The existing major road and railway infrastructure as at the end of 2016 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 2016 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 two 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. The target commissioning of the XRL is in the third quarter of 2018.
The Kwun Tong Line Extension (KTE) extends the then Kwun Tong Line from Yau Ma Tei to Whampoa with an intermediate station at Ho Man Tin. The journey time between Mong Kok and Whampoa is about 5 minutes. The KTE was commissioned on 23 October 2016. The South Island Line (East) (SIL(E)) runs between Admiralty and South Horizons with intermediate stations at Ocean Park, Wong Chuk Hang and Lei Tung Estate. The journey time between Admiralty and South Horizons is about 10 minutes. The SIL(E) was commissioned on 28 December 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 - the "East West Corridor and the "North South Corridor" - will be formed. The SCL has 10 stations, namely 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. There was a delay of 11 months in the "Tai Wai to Hung Hom Section" due to the archaeological discoveries at To Kwa Wan Station earlier. With the efforts of the construction team, the delay recovery measures implemented are becoming effective progressively. Hence, the target commissioning date of this section is advanced to about mid-2019. For the "Hung Hom to Admiralty Section", despite the impact of the handover arrangement of works areas occupied under Wan Chai Development Phase II and the need to allow flexibility for the construction of new convention facilities above Exhibition Station, the target commissioning date still remains at 2021. The Government will continue to coordinate and oversee the construction of the SCL with a view to commissioning the project in accordance with the above revised targets.
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 has already started for taking forward the railway schemes of the Northern Link and Kwu Tung Station, the Tuen Mun South Extension, the East Kowloon Line and the Tung Chung West Extension (and Tung Chung East Station). As regards the other three 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 still 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 the THB:
http://www.thb.gov.hk/eng/psp/publications/transport/publications/rds2014.pdf