This article needs additional citations for verification .(August 2011) |
Overview | |
---|---|
Location | Beneath Victoria Harbour, between Hung Hom Bay and Kellet Island |
Coordinates | 22°17′29″N114°10′56″E / 22.29139°N 114.18222°E |
Status | Active |
System | Part of Route 1 |
Start | Hung Hom Bay, Kowloon (between Hong Chong Road and Salisbury Road) |
End | Kellet Island, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island (Canal Road Flyover) |
Operation | |
Opened | 2 August 1972 |
Owner | Hong Kong Government |
Operator | Chun Wo Tunnel Management Limited |
Traffic | Vehicular |
Vehicles per day | 116,754 |
Technical | |
Length | 1.86 kilometres (1.16 mi) |
No. of lanes | 4 lanes (2 lanes per direction) in road tunnel with 3 lanes per direction on exit |
Operating speed | 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph) (within tunnel) 50 kilometres per hour (31 mph) (exit and entrance to tunnel) |
Cross-Harbour Tunnel | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chinese | 海底隧道 | ||||||||||||
Jyutping | Hoi2dai2 Seoi6dou6 | ||||||||||||
Literal meaning | Seabed tunnel | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 紅磡海底隧道 | ||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 红磡海底隧道 | ||||||||||||
Jyutping | Hung4ham3 Hoi2dai2 Seoi6dou6 | ||||||||||||
Literal meaning | Hung Hom seabed tunnel | ||||||||||||
|
The Cross-Harbour Tunnel (abbreviated CHT or XHT) is the first tunnel in Hong Kong built underwater. It consists of two steel road tunnels each with two lanes constructed using the single shell immersed tube method. [1]
It is the earliest of three vehicular harbour crossings in Hong Kong,opened for traffic in 1972. It was constructed under a 30-year private-sector franchise based on a build–operate–transfer model,and the title passed to the Hong Kong government in 1999 upon termination of the franchise. It has become one of the most congested roads in Hong Kong and the world,with 116,753 vehicles passing through it daily in 2013. [2]
The Hong Kong government used the operator model "Build Operate Transfer",or "BOT",for the implementation of the tunnel project;Financing and construction was the responsibility of a private enterprise,which was granted a concession to operate and collect tolls for 30 years. The concession was given to the then Cross-Harbour Tunnel Company Limited (Chinese :香港隧道有限公司),today the Cross-Harbour Holdings Limited (港通控股有限公司),which was founded in 1965 to carry out the tunnel project. The Hong Kong government participated to 20% in order not to fully hand over their influence on the project. The tunnel was designed with two lanes for each direction of travel for a capacity of 80,000 vehicles. The project was structurally managed jointly by the British engineering firms Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick &Partners and Freeman Fox &Partners. The tunnel links the main financial and commercial districts on both sides of Victoria Harbour,connecting Kellett Island (a former island now connected to Hong Kong Island by reclamation),with a reclaimed site on the western side of Hung Hom Bay,Kowloon,off then Hong Kong Technical College. The toll plaza is located at the Hung Hom end of the tunnel,and has 14 toll booths. It provides the first road link and the first link for land transport between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Prior to the opening of the tunnel,cross-harbour vehicular traffic depended on ferries and for passengers,the Star Ferry. The project was joint-engineered by Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick &Partners and Freeman Fox &Partners. [3]
Construction began in September 1969 and was to last four years. The concession period ran from the start of construction,and the operator accordingly completed the construction one year faster than planned. On 2 August 1972,the tunnel was opened for traffic,charging HK$5 per car crossing. After just three and a half years of operation,the operator had recouped the construction costs.
In 1984,the Hong Kong Government introduced a tax in addition to the operator's toll to make the overcrowded tunnel less priced. The price for a car transit was now HK$10.
In 1993,an electronic toll collection system was installed. Together with measures to control the flow of traffic,the vehicle capacity could be increased.
It was administered by The Cross-Harbour Tunnel Company Ltd until August 1999,when the operation franchise agreement expired and the government assumed control. From 1 November 2010,the tunnel was managed,operated and maintained by Serco on a contract basis. [4] The tunnel was then operated by Chun Wo Tunnel Management Limited,which was awarded a contract lasting from 2016 to 2022. On 1 November 2022,Serco took over from Chun Wo Tunnel Management Limited.
The 2017 Hong Kong action film Shock Wave ,starring Andy Lau,set its main plot in the tunnel.
In November 2019,Hong Kong protesters set roadblocks across the northern tunnel entrance and set fire to tollbooths,as many roads around the Polytechnic University were blocked,leading to the closure of the tunnel for a dozen of days. [5]
Initial (1972) | from 1984 | from 1992 | from 1999 | from 23Jul2023 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Private car | $5 | $10 | $10 | $20 | $30 |
Taxi | $5 | $10 | $10 | $10 | $25 |
Light goods vehicle (LGV) | $10 | $15 | $15 | $15 | $50 |
Heavy goods vehicle (HGV) | $20 | $25 | $30 | $30 | $70 |
source:Consultancy report [6] |
The tunnel generates approximately HK$700 million in annual toll revenue. [4]
In 2023,manual toll collectors will be phased out with HKeToll,an electronic toll collection service introduced by the Transport Department. [7] Cash and Octopus Cards will no longer be accepted at toll booths.
As of 2018 [update] ,there are 44 bus routes passing through the tunnel.
Hong Kong has a highly developed transport network,encompassing both public and private transport. Based on Hong Kong Government's Travel Characteristics Survey,over 90% of daily journeys are on public transport,the highest rate in the world. However,in 2014 the Transport Advisory Committee,which advises the Government on transportation issues,issued a report on the much-worsened congestion problem in Hong Kong and pointed at the excessive growth of private cars during the past 10–15 years.
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.
The Star Ferry is a passenger ferry service operator and tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Its principal routes carry passengers across Victoria Harbour,between Hong Kong Island,and Kowloon. The service is operated by the Star Ferry Company,which was founded in 1888 as the Kowloon Ferry Company,and adopted its present name in 1898.
The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is a bus company operating franchised services in Hong Kong. It is the largest bus company in Hong Kong by fleet size and number of bus routes,with over 4000 buses and 420 routes. It is a subsidiary of Transport International.
Hung Hom is an area in the southeast of Kowloon Peninsula,Hong Kong. Including the area of Whampoa,Tai Wan,Hok Yuen,Lo Lung Hang and No. 12 Hill are administratively part of the Kowloon City District,with a portion west of Hung Hom Bay in the Yau Tsim Mong District. Hung Hom serves mainly residential purposes,but it is mixed with some industrial buildings in the north.
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 45.8 km (28.5 mi),the line is the second longest line within the network,behind the Tuen Ma line. The line's colour is light blue.
Hung Hom is a passenger railway station in Hung Hom,Kowloon,Hong Kong. It is an interchange station between the East Rail line and the Tuen Ma line domestic services of the MTR network,as well as the southern terminus of cross-border through-trains to mainland China which has been suspended since 4 February 2020. The station is one of four Hong Kong ports of entry on the MTR network;the others are Lo Wu,Lok Ma Chau,and West Kowloon. This station serves the southern terminus of the East Rail Line in early morning before the first northbound train from Admiralty arrives. As the station is located next to the Cross-Harbour Tunnel's northern portal,it is also served by many cross-harbour bus routes.
The Eastern Harbour Crossing,abbreviated as "EHC",is a combined road-rail tunnel that crosses beneath Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong. Opened on 21 September 1989,it connects Quarry Bay,Hong Kong Island and Cha Kwo Ling,Kowloon East.
The Lion Rock Tunnel,the first major road tunnel in Hong Kong,is a twin-bored toll tunnel,connecting Hin Tin,Sha Tin in the New Territories and New Kowloon near Kowloon Tong. It has two southbound lanes,and there are two northbound lanes in the Second Lion Rock Tunnel,with the toll booths located at the Sha Tin end. They are vital components of Route 1.
This article is a list of transport means that cross Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong.
The Cross-Harbour (Holdings) Limited (CHHL),formerly the Cross-Harbour Tunnel Company,is a Hong Kong investment holding company with emphasis on transport infrastructures.
The Western Harbour Crossing (WHC) is a dual three-lane immersed tube tunnel in Hong Kong. It is the third road tunnel to cross Victoria Harbour,linking reclaimed land in Yau Ma Tei in West Kowloon with Sai Ying Pun on Hong Kong Island. It was constructed by the Western Harbour Tunnel Company Limited (WHTCL),which also operated the tunnel from 1993 to 2023 under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) on a 30-year franchise contract with the Hong Kong government.
Route 1 is a major artery in Hong Kong that runs in a generally north-south direction,connecting Aberdeen with Sha Tin.
The Airport Core Programme was a series of infrastructure projects centred on the new Hong Kong International Airport during the early 1990s. The programme was part of the Port and Airport Development Strategy,commonly known as the Rose Garden Project.
Aberdeen Tunnel,part of Route 1,is a two-tube tunnel linking Happy Valley and Wong Chuk Hang near Aberdeen on the Hong Kong Island,Hong Kong. It shortens the travel time between Wong Chuk Hang and Causeway Bay of the Hong Kong Island. It connects the Wong Chuk Hang Road and Canal Road Flyover in the Hong Kong Island. The toll plaza is at the Wong Chuk Hang end.
Tate's Cairn Tunnel is a four-lane road tunnel in Hong Kong. Constructed as part of Route 2,it links Diamond Hill,New Kowloon with Siu Lek Yuen,Sha Tin,New Territories East. It opened on 26 June 1991.
Tai Lam Tunnel,running along Tsing Long Highway,is part of Route 3 Country Park Section (R3CPS) and is a transport link between the western New Territories in Ting Kau and Yuen Long.
Kai Tak Tunnel,formerly known as the Airport Tunnel,is a tunnel in New Kowloon,Hong Kong,which connects the Kowloon Bay and Ma Tau Kok areas by going beneath the former Hong Kong International Airport. It is part of Route 5.
There are three vehicular harbour crossings in Hong Kong,linking the Kowloon peninsula with Hong Kong Island. These are as follows:
The Sha Tin to Central Link was an expansion project of the MTR public transport network in Hong Kong. It was divided into two sections and expanded the network’s heavy rail lines.
Preceded by Canal Road Flyover | Hong Kong Route 1 Cross-Harbour Tunnel | Succeeded by Hong Chong Road |