Existing and Proposed Transport Infrastructure

Existing Transport Infrastructure

The existing road and railway infrastructure as at the end of 2012 are shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3.

Major Road and Rail Infrastructure Projects

The major road infrastructure proposals as at end 2012 on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon and the New Territories are shown in Figures 4 and 5 respectively. Details of major highway projects under construction and planning are given in Tables 1.1 and 1.2 respectively. The five railway projects listed in Table 1.3 and the construction of all projects have already commenced.

The Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) will provide express rail service between Hong Kong and Guangzhou. It will shorten the journey time between Hong Kong and Guangzhou significantly from about 100 minutes to 48 minutes. The Hong Kong section of the XRL is a 26-km long underground rail corridor. Running north from the terminus in West Kowloon, it will pass through Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po, Kwai Tsing, Tsuen Wan, Yuen Long and the boundary at Huanggang, where it will connect to the Mainland section of the XRL. The construction of the Hong Kong section of the XRL commenced in January 2010 for completion by 2015.

The construction of the West Island Line (WIL) started in July 2009. The WIL is an extension of the Island Line from Sheung Wan Station westwards with three new stations, namely Sai Ying Pun, the University of Hong Kong and Kennedy Town. Upon commissioning, the journey time between Sheung Wan and Kennedy Town will be less than 10 minutes as compared with current vehicular journey time of 15 to 25 minutes during rush hours.

In addition, the construction of the South Island Line East (SIL(E)) and the Kwun Tong Line Extension (KTE) commenced in May 2011 for completion by 2015. The SIL(E) will be a medium capacity railway line running between Admiralty and South Horizons with three intermediate stations at Ocean Park, Wong Chuk Hang and Lei Tung Estate. Upon commissioning, the journey time between Admiralty and South Horizons will be about 10 minutes as compared with current vehicular journey time of 25 to 45 minutes during rush hours. The KTE is to extend the existing Kwun Tong Line from Yau Ma Tei to Whampoa with an intermediate station at Ho Man Tin. Upon commissioning, the journey time between Mong Kok and Whampoa will be about 5 minutes as compared with current vehicular journey time of about 25 minutes during rush hours.

The 17-km long Shatin to Central Link (SCL) is a new rail link between Tai Wai and Central through South East Kowloon. It is a territory-wide strategic railway project linking up several existing and future railways. As a result, two strategic railway corridors will be formed, namely the "East West Corridor" and the "North South Corridor". The SCL has ten stations including Tai Wai, Hin Keng, Diamond Hill, Kai Tak, To Kwa Wan, Ma Tau Wai, Homantin, Hung Hom, Exhibition and Admiralty. The construction of SCL commenced in July 2012 for completion by phases in 2018 for the Tai Wai to Hung Hom section and in 2020 for the Hung Hom to Admiralty section.

Details on the "Railway Development Strategy 2000" can be found at the following website of the Transport and Housing Bureau:
http://www.thb.gov.hk/eng/psp/publications/transport/publications/rds.pdf