Early history
Construction of the station,initially named Ma Liu Shui after the locality in which it is situated,began in January 1955. [1] It was completed in August 1955. [2] There had been a longstanding need to build a passing place along the stretch of track between Tai Po and Sha Tin,as the railway was only single-track at that time,and it was convenient to build a station at the same time to serve the new Chung Chi College.
The new station comprised "a single storeyed station building,a flush latrine,1,250 linear feet of platforms and a loop line of 1,900 linear feet". [2] The opening was delayed due to the late arrival of signalling equipment ordered through the Crown Agents. [2]
The station finally came into operation on 24 September 1956,at that time served by three up-trains and three down-trains daily. [3] [4] [5] Though the Chinese University of Hong Kong was not founded until 1963,the adjacent Chung Chi College would become part of the new university in 1963,and would form the basis of CUHK's campus. The station was given its present name on 1 January 1967. [6] In 1983,its tracks were electrified along with the rest of the KCR East Rail .
A Chinese goods wagon derailed north of the station at around 2:00 p.m. on 4 June 1988. Nobody was injured,but the derailment led to thousands being stranded at University,Tai Po Market,and Fo Tan stations,leading to an "almost hysterical scramble for road transport". [7] At 5:00 p.m. a lorry overturned in the northbound carriageway of the Lion Rock Tunnel. Together,the accidents caused a "great stoppage" in Kowloon and the eastern New Territories,leading to anger and fights at massive queues for taxi ranks and bus stations. [7] The Police Tactical Unit was dispatched to University station. [8]
2000 expansion
Originally,the station was the smallest in the system. In the early 1990s,the new town of Ma On Shan was developed on the other side of Tolo Harbour,and it seemed inefficient to make residents there go all the way to Sha Tin to catch a train. Therefore,university station was expanded at a cost of $72.4 million,becoming an important interchange between buses and minibuses from Ma On Shan and the East Rail line. [9] Construction began in late 1998 and the expanded station,designed by Leigh &Orange,was officially opened in October 2000. The total floor area of the station concourses increased from 800 square metres to 2,000 square metres. [9] Four years later,in December 2004,the Ma On Shan rail opened to provide Ma On Shan with direct railway service. As a consequence,University station's importance to residents of Ma On Shan was strongly diminished.
MTR rapid transit station
