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Sha Tin to Central Link (Chinese: 沙田至中環綫, or 沙中綫) is a proposed railway line in Hong Kong which will run from Tai Wai Station in Tai Wai to Central. The proposed route roughly follows the East Kowloon Line (東九龍綫), which was proposed in the late 1960s. If the railway is built, and the merger proposal is passed (by MTRCL's shareholders and the Legislative Council), the railway will be operated by the MTR Corporation Limited.

Originally, this railway was awarded to be constructed by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC). However, as the Hong Kong Government has announced its proposal to lease KCRC's transport operations to the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), the railway will be operated by the MTRCL. Details of the railway line project will be announced soon.

History

On June 25 2002, the government announced that the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) had won its bid against the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) to build and operate the Sha Tin to Central Link. The route was originally planned to go from Tai Wai Station to Central West Station (a proposed station located under the Mid-Levels).

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 at Hung Hom, and the cross-harbour portion joining KCR East Rail at Hung Hom. However, the KCRC's proposal had not yet been finalised.

At the same time, the MTRC sent a new proposal to the government. According to the proposal, Kwun Tong Line would be extended from Yau Ma Tei Station to Whampoa Station in Whampoa Garden. Also, the route of Sha Tin to Central Link will be built according to the original proposal instead of the KCRC's modified proposal.

On April 11, 2006, MTRC signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the Hong Kong Government, the owner of KCRC, to merge the operations of the territory's two railway networks. According to the memorandum, the current MTR lines may be fully integrated with the Sha Tin to Central Link. Also, the government intends to choose the KCRC's modified proposal to build the railway, that is, extending the current KCR East Rail to the Hong Kong Island. However, final decisions will not be made before conducting further studies on the proposal with the MTRC.

KCRC's original proposal

Ma On Shan Rail Extension (Tai Wai to Central West)

Originally, the KCRC chose to extend the current Ma On Shan Rail from Tai Wai to Central West via stations in East Kowloon and northern shore of the Hong Kong Island in the original bid for the line.

The following is a list of proposed stations in the KCRC's original bid for the line:

KCRC's modified proposal

In 2004, the KCRC sent a modified proposal of the railway to the government. According to the proposal, Ma On Shan Rail will be extended to East Kowloon and join West Rail at Hung Hom. In addition, the cross-harbour portion will become an extension of East Rail, running from Mong Kok to Central South.

Ma On Shan Rail East Kowloon Extension (Tai Wai to Hung Hom)

Ma On Shan Rail will be extended from Tai Wai to Hung Hom via East Kowloon. The extension will join West Rail at Hung Hom to the northwest New Territories via the Kowloon Southern Link and the current route of West Rail, forming a East-to-West railway corridor. Also, the KCRC had decided not to built stations in Tsz Wan Shan and Whampoa Garden. However, both stations will be linked by the Automatic People Mover from Diamond Hill and Hung Hom respectively.

The following is a list of proposed stations of the Ma On Shan Rail East Kowloon Extension:

Cross-harbour Extension (Mong Kok to Central South)

According to the proposal, a new Mong Kok station will be relocated a few hundred metres to the south of the current Mong Kok station. Also, a new underground tunnel will be built to link between Mong Kok and Hung Hom, which will join the cross-harbour tunnel to the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, forming a North-to-South railway corridor.

The following is a list of proposed stations of the Cross-harbour Extension:

MTRC's proposal

Sha Tin to Central Link (Tai Wai to Central)

The following is a list of stations proposed in the MTRC's original bid for the line:

An underground train depot would be built beneath the passenger terminal of the former Kai Tak International Airport, adjacent to Prince Edward Road East in Kowloon City.

Kwun Tong Line Extension (Yau Ma Tei to Whampoa)

In addition, the MTRC had previously proposed extending the Kwun Tong Line to Whampoa Garden. As the KCRC had decided not to built a station in Whampoa Garden on the Sha Tin to Central Link, the MTRC sent this proposal again to the government.

The extension would run from the current Yau Ma Tei terminus to:

See also

KCR | MTR

沙中線

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Sha Tin to Central Link".

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