Tsuen Wan line
| File:MTR Tsuen Wan Line icon.svg Line color emblem | |
| Company type | Rapid transit |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transport |
| Founded | May 10, 1982 |
| Headquarters | Hong Kong , Hong Kong |
Area served | Hong Kong |
| Products | Rail transport services |
| Website | www |
The Tsuen Wan line () is one of the ten lines that make up Hong Kong's MTR rapid transit system, identified by the color Red on official transit maps.
Comprising 16 stations, this line extends from Central on Hong Kong Island to Tsuen Wan station located in the New Territories. The entire trip along the line typically requires about 35 minutes.
Functioning as a vital cross-harbour route through Kowloon, it serves heavily populated districts such as Sham Shui Po and Kwai Chung, resulting in substantial daily ridership.
Construction
As the second of the original trio of MTR lines, the Tsuen Wan line initially featured a New Territories segment with different station names and construction plans. The initial design proposed a terminus further west than the current Tsuen Wan station. The original terminus, known as Tsuen Wan West, should not be confused with the present-day Tsuen Wan West station on the Tuen Ma line, which is situated on land reclaimed at a later date. Although originally planned as an underground route within Tsuen Wan, this section was ultimately constructed at ground level.
The finalized alignment was shortened to conclude at Tsuen Wan station. After receiving approval in 1975, construction of the Tsuen Wan Extension commenced, with testing beginning on 1 March 1982. This extension officially opened on 10 May 1982, ahead of schedule by seven and a half months, at a cost of HK$3.9 billion—below the initial budget estimate of HK$4.1 billion.
On 17 May 1982, the segment between Tsuen Wan and Lai King opened, bypassing intermediate stops to Prince Edward and linking with the existing Nathan Road portion of the Kwun Tong line. At first, Prince Edward served solely as an interchange; it became a fully operational station when Sham Shui Po, Cheung Sha Wan, Lai Chi Kok, and Mei Foo stations commenced service one week later.
Several stations underwent name changes from their original designations: Kwai Hing was initially called Kwai Chung; Kwai Fong was labeled Lap Sap Wan (named after a former landfill site); Lai Wan (now Mei Foo) was originally named Lai Chi Kok; Lai Chi Kok was called Cheung Sha Wan; and Cheung Sha Wan was known as So Uk. Both English and Chinese names were revised prior to opening.
Following the debut of the Island line, stations initially named after streets—such as Chater, Waterloo, and Argyle—were renamed Central, Yau Ma Tei, and Mong Kok respectively to better align with their Chinese names. Additionally, Lai Wan adopted the name Mei Foo in both languages.
Originally, Mong Kok station was planned slightly north of where it currently stands, while Sham Shui Po was intended to be located somewhat south before Prince Edward was added as an intermediate stop.
Transfer with Tung Chung line
During construction of the Tung Chung line, Lai King was designated as an interchange station to prevent passengers from having to travel all the way to Hong Kong Island for transfers. To facilitate seamless cross-platform interchange between lines, the northbound tracks of the Tsuen Wan line at Lai King were elevated above the southbound tracks.
The former platform 1 serving Tsuen Wan-bound trains was removed and incorporated into an expanded low-level island platform that allows easy transfer to platform 4 for Hong Kong-bound Tung Chung line services. This newly configured platform opened in 1997, nearly one year prior to the commencement of Tung Chung line operations. South of Lai King station, tracks connect both the Tsuen Wan and Tung Chung lines; this junction represents the sole urban rail link between these two routes.
Integration with former KCR infrastructure
To facilitate network growth, underground passageways were constructed to link Mei Foo and Tsim Sha Tsui stations with the KCR West Rail's Mei Foo and East Tsim Sha Tsui stations. The interchange at Mei Foo commenced operations in 2003, coinciding with the West Rail inauguration, while the Tsim Sha Tsui interchange became operational in 2004 following the extension of the East Rail line.
Timeline
- 1967: Inclusion of Tsuen Wan line in Hong Kong Mass Transport Study
- 1970: Identified in Further Studies as Kong Kow line and Tsuen Wan Branch
- 1977: Approval granted for construction; work began on 1 March 1979
- 16 Dec 1979: Jordan and Tsim Sha Tsui stations opened on Kwun Tong line
- 22 Dec 1979: Waterloo and Argyle stations commenced service on Kwun Tong line
- 12 Feb 1980: Admiralty and Chater stations launched on Kwun Tong line
- 26 Apr 1982: Kwun Tong line divided; partial operation of Tsuen Wan line started
- 17 May 1982: Full-scale operation initiated
- 31 May 1985: Eight stations renamed concurrent with Island line debut
- 23 May 1986: Central station became an interchange following Island line extension
- Jun 1996: Complete upgrade from old to current signalling system implemented
- 2 Jul 1997: Introduction of new high-level platform (platform 1) at Lai King
- 20 Mar 2003: Construction of connecting passageway between Mei Foo and KCR West Rail; walking time approximately eight minutes
- 5 Jan 2004: Arson attack on train to Admiralty injured fourteen passengers; assailant detained
- 24 Oct 2004 & 30 Mar 2005: Additional exits at Tsim Sha Tsui linked to KCR East Rail stations
- 21 Oct 2010: Service disruption for three hours due to overhead cable failure near Yau Ma Tei station, impacting around 280,000 commuters
- 10 Feb 2017: Arson incident aboard train at Tsim Sha Tsui resulted in nineteen injuries; station temporarily closed with bus services substituting; assailant had mental health conditions and passed away months later
- 7 Mar 2018: Train operator lost consciousness; passengers safely transferred to subsequent train after evacuation
- 16 Mar 2019: Unauthorized individual entered tracks between Lai King and Kwai Hing causing delays; arrested by authorities
This timeline outlines significant operational achievements, infrastructure enhancements, and notable incidents affecting service continuity and passenger safety.
Rolling stock
| Rolling stock of MTR Tsuen Wan line | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Manufacturer | Manufacture period | Number of sets | Configuration | Remarks |
| M-Train | Metro-Cammell | 1977-1986 1989-1995 |
35 | A-C+D+B-C+D+C-A | Scheduled for replacement by the new Q-Train |
| Former rolling stock of MTR Tsuen Wan line | |||||
| Model | Manufacturer | Manufacturing period | Sets | Configuration | Remarks |
| K-Train | Rotem and Mitsubishi | 2001-2002 | N/A | A-C-B+B-C+B-C-A | Currently operating on Tseung Kwan O line |
| C-Train | CNR Changchun | 2011 | 1 (A361/A362) | Now deployed on Kwun Tong line | |
Route description
The Tsuen Wan line primarily runs in a north-south direction, mostly beneath the surface. It begins at Central, then crosses Victoria Harbour after Admiralty to reach Tsim Sha Tsui. From there, it follows Nathan Road between Tsim Sha Tsui and Prince Edward, and continues along Cheung Sha Wan Road from Sham Shui Po to Mei Foo, where it surfaces at Lai King.
Between Lai King and Kwai Hing, the line is elevated, with soundproofed tracks installed between Kwai Fong and Kwai Hing to minimize noise disturbance for nearby residents. The route then descends underground again from Kwai Hing through Tai Wo Hau before ending at Tsuen Wan.
Stations such as Tsim Sha Tsui and Admiralty are situated deeper underground due to the harbour crossing and the need for cross-platform transfers with the deep-level Island line at both Admiralty and Central.
List of stations
The following table presents the stations served by the Tsuen Wan line.
Station List
Incidents
On 18 March 2019, a collision occurred between two trains within the crossover section linking Admiralty and Central while testing an updated iteration of the SelTrac train control system, developed by Thales Group’s Canadian division. Although no passengers were present, injuries were sustained by both train drivers. As a result of the accident, Tsuen Wan line services were truncated to Admiralty, with trains returning to Tsuen Wan Depot rather than continuing to Central. Independent probes were initiated by both MTR and Thales. Notably, this signalling technology had previously been implicated in Singapore’s Joo Koon rail accident in 2017. In July 2019, Hong Kong’s Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) identified a software programming fault within the signalling system that caused the ATP system to fail, which ultimately led to the collision.
See also
References
| Line Color | Station Name | Images | Interchange; Connecting transport |
Opening Date | District | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Chinese | |||||||
| Tsuen Wan Line (TWL) | ||||||||
| Central (Previously Chater) |
中環 | towards Kennedy Town Hong Kong: |
12 February 1980 | Central and Western | ||||
| Admiralty | 金鐘 | |||||||
| Tsim Sha Tsui | 尖沙咀 | East Tsim Sha Tsui: |
31 December 1979 | Yau Tsim Mong | ||||
| Jordan | 佐敦 | |||||||
| Yau Ma Tei (Previously Waterloo) |
油麻地 | Template:Rcb | ||||||
| Mong Kok (Previously Argyle) |
旺角 | |||||||
| Prince Edward | 太子 | 10 May 1982 | ||||||
| Sham Shui Po | 深水埗 | rowspan = "3" | 17 May 1982 | Sham Shui Po District | ||||
| Cheung Sha Wan station | 長沙灣 | [[File:Cheung Sha Wan Station 2019 03 part2.jpg ]100px]] | ||||||
| Lai Chi Kok station | 荔枝角 | [[File:Lai Chi Kok Station 2020 10 part1.jpg ]100px]] | ||||||
| 'Mei Foo station (Previously Lai Wan) |
美孚 | [[File:MTR MEF (10).JPG ]100px]] | ||||||