Island line (MTR)

Template:Short description Template:About Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox rail line

The Island line (Template:Zh) is one of ten lines of the MTR, the mass transit system in Hong Kong. It runs from Kennedy Town in the Western district to Chai Wan in the Eastern District on Hong Kong Island, passing through the territory's major business districts of Central, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay, and connecting them with built-up areas on the north shore of the island.

The line first opened on 31 May 1985. As of 2022 it travels Template:Convert<ref name="Highways-Dept">Template:Cite web</ref> in 25 minutes along its route, serving 17 stations. It is indicated in Template:Color on the MTR map.

History

The origins of the proposal for the line originated in the 1967 and 1970 studies, which originally planned to run from Kennedy Town to Chai Wan, but the route between Sheung Wan and Kennedy was omitted when the proposal was finalized during the construction.

The Hong Kong Government authorised the construction of the Template:Convert Island line in December 1980, after rejecting plans to extend the tram eastwards to Chai Wan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 31 May 1985 the Island line opened with services operating between Admiralty and Chai Wan stations with trains in six-car configuration. The opening ceremony was held at Tai Koo station and was officiated by then-MTR chairman Sir Wilfrid Newton and Governor of Hong Kong Sir Edward Youde, who unveiled the commemorative plaques at the station concourse.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

On 23 May 1986, the Island line was extended to Central and Sheung Wan stations. Both Admiralty and Central stations became interchange stations with the Tsuen Wan line. As part of this extension, each train was lengthened to eight cars.

Quarry Bay Congestion Relief

After the Kwun Tong line was extended to Quarry Bay station through the Eastern Harbour Crossing on 1 October 1989, that station became an interchange station with the Island line, but unlike that at Admiralty, there is no cross-platform arrangement requiring passengers to use two escalators and a long passageway in between to change between the platforms of the lines. In a response to the resulting congestion, the government recommended the Quarry Bay Congestion Relief Works project, and decided to expand North Point station to include a second interchange with the Kwun Tong line, with construction starting in July 1998.

The North Point interchange opened on 27 September 2001, and proved to be a much more efficient method of interchanging, as the new station featured cross-platform interchange, reducing the time required to interchange from five minutes at Quarry Bay station to less than one minute. On 4 August 2002, both these stations became interchange stations with the new Tseung Kwan O line which had taken over the harbour crossing section from the Kwun Tong line.

Western extension

Template:Main In 2002, the MTRC announced that it would use HK$300 million to construct the West and South Island lines, provided that the Government would award subsidies towards the project. No sooner, in May 2002, the first proposal from the MTRC detailed a western extension of the existing Island line towards Kennedy Town. However the plan was abruptly brought to a halt due to land reclamation obstacles on the western coast of Hong Kong Island, and the enormous cost and uncertainties concerning the Hong Kong Government's subsidies for the project. However, the current plan for the new lines to the Southern District would require parts of the Western extension in order for it to be completed. As a result, the MTR Corporation was conducting extensive surveys as well as public forums to gather opinion and suggestions concerning the alignment of the extension and location of the Sai Ying Pun, Shek Tong Tsui and Kennedy Town stations for the West Island line.

Construction commenced on the Island line's western extension to Kennedy Town in 2009 and on 28 December 2014, the extension opened to passenger services, providing direct heavy rail connection to the western district of Hong Kong Island for the first time. New intermediate stations at Sai Ying Pun and the University of Hong Kong also opened as part of the extension; however, construction delayed the opening of Sai Ying Pun station to 29 March 2015.

Rolling stock

MTR Island line line Rolling stock
Model	Manufactured	Time of manufacturing	Sets	Assembly	Notes
M-Train	Metro-Cammell	1977-1986 1989-1995	23	A-C+D+B-C+D+C-A
Q-Train	CRRC Qingdao Sifang	2017–present	15	A-C-B+B-C+B-C-A
MTR Island line line Former rolling stock
Model	Manufactured	Time of manufacturing	Sets	Assembly	Notes
K-Train	Rotem and Mitsubishi	2001-2002	N/A	A-C-B+B-C+B-C-A	now used on Tseung Kwan O line

Route description

The Island line resembles the deep-level lines of the London Underground, as most of the route and stations along the line are deep underground and consist of cylindrical tunnels. This is the result of a lack of available land, as the construction plans for the line required it to be built under major roads.

Only the segment of the line east of Shau Kei Wan has space for track expansion and thus the line emerges to the surface at Heng Fa Chuen, and then on a viaduct, which runs alongside Shing Tai Road, and which passes over Chai Wan Park and Island Eastern Corridor above ground, all the way to Chai Wan.

The route of the original underground section of the line is also served by Hong Kong Tramways at surface level (the West Island line extension follows its own routing further inland from the tramway). This brought concerns that the tram system might be abolished when the MTR line was to be built, but a decision to save the tramline was made in 1980; and it serves as a backup in the event of service breakdown and a cheaper alternative for shorter journeys.

Because of the depth of the line, most underground stations on this line have curved walls on the platforms, which are due to the route's cylindrical tunnels, only with a greater diameter. Of the underground stations not bearing this feature, Tai Koo station is itself a large tube containing both the concourse and the platform, Sai Ying Pun station and HKU station consists of station boxes that are themselves, also tube-like though flatter, while Shau Kei Wan, Admiralty, Central and Kennedy Town stations are built using the cut-and-cover method.

Because most stations were built under roads, most of the platforms are curved, resulting in large platform gaps. The few stations where the platforms are otherwise relatively straight are those on the West Island line as well as North Point, Quarry Bay, Tai Koo, Heng Fa Chuen and Chai Wan. Also, due to geographical constraints, the platforms of Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, Tin Hau and Sai Wan Ho are located on two different levels. This also separates the platform and concourse into two parts, so there are some passageways and long escalators on those stations to link between the platform and concourse.

All Island line stations except Heng Fa Chuen and Chai Wan have their Chinese station names written in Chinese calligraphy as part of the stations' livery. A retired architect involved in the design of the Island line, Abe Au Kit-tong,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> explained that the calligraphy is written in large fonts to alleviate the psychological effect caused by the narrow platforms and the curvature of the walls, in addition to reminding passengers what the stop is.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This explains why Heng Fa Chuen and Chai Wan stations do not have calligraphy forming part of their livery, as they are built above ground rather than underground. This feature is also shared amongst some newer MTR stations such as those on the Tseung Kwan O line and Lam Tin station on the Kwun Tong line.

Gallery

Admiralty station, Island line platform
Train approaching Heng Fa Chuen station
A train waiting to depart from Chai Wan station, terminus of the Island line
Plaque of MTR Island line opening ceremony held at Tai Koo station on 31 May 1985 by Sir Edward Youde, then governor of Hong Kong

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Stations

This is a list of the stations on the Island line.

List

Livery	Station name		Images	Interchange; Adjacent transport	Opening	District
Livery	English	Chinese	Images	Interchange; Adjacent transport	Opening	District
Island Line (ISL)
	Kennedy Town	堅尼地城		Template:Sdash	28 December 2014; Template:Years or months ago	Central and Western
	HKU	香港大學		Template:Rcb (proposed)	28 December 2014; Template:Years or months ago
	Sai Ying Pun	西營盤		rowspan="2" Template:Sdash	29 March 2015; Template:Years or months ago
	Sheung Wan	上環		23 May 1986; Template:Years or months ago
	CentralTemplate:Efn	中環		Template:Rcb Template:Rint Hong Kong: Template:Rcb Template:Rcb	12 February 1980; Template:Years or months ago Template:Efn Template:Efn
	Admiralty	金鐘		Template:Plainlist
	Wan Chai	灣仔		Template:Efn	31 May 1985; Template:Years or months ago	Wan Chai
	Causeway Bay	銅鑼灣		rowspan="3" Template:Sdash
	Tin Hau	天后
	Fortress Hill	炮台山		Eastern
	North Point	北角				Template:Rcb
	Quarry Bay	鰂魚涌				Template:Rcb
	Tai Koo	太古				rowspan="5" Template:Sdash
	Sai Wan Ho	西灣河
	Shau Kei Wan	筲箕灣
	Heng Fa Chuen	杏花邨
	Chai Wan	柴灣