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In response to the Government's decision to proceed with detailed planning and preparations for the West Island Line in June 2005, the MTR Corporation submitted an updated proposal for the West Island Line to the Government on 31st August 2006, setting out the detailed scope, cost and implementation programme for the project. In October 2007, the Government invited the Corporation to proceed with further planning and detailed design of the West Island Line and the proposed scheme propsed scheme was gazetted under Railways Ordinance.
Key Statistics
| Alignment |
Underground extension of the existing MTR Island Line from Sheung Wan to Kennedy Town |
| Stations |
3 underground stations at Sai Ying Pun, University, Kennedy Town |
Route
Length |
Approximately 3 km |
Train
Frequency |
In line with existing MTR Island Line |
| Fare |
Follows the same MTR fare structure |
Alignment
The West Island Line is an extension of the Island Line from Sheung Wan to Kennedy Town with intermediate stations at Sai Ying Pun and University. Click here for the latest scheme as of October 2007 with locations of stations and entrances.
Interchange
As an extension of the Island Line, the West Island Line requires no interchange at Sheung Wan. The West Island Line will provide a direct service for passengers from Western District to the central business district and along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island.
Railway system
As an extension of the Island Line, the West Island Line will use the existing Island Line trains which have a capacity of up to 85,000 passengers per hour (per direction).
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Design Features
The West Island Line is an underground railway. It will run across the densely populated areas of Western District. Over 90% of the residents can access the railway stations on foot.
The proposed layout of station entrances will provide a convenient pedestrian network for both MTR passengers and the public to access destinations in the Mid-Levels area as well as the area along Queen's Road West through the unpaid area of the station.
For some of the deep stations, lifts are considered to be more effective than escalators to overcome the marked level difference between the station concourse and the street.
Other Public Transport Infrastructure
To improve pedestrian access and facilitate the interchange with the West Island Line, the Corporation proposes:
- To build a Public Transport Interchange at Kennedy Town Station for passengers to interchange with other modes of transport to other parts of Hong Kong Island;
- To build passenger lifts at Rock Hill Road and an escalator on Sands Street to improve the accessibility of the area;
- To build a passenger lift beside new David Trench Rehabilitation Centre to improve the accessibility between Bonham Road & High Street;
- To pedestrainise Ki Ling Lane;
- To improve the footpaths around station entrances.
Construction
The West Island Line is an underground railway, the construction works mainly comprise the excavation for the running tunnels, stations and pedestrian adits. As most of the line is in rock, excavation is expected to be done by drill and blast method. The tunnel between Sheung Wan to Sai Ying Pun is planned to be excavated by tunnel boring machines and the Kennedy Town Station by open cut method.
Some areas on the ground level along the alignment of the West Island Line will also be required for the construction of entrances, ventilation shafts, temporary construction access and storage of construction plant and materials.
The abattoir site will be used as the major temporary works area of West Island Line after the demolition of buildings, structure and chimneys above ground.
Temporary traffic management will be implemented around some works areas.
A temporary barging point will be set up at the Western District Public Cargo Works Areas for the removal of excavated spoil from the district by sea so as to minimise the traffic and environmental impact as well as nuisance to the district.
A temporary underground magazine site will be built at a remote location at Victoria Road for the storage of explosives for blasting.
Environmental Protection
As a company that cares the environment, the Corporation will ensure the design, construction and operation of West Island Line will comply with all relevant statutory requirements on environmental protection.
The Corporation will take every possible measure to minimise the impact of the works to the public and ensure all environmental impacts which may arise from the works will be kept within acceptable standards.
The Corporation has employed an independent consultant to carefully assess the possible impacts of the construction and operation of the West Island Line to the environment.
Preservation of tree walls along Forbes Street Playground and King George V Memorial Park is an important part of the Environmental Impact Assessment study. To preserve the precious tree wall along Forbes Street Playground, the Kennedy Town station will be relocated to a location beneath Forbes Street Playground and Kennedy Town Swimming Pool.
Programme
| Gazettal under the Railways Ordinance |
Oct 2007 |
| Commencement of detailed design |
End of 2007/early 2008 |
| Scheme authorization under the Railways Ordinance |
End of 2008/early 2009 |
| Commencement of construction |
2009 |
| Completion of new David Trench Rehabilitation Centre and Kennedy Town Swimming Pool |
Second half of 2010 |
| Completion of West Island Line |
2013/2014 |
Relationship with Community
The Corporation considers that the views and support of the community are important in the development of railway extensions. In addition to the series of public consultation activities conducted since the feasibility study of the West Island Line in mid 2003, MTR Corporation conducted two rounds of extensive public consultation during the preliminary design and will continue engaging the community in the detailed design stages.
Estimated Journey Time
The West Island Line will provide a fast, reliable and convenient mode of transport between Western District and the northern shore of Hong Kong Island. The estimated journey time from Kennedy Town to Sheung Wan and Tsim Sha Tsui will be approximately 8 and 14 minutes respectively while the travelling time from Kennedy Town to Causeway Bay will be approximately 13 minutes.
Benefits
The West Island Line will create value in monetary and non-monetary terms, to society and the Government. The benefits include:
- Time savings in travelling generated by a fast and reliable railway service;
- Environmental benefits (air and noise) brought about by a reduction in road traffic;
- Renewal of older districts with poor quality buildings;
- New employment opportunities from potential new tourism and commercial developments;
- Increase in value of properties along the railway corridor.
Transport Benefits
The West Island Line will provide a fast, reliable and convenient mode of transport between Western District and the northern shore of the Island. Interchange with the existing railway network is available for cross harbour journeys. The West Island Line will relieve traffic congestion in Western District and effectively bring Western District to the doorstep of the central business district.
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All the travelling public, whether using railway or not, will benefit either from the speedy service provided by the railway or from the less congested road network.
The estimated journey time by rail from Kennedy Town to Sheung Wan and Tsim Sha Tsui will be approximately 8 and 14 minutes only. The shift to the railway will relieve traffic congestion at critical bottlenecks and therefore journey times by road on the Island will be significantly reduced.
Environmental, Health & Safety Benefits
Trains will be emission free as they are powered electrically.
The railway will comply with the Noise Control Ordinance.
The West Island Line will result in reductions in road traffic, which will lead to improvements in air quality, noise pollution, on-road safety and living quality at large.
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The railway avoids land reclamation, thus contributing to a more sustainable environment in Hong Kong and allowing the existing shoreline to be preserved.
Social & Economic Benefits
The development of Western District has long been constrained by the lack of a reliable mass transportation system. This district is in fact one of the few remaining urban areas that still do not have a railway of any kind. The West Island Line will lift this constraint and allow the district to rejuvenate and prosper. Significant new employment opportunities will be created as new businesses are established to take advantage of the improved transport.
The provision of the West Island Line to Western District will also increase the value of properties along the railway corridor.
Responses to Some Queries
- Is Government funding justified?
- The West Island Line will help Government to resolve the longstanding transport problems of Western District, without which Government would have to invest in other transport infrastructure to solve or mitigate the problem. The West Island Line will be a better and more cost effective solution to Government.
- Commuters will benefit from the safe, reliable and speedy service of the railway and the less congested road network.
- The extension will also generate substantial economic and social benefits:
- urban rejuvenation within Western District;
- enhancement of the living quality in Western District;
- As estimated by the Government, the economic benefits over 40 years of operation of the West Island Line will be about HK$44 billion.
- The forecast revenue from the West Island Line is not sufficient to provide a commercial return on the investment needed to construct the project. Given the substantial transport, external and social benefits that the project will generate, it is worth pursuing for the benefit of the community at large and for a better future for Hong Kong.
- What will be the impact on other transport operators?
- Reduced traffic congestion on roads will benefit all road users, particularly public transport operators.
- Franchised bus operators will be affected as a significant portion of their passengers will switch to West Island Line.
- Taxis and mini-buses will only be slightly affected because they will not be in direct competition with the railway. Any surplus taxis and mini-buses can be redeployed as new feeder services.
- As the West Island Line will not be available until 6 to 7 years from now, it will pose no immediate impact to the existing operators.
- There will be adequate time to carry out any required planning for better co-ordination of transport services in the Western District, to minimise the impact before the railway opens for service.
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