Sha Tin-Central link endorsed

March 27, 2012

The Chief Executive in Council today approved the implementation of the Sha Tin to Central Link scheme. Construction of the link is scheduled to start in mid-2012.
 
The Tai Wai to Hung Hom section is due for completion by 2018, with the Hung Hom to Admiralty section set for 2020.
 
The 17km railway will have 10 stations - Tai Wai, Hin Keng, Diamond Hill, Kai Tak, To Kwa Wan, Ma Tau Wai, Ho Man Tin, Hung Hom, northern Wan Chai and Admiralty.
 
The Tai Wai to Hung Hom section, which connects the Ma On Shan Line with the West Rail Line, will allow passengers to travel directly from Wu Kai Sha Station to eastern Kowloon, the western New Territories and Tuen Mun without interchanging.
 
The Hung Hom to Admiralty section, an extension of the East Rail Line across Victoria Harbour, will allow passengers from Lo Wu or Huanggang to reach Hong Kong Island directly.
 
It will link up the existing and future railway lines through the provision of six interchange stations, allowing a faster and more convenient interchange arrangement.
 
Passengers can travel from Tai Wai to Diamond Hill in five minutes, from Tai Wai to Admiralty in 17 minutes, and from Hung Hom to Admiralty in five minutes.
 
The link will carry 1.1 million passengers per day in 2021, generating economic benefits of $4.4 billion in terms of passenger time saved and promoting overall development in Hong Kong. Implementation of the link will create 16,000 jobs.
 
Including the approved funding for the advance works and protection works, the overall construction cost for the link is estimated to be $64.9 billion in September 2011 prices.
 
The Government aims to secure funding approval from the Legislative Council before the summer recess, to enable the start of works by the middle of this year.