnel
Part of Route 3 (Country Park Section)
Route information
Maintained by Highways Department
Length3.8 km (2.4 mi)
HistoryBuilt 1998
Major junctions
South endTing Kau
North endKam Tin (near Ma On Kong)
Highway system

Tai Lam Tunnel was constructed to ease traffic congestion at Tuen Mun Road, Tate's Cairn Tunnel and Castle Peak Road, and to link traffic directly from New Territories West to urban areas of Kowloon West and Hong Kong Island, the Hong Kong International Airport and the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals. Located adjacent to the boundary crossings of Lok Ma Chau and Shenzhen Bay, it connects smoothly with Shenzhen and Guangzhou for serving both cross-boundary passenger services and cargo logistics.

Toll area

Tai Lam Tunnel is a 3.8 km (2.4 mi) dual 3-lane tunnel. The total length of the R3CPS (the tolled area) is 10.1 km (6.3 mi).

The tolled area, with two entrances/exits at the south end, Ting Kau Bridge and Tuen Mun Road at Ting Kau, crosses Tai Lam Country Park to its north end at Pat Heung.

Located at Pat Heung and about 1 km (0.62 mi) from the north tunnel portal, the toll plaza consists of 22 tollbooths, 16 of which are for manual tolls and 6 are Autotoll lanes.

Construction and operation

Tai Lam Tunnel is a Build-Operate-Transfer (B.O.T) project with a franchise period of 30 years (including construction period). (Cap 474 s2 on "franchise period") Its total construction cost was HK$7.25 billion. Construction on Tai Lam Tunnel started on 13 March 1995 and was officially opened to traffic on 25 May 1998[1] to match with the opening of the new Hong Kong International Airport.

The designed traffic capacity of Tai Lam Tunnel is 140,000 vehicles per day. In 2011/2012, the average daily traffic was over 54,000 vehicles.[2]

According to the statistics from the Transport Department of the Government of Hong Kong, Tai Lam Tunnel has higher-than-average safety records. In 2011, the accident rate per million vehicle-km was just 0.07.[3]

Tunnel tolls

The tunnel is well known for its high tolls similar as the Western Harbour Crossing. Its toll for private cars is HK$48,[4] making it the second most expensive tunnel in Hong Kong; the most expensive is the Western Harbour Crossing at HK$75. For coaches, it is the highest in the city, about 4 times higher than the longer Tate's Cairn Tunnel.

CategoryVehicleStandard toll (HK$)Concessionary toll (current)[5][6]
1Motorcycle6022
2Private car6548
Taxi
3Private light bus180100
4Light goods vehicle (less than 5.5 tonnes)18049
5Medium goods vehicle (5.5 to 24 tonnes)19055
6Heavy goods vehicle (more than 24 tonnes)21060
7Single-decker bus180143
8Double-decker bus195168
Additional axle70Free

Environmental protection and sustainable measures

The tunnel company performed compensatory tree planting at a rate of three replacement saplings for each tree felled. In total, 250,000 trees, 150,000 shrubs and 60,000 climbing plants were planted during the construction period.

As to conservation of wildlife, there is a small tunnel constructed at the south portal of Tai Lam Tunnel, mainly for small wild animals in this area to commute in the valley freely, allowing them to maintain their habituation.

To keep in pace with technology development, Tai Lam Tunnel has gradually replaced traditional light bulbs with light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The indicator lighting signals inside the tunnel tubes and at the toll plaza as well as the illuminating system in the administration building have thus been replaced for reducing carbon emission.

Bus Routes travelling through Tai Lam Tunnel

RouteDetailsNotes
68E Yuen Long Park Tsing Yi Station
68M Yuen Long (West) Tsuen Wan Station
68X Hung Shui Kiu (Hung Fuk Estate) Mong Kok (Park Avenue)
69C Tin Yan Estate Kwun Tong Ferry Weekdays peak hours only
69M Tin Shui Wai Town Centre Kwai Fong Station
69X Tin Shui West Kowloon Station
69P Tin Shui Wai Station Kwai Fong Station Weekdays morning peak hours only
251M Sheung Tsuen Tsuen Wan Station Weekdays morning peak hours only
265B Tin Heng Estate Mong Kok (Park Avenue)
265M Tin Heng Estate Lai Yiu
268A Yuen Long (Long Ping Estate) Kwun Tong Ferry Weekdays peak hours only
268B Long Ping Station Hung Hom (Hung Luen Road)
268C Long Ping Station Kwun Tong Ferry
268M Yuen Long (PARK YOHO) Tsuen Wan West Station
268P Yuen Long (San Shui House) / Long Ping Station Kwun Tong Ferry Weekdays peak hours only
via Kowloon Bay Business Area
268X Hung Shui Kiu (Hung Fuk Estate) West Kowloon Station
269A Tin Sau Road Kwai Fong Estate Weekdays morning peak hours only
269B Tin Shui Wai Town Centre Hung Hom (Hung Luen Road)
269C Tin Shui Wai Town Centre Kwun Tong Ferry
269D Tin Fu Lek Yuen
269M Tin Yan Estate Cho Yiu Chuen
269P Kwai Chung (Kwai Fong Estate) Tin Heng Estate Weekdays evening peak hours only
269S Tin Shui Wai Town Centre Kwun Tong Ferry Weekdays peak hours only
via Kowloon Bay Business Area
279A Fanling (Luen Wo Hui) Tsing Yi Station Weekdays morning peak hours only
279X Fanling (Luen Wo Hui) Tsing Yi Station
T270 Fanling (Cheung Wah) Tsim Sha Tsui East (Mody Road) Weekdays morning peak hours only
N269 Tin Tsz Mei Foo Night service
N368 Yuen Long (West) Central (Macau Ferry) Night service
967 Tin Shui Wai (Tin Yan Estate) Admiralty (West)
967X Tin Shui Wai (Tin Yan Estate) Causeway Bay (Moreton Terrace) Weekdays peak hours only
968 Yuen Long (West) Causeway Bay (Tin Hau)
968A Yuen Long (West) Causeway Bay (Tin Hau) Weekdays morning peak hours only
968X Yuen Long (Tak Yip Street) Quarry Bay (King's Road) Weekdays peak hours only
969 Tin Shui Wai Town Centre Causeway Bay (Moreton Terrace)
969A Tin Shui Wai Town Centre Admiralty/Wan Chai Weekdays peak hours only
969B Tin Shui Wai Town Centre Wan Chai (Fleming Road) Weekdays peak hours only
969C Tin Shui Wai (Maywood Court) Tai Koo / Quarry Bay Weekdays peak hours only
969P Tin Shui Wai Town Centre Causeway Bay (Moreton Terrace) Weekdays morning peak hours only
969X Tin Shui Wai Town Centre Causeway Bay Weekdays morning peak hours only
978 Fanling (Wah Ming) Wan Chai North
978A Fanling (Luen Wo Hui) Wan Chai North Weekdays peak hours only
978B Fanling (Chi Fuk Circuit) Wan Chai North Weekdays morning peak hours only
N969 Tin Shui Wai Town Centre Causeway Bay (Moreton Terrace) Night service
A36 Yuen Long (Long Ping Station) Airport (Ground Transportation Centre)
A37 Hung Shui Kiu (Hung Yuen Road) Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) via Tin Shui Wai
A43 Fanling (Luen Wo Hui) Airport (Ground Transportation Centre)
A43P Fanling (Luen Wo Hui) Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) via Lok Ma Chau
E34A Tin Shui Wai Town Centre Airport (Ground Transportation Centre)
E34B Yuen Long (Ma Wang Road) Airport (Ground Transportation Centre)
E34P Tin Shui Wai Town Centre Tung Chung (Yat Tung Estate) Weekdays peak hours only
E34X Tin Shui Wai Town Centre Tung Chung (Yat Tung Estate) Weekdays morning peak hours only
NA34 Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port Tin Shui Wai Town Centre Night service
NA43 Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port Fanling (Luen Wo Hui) Night service

See also

References

  1. "Monthly Traffic and Transport Digest July 2012 - Tunnel, Lantau Link and Vehicular Ferry Services Statistics: Tai Lam Tunnel" (PDF). Transport Department of the Government of Hong Kong. July 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  2. "Route 3 Country Park Section Toll Adjustment" (PDF). Route 3 (CPS) Company Limited. 24 December 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  3. "Road traffic accidents in tunnels by tunnel and severity 2011" (PDF). Transport Department of the Government of Hong Kong. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  4. https://www.td.gov.hk/en/transport_in_hong_kong/tunnels_and_bridges/toll_rates_of_road_tunnels_and_lantau_link/index.html
  5. "Route 3 (CPS) Company Limited - Tolls and Other Fees". Route 3 (CPS) Company Limited. Archived from the original on 7 January 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  6. "Transport Department - Tunnels and Bridges". Transport Department of the Government of Hong Kong. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
Preceded by
Ting Kau Bridge
Hong Kong Route 3

Tai Lam Tunnel
Succeeded by
Tsing Long Highway
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