+ Timeline of the Sha Tin to Central Link Date Event 1960s Predecessor East Kowloon line was proposed by British consultant Freeman, Fox, Wilbur Smith & Associates 2000 Sha Tin to Central Link first appeared in the government document Railway Development Strategy 2000 2002 KCRC won its bid to build SCL, building an independent line from Tai Wai to Central West 2005 KCRC modified its 2002 plan, making East Kowloon portion of the line join Ma On Shan Rail at Tai Wai and West Rail at Hung Hom. The East Rail would extend to Central West MTRC submitted a new proposal: extending Kwun Tong Line to Whampoa, and building a new independent line from Tai Wai to Central West (similar to KCRC 2002 plan) 2006 MTR–KCR merger was confirmed. Non-binding memorandum of understanding signed by government and MTRC. Yet, SCL would be built in accordance to KCRC 2005 plan, while Kwun Tong line extension would also be constructed 2007 MTR–KCR merger 2008 MTRC announced a revised proposal, fully funded by government 2012 Executive Council approved and construction began 2015 First rolling stock for East West line arrived in Hong Kong 2016 Kwun Tong line extension commence 11-kilometre tunnel of East West line was fully broken through 2018Whistleblowing on poor construction quality at the Hung Hom station A Commission of Inquiry is appointed by Chief Executive of HKSAR government2019Commencement of whole SCL postponed SCL (Phase 1) split into Tuen Ma line First Phase and Second Phase due to construction quality of Hung Hom station. The name "Ma On Shan line" is made obsolete as it began operating as "Tuen Ma line phase 1".2021Tuen Ma line begins full operation. The name "West Rail line" is made obsolete as it was fully absorbed by Tuen Ma line.2022The East Rail Line extension begins full operations, and all Metro Cammell EMUs of it has retired. The Sha Tin to Central Link (abbreviated SCL; ) was an expansion project owned by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation and operated by the MTR public transport network in Hong Kong. It was divided into two sections and expanded the network’s heavy rail lines.
The first section, named "Tuen Ma line (Phase 1)”, runs from Tai Wai station in the New Territories to Hung Hom station in Kowloon. The Tai Wai–Hung Hom segment connected the Ma On Shan line and West Rail line, forming the new Tuen Ma line. Operation of the Tai Wai to Kai Tak section began on 14 February 2020. The opening of the section from Kai Tak to Hung Hom was delayed and opened on 27 June 2021.
In anticipation of the Tuen Ma line, the existing Kwun Tong line was extended from its previous terminus at Yau Ma Tei to Whampoa station. This extension includes the new Ho Man Tin station to provide interchange with the Tuen Ma line. The Kwun Tong line extension was opened on 23 October 2016. While it was done in conjunction with the Sha Tin to Central Link, it is not considered a direct component of the project.
The second section (Phase 2) extended the East Rail line from Hung Hom in Kowloon to Admiralty on Hong Kong Island via a newly constructed station at Exhibition Centre. It opened on 15 May 2022.
History
The proposed route of the Sha Tin to Central Link roughly follows the scheme of the original East Kowloon line, which was proposed in the late 1960s but was not constructed.Freeman, Fox, Wilbur Smith & Associates & Hong Kong Government - "Hong Kong mass transport study" (MTS-1967), 1967 The Shatin to Central Link was included as one of the Priority Railway Schemes in the Hong Kong government's Railway Development Strategy 2000.
On 25 June 2002, the government announced that the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) had won its bid against the MTR Corporation (MTRC) to build and operate the Shatin to Central Link. The route was originally planned to go from Tai Wai station to Central West station (proposed to be located under the Mid-Levels), as an extension of the then-under-construction KCR Ma On Shan Rail (now the Ma On Shan line).
The KCRC announced modifications to the proposal in 2005, with the East Kowloon portion of the line joining KCR Ma On Shan Rail at Tai Wai and KCR West Rail (now the West Rail line) at Hung Hom, with the cross-harbour portion joining KCR East Rail (now the East Rail line) at Hung Hom. Mong Kok Station (now Mong Kok East) would have been relocated, joining a new tunnel to a deeper Hung Hom station platform connecting to the cross-harbour section. Additionally, stations at Tsz Wan Shan and Whampoa Garden were removed from the proposal; the areas would instead have been served by people movers () from other stations. However, the KCRC's proposal had not yet been finalised.
At the same time, the MTRC submitted a new proposal to the government. According to the proposal, the Kwun Tong line would be extended from Yau Ma Tei station to Whampoa station (as the KCRC had decided to omit Whampoa Garden station from its proposal), and the route of the SCL would follow the KCRC's original proposal instead of the 2005 modified proposal. An underground train depot would have been built beneath the passenger terminal of the former Kai Tak International Airport, adjacent to Prince Edward Road East in Kowloon City; however, under the Kai Tak redevelopment plan released by the government in October 2006, the depot would have to be constructed somewhere else."Diamond Hill eyed for train depot", The Standard , 13 November 2006.
MTR–KCR merger plan On 11 April 2006, MTRC signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the government of Hong Kong, the owner of KCRC, to merge the operations of the territory's two railway networks. According to the memorandum, the MTRC-owned MTR lines will be fully integrated with the Shatin to Central Link, which will be part of the MTR system. The government also intended to choose the KCRC's modified proposal to build the railway, that is, extending the current East Rail line to Hong Kong Island. However, final decisions were not made before conducting further studies on the proposal with the MTRC.
The new proposal was announced jointly by both companies on 12 July 2007, before the merger of the two rail networks on 2 December that year. Under this proposal, the depot for the Sha Tin to Central Link would have been built underneath the former Tai Hom Village site between Kai Tak and Diamond Hill stations. The people movers were omitted; Causeway Bay North station was also removed from the proposal due to potential adverse effects on road traffic during construction.
+ Stations of previous proposals KCRC proposal (2002)KCRC revised proposal (2005)MTRC proposal (2005)KCRC–MTRC proposal (2007) (to Ma On Shan Rail) Tai Wai Tsz Wan Shan Diamond Hill Kai Tak To Kwa Wan Ma Tau Wai Ho Man Tin Whampoa Garden Hung Hom Exhibition Admiralty Central WestMa On Shan Rail East Kowloon Extension (to Ma On Shan Rail) Tai Wai Diamond Hill ( to Tsz Wan Shan) Kai Tak To Kwa Wan / Ma Tau Wai Ho Man Tin Hung Hom ( to Whampoa Garden) (to West Rail)
East Rail Cross-harbour Extension (to East Rail) Mong Kok (relocated) Hung Hom (relocated) ( to Whampoa Garden) Causeway Bay North Exhibition Admiralty Central WestShatin to Central Link Tai Wai Tsz Wan Shan Diamond Hill Kai Tak To Kwa Wan Ma Tau Wai Ho Man Tin Hung Hom Exhibition Admiralty Central West
Kwun Tong line extension (to Kwun Tong line) Yau Ma Tei Ho Man Tin WhampoaEast–West line (to Ma On Shan line) Tai Wai Diamond Hill Kai Tak To Kwa Wan Ma Tau Wai Ho Man Tin Hung Hom (to West Rail line)
North–South line (to East Rail line) Hung Hom (relocated) Exhibition Admiralty Central South
Kwun Tong line extension (to Kwun Tong line) Yau Ma Tei Ho Man Tin WhampoaLegend
The MTRC announced a revised proposal on 11 March 2008. The government would fund all of the required for construction. The Executive Council approved the construction cost of HK$79.8 billion in March 2012 and construction began on 22 June 2012. Under the final proposal, the former Hung Hom Freight Yard adjacent to Hung Hom station will be converted into stabling sidings for Sha Tin to Central Link trains, and new access tracks will be constructed to link the Sha Tin to Central Link with the former Hung Hom Freight Yard. Central South station was excluded in the modified plan, as no suitable sites had been found. One station at Hin Keng (just south of Tai Wai) was added to the proposal afterwards, to alleviate congestion at Tai Wai station.
Expected commencement
The original commencement date of Phase 1 was 2018; Phase 2 was expected to be completed in 2020 or 2021. Some of the construction work of Phase 2 has followed the completion of Wan Chai Reclamation Phase 2 and Central–Wan Chai Bypass, as there are overlaps between station and tunnels. In November 2014, Secretary for Transport and Housing Anthony Cheung revealed that the project would be delayed by at least another 11 months, caused by archaeological Work at To Kwa Wan station (now renamed as Sung Wong Toi station), and extra enabling works at Exhibition Centre station for topside development. At that time, the authority submitted a document to the Legislative Council, stating Phases 1 and 2 would be completed in 2019 and 2021 respectively.
However, the opening was delayed again due to construction quality problems at Hung Hom station. In January 2020, Secretary for Transport & Housing Frank Chan announced the "Tuen Ma line Phase 1" would be open on 14 February 2020, the rest of the Tuen Ma line would open on 27 June 2021, and the MTR expects the opening of the East Rail line extensions by June or July 2022, but is subject to change.
On 3 May 2022, MTR officially announced that the East Rail Line extension would open on 15 May 2022.
Hung Hom station scandal In 2018, a whistleblower leaked information to the Hong Kong media stating that the construction quality at the Hung Hom station was substandard. Namely, the threaded steel bars that were supposed to link to each other were cut so that they would fit into couplers without actually connecting to the full extent.
This raised concerns that the platform is not as strong as it was designed to be. Although initially denying the allegations, the MTR and the contractor Leighton Asia later confirmed them, and proposed a plan to open up the concrete at some areas of the stations to inspect the construction quality.
The investigation also revealed further incidents of substandard work and missing construction records. For example, 40% of Request for Inspection and Survey Checks forms for the northern approach tunnels are missing.
Construction and facility enhancement New railway lines and track The 11-kilometre tunnel of the East-West Corridor was fully broken through in August 2016.
As of February 2017, construction and tunnel boring is underway for the sections between the Exhibition Centre station and Causeway Bay, and between Causeway Bay and Kowloon. MTRC has set up an Immersed Tube Tunnel Casting Yard at the site of the former Shek O Quarry at the south side of the Hong Kong Island to pre-assemble sections of the tunnel tubes, which will be then transported by sea and immersed in place. As June 2017, the first Immersed Tube Tunnel units was installed in Victoria Harbour, marking the beginning of constructing the fourth harbour-crossing railway tunnel in Hong Kong. 11 tube tunnel units in total will be constructed and placed for the harbour crossing section.First Tunnel Unit for Shatin to Central Link Cross-Harbour Tunnel Successfully Installed in Victoria Harbour , MTR,20 June 2017.Immersing Diary#3 – Under the sea , MTR,20 June 2017
New signalling systems and station facilities