South Island line

This article is about the east section of MTR South Island Line which will open in December 2016. For the proposed west section, see South Island Line (West).

Template:HK-MTR route title
Overview
Locale	Districts: Central and Western, Southern
Termini	Admiralty South Horizons
Stations	5
Service
Type	Rapid transit, driverless
System	MTR
History
Planned opening	28 December 2016 (2016-12-28)
Technical
Line length	7 km (4.3 mi)
Track gauge	1,432 mm (4 ft 8+3⁄8 in)
Route map East Rail line to Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau Tsuen Wan line Central – Tsuen Wan Admiralty                Island line Kennedy Town – Chai Wan Nam Fung Tunnel Ocean Park Wong Chuk Hang Depot Wong Chuk Hang South Island line (West) to HKU Aberdeen Channel Bridge Lei Tung South Horizons

The South Island Line, known during construction as the South Island Line (East) is a future extension of the Hong Kong MTR metro system. The extension will serve the Southern District of Hong Kong Island, which at present is not serviced by any rail transport.

Approved by the Executive Council of Hong Kong in 2007, the line has completed construction and will commence service on 28 December 2016.

History

Main article: History of the South Island Line and West Island Line

The initial proposal for the line was in 2002, and went through a number of changes, at times combined with the West Island Line and South Island Line (West). The final alignment corresponds with "option B" of the 2005 revised scheme, with no intermediate station at Happy Valley Station included, in order to reduce the travel time to the CBD.

Rolling stock

A medium capacity system will be used. The final order for rolling stock for the new line consists of 10 new 3-car MTR CNR Changchun EMUs using steel wheels. These trains are externally similar to the existing sets in service on the Kwun Tong Line, but will be fully automatic and driverless, being the second such line after the Disneyland Resort Line. They will operate with a frequency of three minutes during rush hour, and although stations on the new lines will be shorter than existing stations on other lines, they can be expanded as ridership demand increases.

Alignment and stations

The following is a list of the stations on the South Island Line.

Livery and name		District	Connections	Opening date
colspan="5" style="border-top:5px solid #Template:HK-MTR color; border-bottom:5px solid #Template:HK-MTR color;"| South Island Line
	Admiralty	Central and Western	Template:HK-MTR box, Template:HK-MTR box and Template:HK-MTR box (2021)	12 February 1980
	Ocean Park	Southern		28 December 2016
	Wong Chuk Hang		Template:HK-MTR box (proposed)
	Lei Tung
	South Horizons

A 3-car trial run S-Train is approaching Wong Chuk Hang Station

South Island Line viaduct near Holy Spirit Seminary

Construction

Construction progress

Project Agreements and Entrustment Agreement for MTR South Island Line and the Kwun Tong Line Extension was signed by Hong Kong government and MTR Corporation on 18 May 2011. In August 2012, drilling and blasting work began for constructing the Nam Fung Tunnel, a tunnel between Admiralty and Ocean Park Station. On 9 December 2013, structural work for Ocean Park Station was completed. The first 3-car trainset, named S-train arrived at MTR Siu Ho Wan Depot on 19 February 2014. In 2014, whole project was 78% completed by late September and Nam Fung Tunnel broke through on 17 October. In 2015, trial runs began between Wong Chuk Hang and South Horizons Station. 84% of construction work was completed by the end of February 2015. Work in Lei Tung Station was prolonged by geological issue, but the MTR claimed it would not postpone the line opening.

Delayed opening

Expansion work of Admiralty Station in November 2016. Underground are a new concourse and platforms of South Island Line and Sha Tin to Central Link. The Harcourt Garden will be restored as a podium garden after the completion of the work.

The commencement of South Island Line was originally planned for 2015. On 21 May 2014, a informant told Apple Daily that the commencement date of South Island Line (East) would be postponed by one and a half years. MTR Corporation asserted it would be opened as expected. Yet, Transport and Housing Bureau revealed the delay of construction work and demanded MTR to review the commencement. Members of the Legislative Council and District Council criticized MTR for hiding the progress to the public and demanded a progress report at the Council's meeting. Eight days later at the South District Council meeting, MTR Corporation announced the delay was caused by the expansion work of Admiralty Station. High-density building, underground public facilities and the existing Admiralty Station would prolong the work progress as "safety come first". But they still asserted the work could be completed in 2015. In November 2014, a revised opening date on December 2016 was announced.

In October 2016, MTR Corporation chairman Frederick Ma warned that the opening of the South Island Line could be delayed by three more months. However, on 10 November 2016, he announced the South Island Line will open by the end of 2016, saying the engineering team overcame the many challenges in connecting an additional line to the already busy Admiralty station. Finally, MTR chief executive Lincoln Leong officially declared the South Island Line will begin operation on 28 December 2016.

Interchange stations

At Wong Chuk Hang, originally the platform structure was to be a double island platform with three tracks (like the platform structure on Choi Hung Station). South Island Line (West) trains would use the center track while South Island Line trains would use those on the two sides, allowing for a convenient cross-platform interchange. However, according to the new plan, any future South Island Line (West) platforms would be built above the existing platforms.

At Admiralty, a new island platform has been built under Queensway. Transfer passages connect the new station with the existing station and the platforms of the future North South Corridor.

See also

• Future projects of the MTR

Further reading

Papers from Government and Legislature

• "Second Railway Development Study (RDS-2)" (PDF). From Highways Department Hong Kong. Retrieved 27 February 2005.
• "Information paper about the Feb 2005 scheme" (PDF). From Panel of Transport, Legislative Council. 21 February 2005. Retrieved 27 February 2005.
• "Background brief on Route 4, South Hong Kong Island Line and West Hong Kong Island Line" (PDF). From Panel of Transport, Legislative Council. 21 February 2005. Retrieved 27 February 2005.
• "Presentation of Feb 2005 scheme by MTR" (PDF). From Panel of Transport, Legislative Council. 25 February 2005. Retrieved 5 March 2005.

Press releases

• "MTR Corporation welcomes Government's decision on West Island Line and South Island Line" (PDF).. (30 June 2005). From MTR Corporation.

External links

• MTR South Island Line Introduction
• Papers from Legislative Council concerning West Island Line and South Island Line