The existing road and railway infrastructure as at the end of 2015 is shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3.
The major road infrastructure proposals on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon and the New Territories as at the end of 2015 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 four railway projects under construction are listed in Table 1.3.
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. Based on the revised project programme submitted by MTR Corporation Limited in end June 2015, the target commissioning of the XRL would be in the third quarter of 2018.
The construction of the South Island Line East (SIL(E)) and the Kwun Tong Line Extension (KTE) commenced in May 2011. 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. Passengers can interchange at the Ho Man Tin Station for the future Shatin to Central Link. 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 current target is to commission the KTE in the third or fourth quarter of 2016. As for SIL(E), the target for commissioning this railway line is at the end of 2016.
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. Upon the completion of the SCL, two strategic railway corridors will be formed, namely the "East West Corridor" and the "North South Corridor". The SCL has 10 stations, including Tai Wai Station, Hin Keng Station, Diamond Hill Station, Kai Tak Station, To Kwa Wan Station, Ma Tau Wai Station, Ho Man Tin Station, Hung Hom Station, Exhibition Station and Admiralty Station. The construction of SCL commenced in July 2012. The Government is co-ordinating and overseeing the construction of the SCL, including efforts to mitigate part of the delay to the Tai Wai to Hung Hom section of the SCL arising from the archaeological and conservation works at To Kwa Wan Station, with a view to commissioning this section in 2019 as far as possible. For the Hung Hom to Admiralty section, owing to the impact of the handover arrangement of works area currently being occupied under Wan Chai Development Phase II and to allow flexibility for the construction of new convention facilities above Exhibition Station, the latest target for commissioning is 2021.
The Transport and Housing Bureau (THB) announced the Railway Development Strategy 2014 (RDS-2014) on 17 September 2014, providing a framework for planning the expansion of Hong Kong’s railway network up to 2031. It recommends that seven railway projects be completed in the planning horizon up to 2031 having regard to transport demand, cost-effectiveness and the development needs of New Development Areas and other new developments. These seven railway projects are Northern Link and Kwu Tung Station, Tuen Mun South Extension, East Kowloon Line, Tung Chung West Extension, Hung Shui Kiu Station, South Island Line (West) and North Island Line. Preparation work for taking forward the railway schemes of the Northern Link and Kwu Tung Station, the Tuen Mun South Extension and the East Kowloon Line has already started. As regards the other four railway schemes, the target is to work in accordance with the respective indicative implementation windows in the RDS-2014. The taking forward of individual railway projects is subject to the outcome of detailed engineering, environmental and financial studies relating to each project, as well as updated assessment of passenger transport demand and availability of resources at the time. Details of the RDS-2014 can be found at the following website of THB:
http://www.thb.gov.hk/eng/psp/publications/transport/publications/rds2014.pdf