Tseung Kwan O line

The Tseung Kwan O line is the first MTR line with no tracks on viaducts. It was the only line with tracks completely in tunnels until the completion of LOHAS Park station, near which there are two short sections that are not in tunnels. The stations of Yau Tong, Po Lam and LOHAS Park are at ground level, but are completely shielded to minimise noise to the surrounding development. The rest of the line has its tracks located underground.

The western terminus of the line is North Point, providing cross-platform interchange together with the neighbouring station of Quarry Bay. East of Quarry Bay, the line passes under Victoria Harbour to Yau Tong station, a station serving the East Kowloon neighbourhood of the same name, using the rail tunnel of the Eastern Harbour Crossing. From Yau Tong, the line passes through the Black Hill Tunnels to enter Tseung Kwan O New Town at Tiu Keng Leng.

Within Tseung Kwan O new town, the line splits into two branches east of Tseung Kwan O station. One branch reaches Hang Hau and Po Lam stations in the northern part of the new town, whereas the southward branch connects LOHAS Park station in Area 86. LOHAS Park is a large residential development built above the Tseung Kwan O Depot, where the trains of the line are maintained.

The Tseung Kwan O line was planned to serve the new town of Tseung Kwan O and was first proposed in 1981 as part of the Junk Bay New Town Transport Study.[2] The report proposed four corridors, all of which called for the Kwun Tong line to be extended to Lam Tin station and placed the terminus of the Tseung Kwan O line at the vicinity of Tsui Ping Estate.[3] The construction cost was estimated at HK$3 billion.[4] The construction of the Tseung Kwan O line was approved by the Hong Kong Government in 1985 and under the 1985 plan, a 7 km (4.3 mi) branch line from Lam Tin station to Tseung Kwan O station, consisting of 5 or 6 stations, was to be built beginning in 1992 and to open by the end of 1996.[5] This plan was cancelled by the MTR Corporation in August 1990.[6]

MTR re-proposed the line in 1993, and the plan was approved by the Hong Kong Executive Council on 20 October 1998. Construction commenced on 24 April 1999 and the line opened on 18 August 2002, at a cost of HK$18 billion.[7] The new line took over the cross-harbour segment, via the Eastern Harbour Tunnel to North Point station, from the Kwun Tong line. The Kwun Tong line was extended to Yau Tong and Tiu Keng Leng stations to interchange with the new line.

Realignment of Kwun Tong line upon the inauguration of Tseung Kwan O line

The following is a list of the stations on the Tseung Kwan O line.

The Tseung Kwan O line will probably be extended to Tamar station and interchange with an extended Tung Chung line there. This is according to the "interchange scheme" devised for the North Island line, which would also see the line serve stations at Causeway Bay North and Exhibition Centre, the latter of which would provide a connection with the Sha Tin to Central Link extension of the future North South Corridor. Construction is not expected to begin before 2021.

Under an earlier proposal, called the "swap scheme", the line would have taken over the section of the Island line from Tin Hau to Kennedy Town; with the remaining section east of Tin Hau being transferred to the Tung Chung line. This was rejected as the existing Island line would be interrupted and require an interchange.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tseung Kwan O line.

• Transport in Hong Kong
• List of areas of Hong Kong

• Success Story - Tseung Kwan O Extension Project, MTRCL, 2005