Northern Link (MTR)

Last updated

Northern Link
北環綫
Overview
Other name(s)NOL
Status
  • Phase 1: Under construction
  • Phase 2: Construction expected to begin 2025
Owner Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation
Locale Districts: Yuen Long
Termini
Stations5
Service
System MTR
Operator(s) MTR Corporation
History
Planned opening
  • Phase 1: 2027;3 years' time (2027)
  • Phase 2: 2034;10 years' time (2034)
Technical
Line length26 km (16 mi)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Route map

Contents

BSicon MFADEg.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon extSTR+l.svg
BSicon HUBa.svg
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BSicon extCONTfq.svg
Kwu Tung     
proposed extension
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BSicon tSTRa@fq.svg
BSicon xtKRZtu.svg
BSicon HUBe.svg
BSicon etBHFq.svg
BSicon MFADEfq.svg
BSicon tSTRq.svg
BSicon extCONT2.svg
BSicon extSTR+tc3.svg
proposed spur line to Huanggang Port
BSicon extSTRc1.svg
BSicon extABZg+4.svg
BSicon extBHF.svg
San Tin
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Ngau Tam Mei
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Au Tau
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BSicon hSTRq.svg
BSicon hSTR+r.svg
BSicon extSTR.svg
BSicon HUBaq.svg
BSicon hBHF.svg
BSicon HUBeq.svg
BSicon extBHF.svg
Kam Sheung Road     
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BSicon exKRW+l.svg
BSicon extKRWre.svg
BSicon DST.svg
Pat Heung Depot
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BSicon tSTRa@g.svg

Phase 1 consists of the construction and completion of Kwu Tung station that will initially serve the East Rail line after its opening, then later the Northern Link after the completion of Phase 2. It had been partially built by KCR Corporation during the construction of the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line. Construction of Kwu Tung station was approved by the government in 2022 is scheduled to commence in 2023 with completion due in 2027. [6] Construction started on September 29, 2023. [7]

The station was expected to cost HK$3.5 billion as of December 2015. [8] [9] As of July 2023, the estimated cost had risen to HK$5.9 billion. [10]

Phase 2

Phase 2 consists of the building of the 10.7 km main line from Kam Sheung Road station to Kwu Tung station. It also includes the construction of 3 new stations (Au Tau, Ngau Tam Mei and San Tin) along with the expansion of Kam Sheung Road station to accommodate the new tracks and platforms. Planning and designing began in 2021. Construction of the mainline is planned to begin in 2025 and be completed in 2034. [11]

It is expected to cost HK$58.5 billion in December 2015 prices. [12] [13]

The 5.8 km Northern Link Spur Line starts from San Tin station and connects to San Tin Technopole, Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park before terminating at the Huanggang Port in Shenzhen. Planning and design for the line is expected to start in 2024. [14]

The 9.5 km eastern extension extends eastward from Kwu Tung to Ping Che via Lo Wu South and Man Kam To. [14] Originally planned as part of the extension, the section from Heung Yuen Wai to Fanling station will form the new 8.5 km Northeast New Territories Line. [15]

Stations

Northern Link
Traditional Chinese 北環綫
Simplified Chinese 北环线
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin Běi Huán Xiàn
Station NameConnectionsOpening date District
EnglishChinese
Phase 1
(Under construction)
Kwu Tung 古洞
2027 North
Phase 2
Kam Sheung Road 錦上路
20 December 2003 Yuen Long
Au Tau凹頭2034
Ngau Tam Mei牛潭尾
San Tin新田
Eastern Extension
Lo Wu South羅湖南
TBA North
Man Kam To文錦渡
  • Through Border Checkpoint:
  • Shenzhen Metro Corporation logo.svg Wenjin: 9
Hung Lung Hang恐龍坑
Ping Che坪輋
Northern Link Spur Line
San Tin新田2034 North
Chau Tau洲頭TBA
HK-SZ Innovation and Technology Park港深創科園
Huanggang Port皇崗口岸

Controversies

Land hoarding

In July 2021, Liber Research Community found that developers had begun to hoard land alongside the Northern Link line, buying at least 80 hectares of land near the line. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MTR</span> Rapid transit system in Hong Kong

The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is a major public transport network serving Hong Kong. Operated by the MTR Corporation (MTRCL), it consists of heavy rail, light rail, and feeder bus services, centred around a 10-line rapid transit network, serving the urbanised areas of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories. The system encompasses 245.3 km (152.4 mi) of railways, as of December 2022, with 179 stations—including 99 heavy rail stations, 68 light rail stops and 1 high-speed rail terminus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kowloon–Canton Railway</span> Railway network in Hong Kong

The Kowloon–Canton Railway was a railway network in Hong Kong. It was owned and operated by the Kowloon–Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) until 2007. Rapid transit services, a light rail system, feeder bus routes within Hong Kong, and intercity passenger and freight train services to China on the KCR network, have been operated by the MTR Corporation since 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North District, Hong Kong</span> District in New Territories, Hong Kong

North District is the northernmost district of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. It is located in the northeastern part of the New Territories. The new town of Fanling–Sheung Shui is within this district. It had a population of 298,657 in 2001. The district has the second lowest population density in Hong Kong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsuen Wan line</span> Hong Kong MTR railway line

The Tsuen Wan line is one of the ten lines of the metro network in Hong Kong's MTR. It is indicated in red on the MTR map.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tung Chung line</span> Hong Kong MTR railway line

The Tung Chung line is one of the ten lines of the MTR system in Hong Kong, linking the town of Tung Chung with central Hong Kong. It was built in the 1990s as part of the Airport Railway project, part of the construction of the new Chek Lap Kok Airport. The line currently travels through eight stations in 31 minutes along its route. The line is coloured orange on the MTR system map.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Rail line</span> Former Hong Kong railway line

The West Rail line was a rapid transit line that formed part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong until 27 June 2021. Coloured magenta on the MTR map, the line ran from Tuen Mun to Hung Hom, with a total length of 35.7 kilometres (22.2 mi), in 37 minutes. The railway connected the urban area of Kowloon and the new towns of Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai and Tuen Mun in the northwestern New Territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kam Sheung Road station</span> MTR station in the New Territories, Hong Kong

Kam Sheung Road is an MTR station on the Tuen Ma line, located between Pat Heung and Kam Tin in Hong Kong. It is situated between Tsuen Wan West and Yuen Long stations. Kam Sheung Road was the arena for the KCR West Rail's opening ceremony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Rail line</span> Hong Kong MTR railway line

The East Rail line is one of the ten lines that form MTR, the mass transit system in Hong Kong. The railway line starts at Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau, both of which are boundary crossing points into Shenzhen and joins in the north at Sheung Shui and ends at Admiralty station on Hong Kong Island. At approximately 46 km (29 mi), the line is the second longest line within the network, behind the Tuen Ma line. The line's colour is light blue, formerly navy blue before the KCR/MTR merger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central station (MTR)</span> MTR interchange station on Hong Kong Island

Central is an MTR station located in the Central area of Hong Kong Island. The station's livery is firebrick red but brown on the Tsuen Wan line platforms. The station is the southern terminus of the Tsuen Wan line, a stop on the Island line, and connects to Hong Kong station, which serves the Tung Chung line and the Airport Express.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austin station (MTR)</span> MTR station in Kowloon, Hong Kong

Austin is an underground MTR rapid transit station on the Tuen Ma line in Hong Kong, situated perpendicular to Wui Cheung Road and Austin Road West, and formerly adjacent to Jordan Road Ferry Pier Bus Terminus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fanling Highway</span> Road in Hong Kong

Fanling Highway is a part of Route 9 in Hong Kong. It connects the new town of Tai Po and San Tin Highway, passing through Sheung Shui and Fanling on its way. The three lane expressway was constructed between 1983 and 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Future projects of the MTR</span> Planned mass transit lines in Hong Kong

Several future projects on the MTR have been put forward by the MTR Corporation to the Hong Kong Government. Some of these are still in planning stage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lok Ma Chau Spur Line</span> Railway line in Hong Kong

The Lok Ma Chau Spur Line is the second railway link between Hong Kong and Mainland China, relieving passenger congestion at Lo Wu station. The 7.4 km (4.6 mi) alignment branches off the existing MTR East Rail line north of Sheung Shui station and then runs to the Lok Ma Chau station where customs and immigration facilities are provided. The terminus is connected to Futian Checkpoint station of the Shenzhen Metro Line 4 by a pedestrian bridge across the Shenzhen River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kwu Tung station</span>

Kwu Tung is a planned underground infill station on the Lok Ma Chau spur line of the East Rail line of the MTR rapid transit network in Hong Kong. The station will be situated near Kwu Tung in North District, New Territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kwu Tung</span> Area in Hong Kong, China

Kwu Tung is an area in the northern New Territories, west of Sheung Shui and Fanling, and east of Lok Ma Chau and San Tin, in Hong Kong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link</span> Railway line in China

The Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL), also known as the Guangshengang XRL, is a high-speed railway line that connects Guangzhou and Hong Kong (Kowloon) via Shenzhen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rail transport in Hong Kong</span>

Hong Kong's rail network mainly comprises public transport trains operated by the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRC). The MTRC operates the metro network of the territory, the commuter rail network connecting the northeastern, northwestern and southwestern New Territories to the urban areas, and a light rail network in northwestern New Territories. The operations of the territory's two leading railway companies, MTRC and the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC), were merged in 2007 on grounds of economies of scale and cost effectiveness. The Hong Kong Government has an explicit stated transport policy of using railways as its transport backbone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New towns of Hong Kong</span> Newly developed towns in the 20th century

The Hong Kong government started developing new towns in the 1950s to accommodate Hong Kong's booming population. During the first phase of development, the newly developed towns were called "satellite towns", a concept borrowed from the United Kingdom, of which Hong Kong was a colony. Kwun Tong, located in eastern Kowloon, and Tsuen Wan, located in the south-west of the New Territories, were designated as the first satellite towns, when the urban area in Hong Kong was still relatively small, restricted to the central and western parts of Kowloon Peninsula and the northern side of Hong Kong Island. Wah Fu Estate was also built in a remote corner on the southern side of Hong Kong Island, with similar concepts but at a smaller scale.

The history of the South Island line and West Island line encompasses a number of proposals which were made for extending the Hong Kong MTR metro system to the south and west of Hong Kong Island, which were not serviced by any rail transport before 2014. The West Island line opened as an extension of the Island line on 28 December 2014. The South Island line has completed construction and commenced service on 28 December 2016. The proposed South Island line (West) is still in the planning phase and is expected to begin in 2021.

References

  1. "MTR > Home".
  2. Legislative Council - Northern Link and Regional Express February 2006
  3. Railway Development Strategy 2014, Transport and Housing Bureau, Hong Kong Government
  4. 2023 Interim Results (PDF) (Report). MTR Corporation. 10 August 2023. p. 12. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  5. Shum, Michael; Cheung, Jane (17 December 2020). "MTR Northern Link project gets go-ahead". The Standard.
  6. "Annual Report 2021: Excellence in Motion" (PDF). MTR Corporation. 10 March 2022. p. 25. Retrieved 9 August 2022. A design consultant was appointed for Kwu Tung Station on the East Rail Line in April 2021, with construction targeted to commence in 2023 for completion in 2027.
  7. "Construction of Kwu Tung Station on the East Rail Line Commences". 29 September 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  8. 2023 Interim Results (PDF) (Report). MTR Corporation. 10 August 2023. p. 12. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  9. Shum, Michael; Cheung, Jane (17 December 2020). "MTR Northern Link project gets go-ahead". The Standard.
  10. "古洞站造價2年急升七成 田北辰:離晒大譜". 20 October 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  11. "Hong Kong's planned Northern Link makes progress". 17 December 2020.
  12. 2023 Interim Results (PDF) (Report). MTR Corporation. 10 August 2023. p. 12. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  13. Shum, Michael; Cheung, Jane (17 December 2020). "MTR Northern Link project gets go-ahead". The Standard.
  14. 1 2 "Transport Infrastructure" . Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  15. "行政長官向立法會發表《行政長官2023年施政報告》發言全文(七)". 25 October 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  16. lrcresearcher. "【解剖「囤地線」】以鐵路為骨幹 撐起了誰的未來? #永續港鐵霸權 #7月專研". Liber Research Community (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 18 August 2021.