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- This article is about the Lam Tin MTR station. For information on the Lam Tin district, please see the article Lam Tin.
Lam Tin (Chinese: 藍田; Cantonese , Jyutping: laam4 tin4, Yale: làhm tìhn; Mandarin Pinyin: Lántián, literally blue-field) is a station on the Hong Kong MTR Kwun Tong Line as a part of the extension to Quarry Bay. The station is linked to the hillside community of the Lam Tin area by a series of escalators.
History
In the 1980s, the Eastern Harbour Crossing (EHC or EHT) had been planned by the colonial government. Following the successful results of MTR since 1978, the government decided to extend the Kwun Tong Line through a new tunnel to Quarry Bay.
It was later decided that before the entrance to the tunnel, the rail would stop at a station at the Lam Tin Valley, where it goes into the Sai Tso Wan Hill and then goes underground to the entrance of the tunnel.
The construction was completed by 1989. As part of his official visit with then Princess of Wales to Hong Kong, Prince of Wales officiated the opening of the station, in which a commemoratitve plaque remains in display to this day.
After the opening of the EHC, Lam Tin, with the MTR station and bus terminals, became a crucial transport interchange in east Kowloon. The station serves passengers between Tseung Kwan O and other parts of Kowloon as well as between Hong Kong and Kowloon.
This lasted until 2002, when the MTRC decided to overtake the cross-harbour transport from Kwun Tong Line by Tseung Kwan O Line. Lam Tin declined in popularity due to the fact that interchanging time was excessive for passengers to transfer to the Island.
Platfrom Screen Doors are now in use since Late August 2005.
Station structure
Lam Tin Station is situated on an elevated platform, in which half of the platform is immersed into the Lam Tin Hill and so the station is sealed like other underground stations, passengers feel a strong but false impression of being underground. In addition, as people travel up an escalator, instead of down, to reach the concourse from the platforms, passengers, without realising the truth, will doubly believe in the wrong perception. In fact, according to Google Earth and some measurements, altitude of the Lam Tin station is around 100 m above sea level.
Concourse
The concourse is the first floor down the escalators from the hillside exits. It is divided into two parts: the paid area and the non-paid area. The paid area has escalators down to the platforms and has a postbox, while the non-paid area links the exits and houses a Hang Seng Bank branch.
Between the paid and non-paid areas there are the entrance gates and a customer service centre which serves both areas.
Platforms
- Platform 1: Kwun Tong Line to Tiu Keng Leng.
- Platform 2: Kwun Tong Line to Yau Ma Tei.
A single island-platform is in used.
Entrances/Exits
- A:Lam Tin Bus Terminus, Kai Tin Estate
- B: Sceneway Plaza
- D: Sin Fat Road, Sai Tso Wan.
Transport Connections
- Main article: Lam Tin (Infrastructure)
Following the MTR station's opening in 1989, the area around Lam Tin station has been developed into a major transportation interchange in Hong Kong. The shopping centre and Sceneway Plaza above the transportation interchange adjacent to the station were built on a site that used to be occupied by a hill-side squatter hut community.
The original Lam Tin community has also seen several rebuilding projects since the station had been built. The interchange has brought in new residential and commercial demand in the community. The bus termini, the Lei Yue Mun Interchange, and other public transportation facilities had transformed the Lam Tin area into an important transportation hub as well as a commercial and residential center.
Neighbouring stations
| Preceding station | MTR | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kwun Tong | Kwun Tong Line | Yau Tong | ||
Notes and references
- The Lam Tin Station's outline is visible from Lei Yue Mun Road. By trigonometric measurements from the road and the shore of Victoria Harbour, the altitude of around 100 m can be obtained. Readings from Google Earth is 121 m, but that measurement took the top of the hill covering the station, instead of the station itself, as a reference.
- Hong Kong Guide 2004, HKSAR Government, February 2004.
- Hong Kong Guide 2005, HKSAR Government, April 2005.
"Lam Tin (MTR)"