Tsuen Wan Line (MTR) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Tsuen Wan Line is one of the ten lines of the metro

Rapid transit

A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...

network in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

's MTR

MTR

Mass Transit Railway is the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong. Originally opened in 1979, the system now includes 211.6 km of rail with 155 stations, including 86 railway stations and 69 light rail stops...

. It is indicated in red on the MTR

MTR

map.

The Tsuen Wan Line starts at Central station on Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...

and runs through western Kowloon

Kowloon

Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of...

to the southwestern New Territories

New Territories

New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory. Historically, it is the region described in The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory...

, where it ends at Tsuen Wan station. It currently travels through 16 stations in 30 minutes along its route. Because it travels under Victoria Harbour

Victoria Harbour

Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour situated between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on the South China Sea were instrumental in Hong Kong's establishment as a British colony and its subsequent...

from Central and into the busy areas on Nathan Road (Tsim Sha Tsui

Tsim Sha Tsui

Tsim Sha Tsui , often abbreviated as TST, is an urbanized area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hung Hom Bay now east of Tsim Sha Tsui...

, Yau Ma Tei

Yau Ma Tei

Yau Ma Tei, also known as Waterloo , is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong.-Name:Yau Ma Tei is a phonetic transliteration of the name 油麻地 in Cantonese...

, and Mong Kok

Mong Kok

Mong Kok , less often known as Argyle , is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District on Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong...

) continuing into densely populated Sham Shui Po

Sham Shui Po

Sham Shui Po, or Shamshuipo, is an area of Sham Shui Po District, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei. Sham Shui Po is known for its street market for electronic devices.-History:Sham Shui Po...

, it is a very heavily travelled line.

Early construction

The Tsuen Wan Line was one of the original lines of the MTR

MTR

network. The initial plan for this line is somewhat different from what currently exists; especially in the names and the construction characteristics of the New Territories

New Territories

section. Original plans envisioned a terminus station in a valley further west of the present Tsuen Wan station terminus, named Tsuen Wan West. The station is different from the current West Rail Line Tsuen Wan West station located under reclaimed land. Furthermore, the line was supposed to run underground in Tsuen Wan, rather than the present line which was built on ground level.

The final route design allowed for a truncated line and construction to Tsuen Wan

Tsuen Wan

Tsuen Wan is a bay in the Kowloon area of Hong Kong, opposite to Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market town of Tsuen Wan emerged for the surrounding villages and fleets of fishing boats in the area. The town is around the present-day Tsuen Wan Station of the MTR...

was approved in 1975 and commenced soon afterwards. While the main section of the line under Nathan Road in Kowloon started service in 1979, trains did not reach Tsuen Wan until 10 May 1982. All stations in the Sham Shui Po District

Sham Shui Po District

Sham Shui Po District is one of 18 districts of Hong Kong. It covers the Shek Kip Mei, Sham Shui Po, Cheung Sha Wan, Lai Chi Kok and Yau Yat Chuen areas of New Kowloon, and Stonecutter's Island of Kowloon...

(Sham Shui Po, Cheung Sha Wan, Lai Chi Kok and Mei Foo) opened a week later than the rest of the line. This was the only express service in the MTR, the journey time between Prince Edward and Lai King was shorter than a local service by two to three minutes.

Eight stations differ in names or location from the initial plan. Central, Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok stations were originally named after the streets crossing or above the stations, Chater Road

Chater Road

Chater Road is a three-lane road in Central, Hong Kong. It begins at its intersection with Pedder Street and Des Voeux Road Central in the west, and ends at Murray Road in the east. It is named after Sir Paul Chater.-Events:...

, Waterloo Road, and Argyle Street

Argyle Street

Argyle Street is the name of a street in many cities and towns. Notable among these are:Australia*Argyle Street, the Rocks, Sydney*Argyle Street, Hobart, Tasmania*Argyle Street, Fitzroy, MelbourneCanada*Argyll Road, Edmonton...

respectively, but the name of each station was later changed to represent the district of the station. Moreover, Mong Kok station was planned to be built a bit further north of its present location, which would have taken the place of Prince Edward Station; and Sham Shui Po was planned to be built a bit further south of its present location.

Mei Foo was originally named Lai Chi Kok, which was originally named Cheung Sha Wan, and Cheung Sha Wan was originally named So Uk

So Uk

So Uk is an area at the north of Cheung Sha Wan in New Kowloon of Hong Kong. It was originally a village of family surname So. It is now includes the area surrounding the So Uk Estate. A major hospital Caritas Medical Centre is also located with the area....

, after the Ming dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

tombs in the area of the station. Kwai Fong was originally named Lap Sap Wan, which means "rubbish bay" since the station is close to a now disused landfill

Landfill

A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...

in Gin Drinker's Bay, and was intended to be further south to its present site. Kwai Hing was originally named Kwai Chung

Kwai Chung

Kwai Chung is a town in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Together with Tsing Yi Island, it is part of the Kwai Tsing District of Hong Kong. Kwai Chung is the site of the container port. It is also part of Tsuen Wan New Town. In 2000, it had a population of 287,000...

.

Kwai Fong, Kwai Hing, Lai Chi Kok, and Cheung Sha Wan stations gained their present names before opening, and Mei Foo was also renamed from "Lai Chi Kok" to "Lai Wan" (荔灣). The other stations had their Chinese name changed when they opened, and were renamed in 1985 together with Mei Foo station.

Transfer with Tung Chung Line

When the Tung Chung Line was constructed, it became necessary to build an interchange so that passengers did not have to go to Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...

to change lines. The site chosen for an interchange was at Lai King

Lai King (MTR)

Lai King is an MTR station located in Lai King, Kwai Tsing District, Hong Kong. The station is served by Tsuen Wan Line and Tung Chung Line , providing cross-platform interchanges between platforms 1 and 3 , and between platforms 2 and 4 .-History:Lai King was opened in 10 May 1982, originally as...

station. The northbound track on the Tsuen Wan Line was moved so that it ran above the southbound tracks at Lai King station. This allowed cross platform interchange with the Tung Chung Line possible at Lai King and the new platforms were opened in 1997, nearly a year before the Tung Chung Line started service. A pair of tracks was also built to the south of Lai King station linking the Tsuen Wan Line and Tung Chung Line, becoming the only point where the Tung Chung Line connects with the other urban lines.

Transfer with former KCR systems

To cope with extensions and new lines, Mei Foo station and Tsim Sha Tsui

Tsim Sha Tsui (MTR)

Tsim Sha Tsui is an MTR station on the Tsuen Wan Line. The station, originally opened in 1979 on the Kwun Tong Line, serves the area of Tsim Sha Tsui...

stations had new subsurface

Subsurface

Subsurface is the seventh studio album by British progressive metal band Threshold. The album was released in August 2004, and received an Album of the Month award in several European music magazines....

walkways added to connect to Mei Foo station's West Rail Line platforms and Tsim Sha Tsui East

East Tsim Sha Tsui (KCR)

East Tsim Sha Tsui Station is a station in the Mass Transit Railway system of Hong Kong. It is currently an intermediate station on the West Rail Line....

stations. The interchange facilities at Mei Foo opened in 2003, when the West Rail Line Line was opened. The interchange located at Tsim Sha Tsui entered service in 2004, along with the completion of the East Rail Line Line extension.

Chronology

1967: Tsuen Wan Line included in Hong Kong Mass Transport Study
1970: Tsuen Wan Line included in Hong Kong Mass Transit Further Studies, as Kong Kow Line and Tsuen Wan Branch
1977: Construction was approved and not long after, started.
16 Dec 1979: Jordan and Tsim Sha Tsui stations opened, as part of Kwun Tong Line.
16 Dec 1979: Waterloo and Argyle (later renamed Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok respectively) stations opened, also as part of Kwun Tong Line.
12 Feb 1980: Admiralty and Chater (later renamed Central) stations opened, again, as part of Kwun Tong Line,
26 Apr 1982: Kwun Tong Line officially breaks down into itself and Tsuen Wan Line sections. Kwun Tong Line trains only runs as far as Waterloo (Yau Ma Tei), while Tsuen Wan Line trains run from Chater (Central) to Argyle (Mong Kok), and continue to Tsuen Wan (not open at the time) for training purposes.
10 May 1982: The line and part of its stations open to public. Only stations from Tsuen Wan to Lai King opened. Prince Edward Station was also opened for changing trains only.
17 May 1982: The rest of the stations, from Lai Wan (later renamed Mei Foo) to Sham Shui Po, opened. Passenegers are also able to use exits at Prince Edward Station.
31 May 1985: On the opening of the Island Line, 8 stations of Tsuen Wan Line was together renamed. (See station list below for details)
23 Apr 1993: Two interlinking carriages disconnected during operation within the section between Tsuen Wan and Tai Wo Hau stations. Nobody was hurt, and MTRC reported that a hook between the two concerned carriages was not fastened, leading to the incident.
2 Jul 1997: To enable cross-platform interchange with the Tung Chung Line, the original platform 1 (for westbound trains) was removed and filled, becoming part of today’s wider low-level island platform, allowing interchange with the new platform 4 (for Tung Chung Line eastbound trains) further behind. Tsuen Wan Line westbound trains now use the new platform 1 situated on the new high-level platform.
20 Mar 2003: To connect with the new KCR West Rail (Now West Rail Line) Mei Foo Station, a passageway has been built between the two stations, with a new exit D on about midway of the passageway.
5 Jan 2004: A fire started in a train on its way to Admiralty Station with 14 people injured. A 65-year-old man, known to set up the fire, was arrested on the next day.
24 Oct 2004: A new exit G was constructed to link with new KCR East Rail (concerned section of the line now transferred to West Rail Line) East Tsim Sha Tsui Station, linking the passageway under Mody Road.
30 Mar 2005: Another new exit F was constructed to link with East Tsim Sha Tsui Station, linking the passageway under Middle Road.
21 Oct 2010: An overhead electric cable in Yau Ma Tei Station was broken during operation. At least 280,000 passengers were affected.

Route description

The Tsuen Wan Line runs from the south to the north. It is mostly underground, beginning at Central and crosses Victoria Harbour after Admiralty to Tsim Sha Tsui. Then, the line first runs underneath Nathan Road (Tsim Sha Tsui

Tsim Sha Tsui (MTR)

Tsim Sha Tsui is an MTR station on the Tsuen Wan Line. The station, originally opened in 1979 on the Kwun Tong Line, serves the area of Tsim Sha Tsui...

to Prince Edward

Prince Edward (MTR)

Prince Edward is a station of the MTR rapid transit system in Hong Kong. It is located in Northern Mong Kok, Kowloon, under the intersection of Nathan Road and Prince Edward Road West. The station is named after this road...

), then Cheung Sha Wan Road (Sham Shui Po

Sham Shui Po (MTR)

Sham Shui Po is an MTR station located in Sham Shui Po, New Kowloon, Hong Kong. The station is located under Cheung Sha Wan Road between Cheung Sha Wan and Prince Edward stations on the Tsuen Wan Line. Sham Shui Po's livery is Dim Teal...

to Lai Chi Kok

Lai Chi Kok (MTR)

Lai Chi Kok Station is on the Tsuen Wan Line of the Hong Kong MTR system, between Cheung Sha Wan and Mei Foo. It was opened in 1982.The station is in an orange-red livery, and is a simple through station with an island platform...

), before emerging from the hills at Lai King

Lai King (MTR)

Station.

The line is elevated between Lai King and Kwai Hing

Kwai Hing (MTR)

Kwai Hing station is an elevated railway station on the Tsuen Wan Line of Hong Kong MTR system. It is named after the nearest public housing estate, and is between Kwai Fong and Tai Wo Hau Stations....

stations. Between Kwai Fong

Kwai Fong (MTR)

Kwai Fong station is an elevated railway station on Tsuen Wan Line of Hong Kong MTR, opened in 1982. It is located between Lai King and Kwai Hing stations....

and Kwai Hing stations, the tracks are covered up to minimise disturbance to residents nearby. After Kwai Hing station, the line reenters the tunnel to Tai Wo Hau

Tai Wo Hau (MTR)

Tai Wo Hau is an MTR station between Tsuen Wan and Kwai Hing stations on the Tsuen Wan Line. It serves the areas of Kwai Yin Court and Tai Wo Hau Estate in the Kwai Tsing District, and some resited villages in the Tsuen Wan District of Hong Kong...

station, before finally reemerging to Tsuen Wan

Tsuen Wan (MTR)

Tsuen Wan is the northern terminus of the MTR Tsuen Wan Line in Hong Kong. It is the only station on the line that is at ground level. It is located at the northern central part of Tsuen Wan New Town, and its next station is Tai Wo Hau....

Terminus at ground level.

Some of the underground stations on the line are significantly deeper than the others. Tsim Sha Tsui

Tsim Sha Tsui (MTR)

Tsim Sha Tsui is an MTR station on the Tsuen Wan Line. The station, originally opened in 1979 on the Kwun Tong Line, serves the area of Tsim Sha Tsui...

and Admiralty

Admiralty (MTR)

Admiralty station is an MTR station located on Hong Kong Island, in an area often referred to as Admiralty. The station's livery is dodger blue...

stations are deeper than the others (such as Sham Shui Po

Sham Shui Po (MTR)

) because they precede harbour crossings. Admiralty

Admiralty (MTR)

Admiralty station is an MTR station located on Hong Kong Island, in an area often referred to as Admiralty. The station's livery is dodger blue...

and Central

Central (MTR)

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...

stations are deeper than others because they provide cross-platform interchange

Cross-platform interchange

A cross-platform interchange is a type of interchange between different lines in a metro system. The term originates with the London Underground; such layouts exist in other networks but are not commonly so named...

with the deep level Island Line

Island Line (MTR)

The Island Line 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 31 May 1985...

Stations

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

Livery Livery A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in... and Name		District Districts of Hong Kong The Districts of Hong Kong are the 18 political areas by which Hong Kong is geographically divided. Each district has a district council, which was formerly known as a district board. The districts were established in the early 1980s, when Hong Kong was under British rule...	Connection(s)	Date opened
Tsuen Wan Line
	Central Formerly Chater	Central and Western Central and Western District The Central and Western District located on northern part of Hong Kong Island is one of the 18 administrative districts of Hong Kong. It had a population of 261,884 in 2001...	Hong Kong Station for and	February 12, 1980 (as part of Kwun Tong Line)
	Admiralty		* *	February 12, 1980 (as part of Kwun Tong Line)
	Tsim Sha Tsui	Yau Tsim Mong Yau Tsim Mong District Yau Tsim Mong District is one of 18 districts of Hong Kong, located on western Kowloon peninsula. It is the core urban area of Kowloon. The district has the third highest population density of all districts...	East Tsim Sha Tsui Station for	December 31, 1979 (as part of Kwun Tong Line)
	Jordan			December 31, 1979 (as part of Kwun Tong Line)
	Yau Ma Tei Formerly Waterloo		¹	May 10, 1982
	Mong Kok Mong Kok (MTR) Mong Kok is a rapid transit station on the Kwun Tong and Tsuen Wan Lines of the MTR system in Hong Kong. One of the first stations of the network to open, it is now used by more than 200,000 passengers daily... Formerly Argyle		²
	Prince Edward
	Sham Shui Po	Sham Shui Po Sham Shui Po District Sham Shui Po District is one of 18 districts of Hong Kong. It covers the Shek Kip Mei, Sham Shui Po, Cheung Sha Wan, Lai Chi Kok and Yau Yat Chuen areas of New Kowloon, and Stonecutter's Island of Kowloon...		May 17, 1982
	Cheung Sha Wan
	Lai Chi Kok
	Mei Foo Formerly Lai Wan
	Lai King	Kwai Tsing Kwai Tsing District Kwai Tsing is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. It consists of two parts - Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi Island. Kwai Tsing is part of the New Territories. It had a population of 477,092 in 2001...		May 10, 1982
	Kwai Fong
	Kwai Hing
	Tai Wo Hau
	Tai Wo Hau	Tsuen Wan Tsuen Wan Tsuen Wan is a bay in the Kowloon area of Hong Kong, opposite to Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market town of Tsuen Wan emerged for the surrounding villages and fleets of fishing boats in the area. The town is around the present-day Tsuen Wan Station of the MTR...
	Tsuen Wan		³

Notes

* Proposed stations

¹ Yau Ma Tei Station

Yau Ma Tei (MTR)

Yau Ma Tei, formerly named Waterloo after Waterloo Road, is an MTR station located in Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon. It is the western terminus of the Kwun Tong Line, and is also located on the Tsuen Wan Line....

is an unannounced interchange station. Changing trains in this station lacks the convenience of cross-platform interchange

Cross-platform interchange

in Mong Kok

Mong Kok (MTR)

Mong Kok is a rapid transit station on the Kwun Tong and Tsuen Wan Lines of the MTR system in Hong Kong. One of the first stations of the network to open, it is now used by more than 200,000 passengers daily...

station. The platforms for the and in Yau Ma Tei station are on separate levels.

² Mong Kok Station is not an interchange station to the Mong Kok East Station of the , but the two stations are connected with a footbridge that takes 10–15 minutes.

³ Tsuen Wan Station is not an interchange station to the Tsuen Wan West Station of , Tsuen Wan West Station on foot.

Full list of MTR stations

Early construction

Transfer with Tung Chung Line

Transfer with former KCR systems

Chronology

Route description

Stations

See also