Hong Kong station

Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港; Cantonese Yale: Hēunggóng) is a station of the MTR metro system in Hong Kong. It is the eastern terminus of the Tung Chung Line and Airport Express. It is situated between Man Cheung Street and Harbour View Street, Central, Hong Kong Island, and sits underneath the International Finance Centre (IFC). It opened in 1998.

Hong Kong 香港
MTR rapid transit station
Station concourse in February 2019
Chinese name
Chinese	香港
Cantonese Yale	Hēunggóng
Literal meaning	Fragrant harbour
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xiānggǎng Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Hēunggóng IPA [hœ̂ːŋkɔ̌ːŋ] Jyutping Hoeng1gong2
General information
Location	Harbour View Street Central, Hong Kong
Coordinates	22°17′06″N 114°09′29″E
Operated by	MTR Corporation
Line(s)	Tung Chung line      Airport Express
Platforms	3 (island platform (Tung Chung Line), side platform (Airport Express))
Connections	Central Station, bus, public light bus, tram, ferry
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Platform levels	2
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	HOK
History
Opened	22 June 1998 (1998-06-22) (Tung Chung Line) 6 July 1998 (1998-07-06) (Airport Express)
Services
Preceding station MTR Following station Terminus Airport Express Kowloon towards AsiaWorld–Expo Tung Chung line Kowloon towards Tung Chung Tsuen Wan line transfer at Central Admiralty towards Tsuen Wan Sheung Wan towards Kennedy Town Island line transfer at Central Admiralty towards Chai Wan Proposed Tamar Terminus Tung Chung line North Island line Kowloon towards Tung Chung
Route map to Kowloon 1 3 L2 2 4 L4
Location
Hong Kong Location within the MTR system

The station is connected to Central Station by a pedestrian subway. The walk between the two stations typically takes three to six minutes. The tunnels, which cross under Connaught Road Central, are equipped with moving walkways. Hong Kong Station provides an in-town check-in service for flights departing Hong Kong International Airport and free shuttle bus services to most major hotels in the Central and Wan Chai areas.

History

Platform 1 (Airport Express)

Platform 4 (Tung Chung line)

Built as part of the Airport Railway project of the Airport Core Programme, Hong Kong Station sits on land reclaimed from Victoria Harbour in the early 1990s. The construction contract (numbered 501) was awarded to Japanese contractor Aoki Corporation and began on 12 June 1995.[1][2]

The station was designed by the Hong Kong office of Arup Associates in collaboration with Rocco Design Architects and Ove Arup and Partners.[3][4][5] The engineering company Meinhardt Group designed the building services while Davis Langdon and Seah were cost consultants.[3]

Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa formally opened the Airport Railway by unveiling a plaque in the Hong Kong Station concourse on 21 June 1998. The station opened for passenger service with the Tung Chung Line on 22 June 1998.[6] Airport Express service began on 6 July 1998, the same day the new Chek Lap Kok Airport opened.

Overrun tunnel

The Airport Railway Extended Overrun Tunnel, envisaged to be 500 metres upon completion, would extend the Tung Chung line and Airport Express tracks to the east of Hong Kong station. Such a tunnel would allow trains to change tracks at a crossover east of the station, rather than using the current crossover west of the station, thereby speeding up train turnaround times and increasing the overall capacity of the rail lines by allowing more trains to be run.

In 2011, under the Central Reclamation Phase III project, a 40-metre section of the tunnel was built. The remaining 460-metre section of the tunnel, along with a new ventilation building near Tamar Park, was proposed in 2020. At that time, it was anticipated that the tunnel would be commissioned in 2032.[7]

Station layout

-	Overlying properties	Exits IFC Mall, One ifc, Two ifc Footbridge to Central Mid-levels escalator system, Star Ferry Pier
G	Airport Express Check-in	Exits, Customer Service, MTRShops, Washrooms Vending machines, Automatic teller machines Luggage check-in Carpark, Drop-off area
L1 Shops	Shops	Shops, vending machine Subway to carpark, escalators to Tung Chung Line concourse
L2 Platforms	Side platform, not in service
	Platform 2	← No service, reserved platform
	Platform 1	←      Airport Express towards Airport and AsiaWorld–Expo (Kowloon)
	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Airport Express Concourse	Exits, Customer Service, MTRShops, Washrooms Hang Seng Bank, vending machines, ATMs Taxi Stand, Airport Express shuttle buses
	Douglas Street Concourse	Exit C, Customer Service
L3	Tung Chung Line Concourse	Customer Service, MTRShops Vending machines, ATMs Octopus card promotion machine
	Interchange passageway	Interchange passageway to Douglas Street Concourse and Central Station
L4 Platforms	Platform 4	←      Tung Chung line towards Tung Chung (Kowloon)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left or right
	Platform 3	←      Tung Chung Line towards Tung Chung (Kowloon)

Although two Airport Express platforms have been constructed, only Platform 1 is in use. For the convenience of passengers, a taxi rank and a hotel shuttle service are provided on the same level once the passenger has exited through the gates.[8]

The Tung Chung Line and Airport Express are located considerably far away from each other. The Tung Chung Line concourse is located one level below the Airport Express platform. There, passengers have to take an escalator or elevator down one more level to reach the Tung Chung Line trains.[8]

In July 2007, MTR installed two "Self-service Point" machines, for the first time in Hong Kong, at the Tung Chung Line platform. These unmanned machines help resolve passengers' issues such as having lost the ticket or being unable to use the Octopus card to exit. They also have a visual conference system so that the staff can assist passengers remotely.[9]

Entrances and exits

• A1/A2: Two IFC [10]
• B1/B2: Exchange Square I/II[10]
• C: Douglas Street[10]
• D: Exchange Square III[10]
• E1/E2: One IFC [10]
• F: IFC Mall[10]

Transport connections

Bus routes

These bus routes provide a direct connection to Hong Kong Station. All bus routes that are prefixed by a capital M terminate at the Airport Express station. The ones not prefixed by a capital M stop close by at either Exchange Square or Hong Kong Station Public Transport Interchange.[10]

Exchange Square Bus Terminus (Exit D)[10]

• to the Peak: 15
• to Stanley: 6 series, 260 and 66
• to Lei Tung/Ap Lei Chau: 91
• to Hong Sing Garden: 690
• to Cyberport: 30X
• to South Horizons: 590

Hong Kong Station Bus Terminus (Under Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong and ifc mall)[10]

• to Laguna City: 621
• to Ma On Shan Town Centre: 681
• to Sheung Shui: 673, 373

References

1. "List of Current Contracts as at 31/12/96". Hong Kong Airport Core Programme. Hong Kong Government. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
2. Wallis, Keith (13 June 1995). "Fined builder in $4b contract". South China Morning Post. p. 3.
3. Pearce, Greg; Mercer, Stuart; Powell, Graham; Tan, Rodney (20 March 2000). Arup: Hong Kong Station. Edition Axel Menges. ISBN 3930698390.
4. "Hong Kong Station". Arup Associates. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
5. "IFC and Hong Kong Station". Rocco Design Architects Limited. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
6. Ng, Kang-chung (23 June 1998). "New line hiccups its way into service". South China Morning Post. p. 6.
7. "Tung Chung Line Extension" (PDF). Legislative Council Panel on Transport. April 2020.
8. "Hong Kong Station layout" (PDF). MTR Corporation. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
9. "MTR News release: Self-service Point to assist passengers; number 041/07" (PDF) (in Chinese). MTR. 19 July 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
10. "Hong Kong Station street map" (PDF). MTR Corporation. Retrieved 26 April 2015.