West Rail Line

## **West Rail Line** **西鐵綫**

West Rail Line Topographical Route Map

**West Rail Line** was once a heavy rail line in the MTR network, which commenced service on 20 December 2003. This line plies between Tuen Mun and Hung Hom with a distance of 35.7km and 12 stations and has magenta as its route colour. Due to the opening of the Kai Tak to Hung Hom section of the Sha Tin to Central Link Project, West Rail Line has merged with the Tuen Ma Line Phase 1 (formerly Ma On Shan Line) as Tuen Ma Line on 27 June 2021.

The Kowloon Canton Railway Corporation builds and owns the  ****KCR West Rail**** (or West Rail), which its name was changed to **West Rail Line** after the MTR-KCR merger.

## History

As early as 1970, there were many voices in the community suggesting that the authorities should build a railway linking the northwest New Territories and Kowloon urban areas as soon as possible to facilitate the development of the new towns of Tuen Mun, Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wai. In 1987, the Northwest Railway mainly had the following four plans:

1. From Tsuen Wan via Yuen Long to Tuen Mun
2. From Tsuen Wan along Castle Peak Road via Tuen Mun to Yuen Long, roughly balanced with Tuen Mun Road
3. Extend the  **KCR Light Rail** from Yuen Long Station to Tai Wo Station to connect to the Kowloon-Canton Railway.
4. Extend the  **KCR Light Rail** from Yuen Long Station to Sheung Shui Station or Fanling Station to connect to the Kowloon-Canton Railway.

In fact, the "Second Overall Transport Study" in 1989 had already suggested that the Government should develop the Northwest New Territories railway line in the early 1990s and completed it in the mid-1990s; the "White Paper on Transport Policy" in 1990 did not deny this proposal, but the Government was late. He is reluctant to implement this project.

### Long-Term Planning

See: **Western Corridor Railway**

"Railway Development Research" was launched in 1991 and completed in 1993. The purpose of the study is to assist the Government in designing a blueprint for the development of Hong Kong's future railway network. The study mainly proposes the construction of two important railway corridors, one of which is the "Western Corridor Railway" linking the border with the urban area and passing through the northwest New Territories. It is planned to provide three types of railway services: cross-boundary freight lines, cross-boundary passenger lines, and connecting the northwest New Territories. Suburban passenger lines with urban areas. The study listed this railway system as a priority implementation plan, which should be built in 2001 at the latest, at a cost of about 23 billion yuan at 1992 prices.

The cross-boundary passenger line runs from Lo Wu via Kam Tin to Nam Cheong, West Kowloon, and a shorter branch line is built in Kam Tin to connect to Tin Shui Wai via Yuen Long. Passengers travelling to and from Tuen Mun have to take the  **KCR Light Rail**. The study shows that it is feasible to build a branch line from Tin Shui Wai to Tuen Mun North. With the construction of an interchange station in Tuen Mun North to connect the Light Rail with the Western Corridor Railway, the travel time between Tuen Mun and the urban area will be greatly shortened. However, New Territories West Members of the Legislative Council, a group of Urban Council Members and District Councillors were overwhelmed and signed a request to extend to the Tuen Mun area (such as Siu Hong and Lam Tei)[3]; Tuen Mun city center requires an additional construction cost of 6 billion yuan and affects the passenger volume of the light rail. The study tried to find other more cost-effective options, and the result suggested that a route mainly running on the ground should be built to connect the Tuen Mun Town Centre. However, the route would be subject to land, engineering and environmental constraints, which can be considered when implementing the construction of this branch line in the future.

In December of the following year, the government issued the "Railway Development Strategy", proposing to implement three "Priority railway projects", including the MTR Tseung Kwan O Line, the  **Ma On Shan Rail** (together with the Template:Tsim Sha Tsui Branch Line), and the integration of local passenger, cross-boundary passenger and freight transport All-in-one Western Corridor Railway. The optimized suburban passenger railway connects West Kowloon and Tuen Mun North Siu Hong Court, and can be extended to downtown Tuen Mun in the future. In addition to the intermediate stops in Nanchang and Tsuen Wan West, an interchange station can be set up in Kwai Fong or Mei Foo, which is convenient for passengers to transfer. Take the Tsuen Wan Line, and the West Kowloon Station can facilitate passengers to transfer to the Airport Express.

In 1995, the Government invited the Mass Transit Railway Corporation and the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation to submit proposals for the Western Corridor Railway. The authorities have also requested the KCRC, which may undertake the construction and operation of this railway, to submit preliminary proposals no later than June, and to submit in September Detailed plan. As the authorities intend to complete the Western Corridor Railway by 2001, and there are technical difficulties in extending the railway to the developed Tuen Mun city centre, the railway will terminate at Tuen Mun North. However, based on public demand, KCRC has agreed to study the feasibility of extending the railway to Tuen Mun Town Centre.

On August 18, 1995, a rare accident occurred on Tuen Mun Road. A boulder suddenly rolled down the hillside and hit a small van, which was at the construction site of a widening project near Tai Lam Kok in the direction of Tsuen Wan, causing the death of the van driver; coupled with the strong winds of Typhoon Kent that was affecting Hong Kong, the Highways Department announced on August 31 that a total of five slopes on Tuen Mun Road were potentially dangerous and required immediate repairs. Therefore, the section from Tuen Mun to Siu Lam was temporarily closed from September 1. All traffic lanes in the direction of Tsuen Wan will allow designated vehicles, including buses, to enter the section from Pui To Road to Sham Tseng from September 4, and will not reopen until September 10.

At that time, all bus routes from the urban area to Tuen Mun and Yuen Long went through Tuen Mun Highway. The closure of Tuen Mun Highway made many residents miserable. There were endless voices calling for the authorities to build a railway connection to the urban area as soon as possible, forcing the Hong Kong government to have no choice but to Accelerate the implementation of various planning work of the Western Corridor Railway.

### ****West Rail**** Project Speeds Up

In December 1996, the Government decided to adopt the ****West Rail**** proposal by the Kowloon-Canton Railway, and the domestic passenger line is scheduled to start from West Kowloon to Tuen Mun via Tsuen Wan, Kam Tin, Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wai, and invited the KCRC to be responsible for the construction and operation of the Phase 1 of ****West Rail****, and a series of studies for the electrified double-track railway linking West Kowloon and the North West New Territories to determine the railway alignment and required land. The authorities have also issued a directive authorizing KCRC to complete the design of the ****West Rail**** Local Passenger Line within 14 months and draw up a project agreement.

When the Railway Bill is enacted into law, the necessary planning work will take a year to complete. About 400 graves will be involved in land resumption and demolition work, and the route extending to the centre of Tuen Mun will require the demolition of San Fat Estate. The authorities will have to build Fu Tei Village for rehousing these residents. The railway project is expected to start in mid-1998. The authorities expect to complete the part to Yuen Long by the end of 2002 and the remaining part to Tuen Mun by September 2003. The construction cost is about $56.4 billion. The fare structure is basically based on the length of the journey. Calculated at the price in 1996, the toll for the 31-kilometer local passenger line of the West Rail is expected to be 21 yuan, but the actual fare will not be determined until the West Rail is ready for traffic.

The Government announced the first phase of the West Rail in the Gazette on 25 July and 3 October 1997 in two phases; as for the next phase of the cross-boundary passenger and freight lines, the British Hong Kong Government had to follow up in 1997 Two important tasks, one is to conduct a prudent assessment on the provision of cross-boundary passenger services in Lok Ma Chau, and the other is that the design and decision-making of freight services will involve complicated matters, which may be borne by the Government of the Special Administrative Region in the future, so the authorities will take time to conduct research and seek consensus with the relevant Chinese authorities on some of the assumptions and uncertainties mentioned in the demand forecast in order to keep the project moving forward.

The KCRC received a capital injection of 14.5 billion HKD from the government in April 1998 to prepare for the first phase of the West Rail project. After several years of planning, the construction project of the first phase of the West Rail from Tuen Mun to Nam Cheong Station was approved by the Executive Council on September 15, 1998 and started construction in October. It is expected to be put into service in December 2003, and the estimated cost was 64 billion HKD. KCRC would be responsible for operating and maintaining the railway for the next 50 years. The West Rail will speed up the development of the northwest New Territories and relieve the traffic congestion on the Tuen Mun Road, which causes an annual economic loss of $2 billion HKD.

At the same time as the West Rail project pushes forward, KCRC is also undertaking a $2.3 billion HKD project to expand and improve the existing  **KCR Light Rail** system to provide better services to residents of the Northwest New Territories. The project includes the construction of two new light rail spur lines and four West Rail/Light Rail interchanges in Tin Shui Wai, overhead light rail tracks at various busy interchanges in Tuen Mun, and the installation of a new Light Rail signalling system.

### Industrial Building Removal Incident in Tsuen Wan

Due to the need to build the ****West Rail**** Phase 1, the Government needs to take back some lands enroute. Tenants and owners of a factory building in Tsuen Wan built in 1981 and with 705 flats have received removal notices in July 1999. Some tenants refused to move out due to the compensation amount being too low, leading to a series of protests.

June 1 2000, several tenants occupied the platforms of Sheung Shui Station and Kowloon Tong Station of the  **KCR East Rail**, some even attempted to overemotionally jump onto the tracks. The Secretary for Home Affairs at that time stated that the Government will extend the deadline of takeover for several weeks, leading to some tenants fulfilling orders around the clock. However the Lands Department suddenly took action to take over the building, making the tenants feel helpless. Despite takeover works had finished 2 months after the deadline, the KCRC stated that the ****West Rail**** project could be finished in 2003.

The Government stated that the industrial building must be demolished due to the effects of the ****West Rail**** project on the soil foundation; however, after the commencement of  ****KCR West Rail****, the original site was redesignated into 'Tsuen Wan West Station 7th Zone' Development Area. MTR auctioned the land in 2008, resulting in Cheung Kong Holdings winning the bid. The private housing, City Point, situated at the original location, started residential occupancy in 2015.

### Siemens Incident

In January 2002, a telecommunications system contract worth $287 million for the West Rail project under construction was almost "unfinished". Not only did the KCRC not make a claim, but the CEO, Yeung Kai-yin, made a rare apology, admitting that when the contract was awarded. If the bid price is too low, the KCRC Board will pay an additional 100 million yuan to the contractor Siemens to continue the project, so as not to delay the opening to traffic. The then Director of the Transport Bureau, Ng Wing-fui, and some other board members expressed their reservations in agreeing to the additional funding. The following is not an example.

KCRC chairman Michael Tien Puk-sun admitted that there are 27 supplementary agreements in the 18 contracts of the West Rail project similar to the Siemens case, and an additional 1.536 billion yuan must be paid for this. The board of directors immediately held an emergency meeting and decided to hire Ernst & Young to investigate the incident and explain it to the public; however, James Blake, senior director of the new railway project, said that no one made a mistake in the incident.

Finally, on May 16, 2002, KCRC released the West Rail Siemens Incident Investigation Report, criticizing the senior staff for failing to report to the Board of Directors in a timely manner when they discovered that the West Rail project was delayed, which is regrettable. Chief Executive Yeung Kai-yin, Senior Director of New Railway Engineering James Blake and West Railway Director Tong Si-him even apologized collectively in the Legislative Council and admitted responsibility. Michael Tien Puk-sun pointed out that the three were "arrogant" and "caused procedural errors". He revealed that after the Siemens incident, the board of directors will no longer consider renewing the contract with CEO Yeung Kai-yin, nor will it give priority to hiring retired senior officials to avoid public concern and criticism of KCRC again as a "club for retired senior officials".

### ****West Rail**** prices

The fare policy for the first phase of the ****West Rail**** will be independent of KCRC's existing business, and will be formulated in accordance with prudent business principles, taking into account factors such as public affordability and competition with other means of transport.

On May 23, 2003, the KCRC announced the fare of the West Rail. The fare from Tuen Mun to Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wai is $5.8, which is the same as that of the Light Rail. Passengers of the West Rail can transfer to KCRC buses and Light Rail for free. As for Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai and Nam Cheong Stations, the full fare is 16 HKD. Since the ****West Rail**** cannot directly connect to the urban area, the fare must be similar to that of the bus, and it competes with the advantage of a short journey. KCRC emphasized that the price of 16 HKD for the West Rail is only a 6% return, which was lower than the 7.9% return on financing costs.

In view of the fact that the economic environment has not improved after SARS, the ****West Rail**** will offer a 10% discount, or 14.4 HKD, to help passengers get through the economic downturn. Passengers who take the West Rail to transfer to certain non-cross-harbour bus routes can receive a HK$1 transfer discount, and if they transfer to designated cross-harbour bus routes, they can receive a fare discount of 1.5 HKD. After deducting the discount, taking the West Rail Transit from Yuen Long to Nam Cheong and taking the bus to Central will cost 21.8 HKD, which is 1.1 HKD higher than the bus fare; the time is about 37 minutes, which is 13 minutes faster than the bus. From Yuen Long to Tsim Sha Tsui, including bus transfer, the fare is $17.7, which is $1.2 higher than the bus fare, but saves 23 minutes.

In order to make the ****West Rail**** more competitive, KCRC agreed to provide an additional 10% discount for West Rail passengers on 1 August. The discount will last for a minimum of one year, and the full fare of the West Rail will be further reduced to HK$12.8; Fare for Tuen Mun to Yuen Long is only 5.2 HKD, which is cheaper than the Light Rail . This will encourage light rail passengers to switch to railway travels between Tuen Mun and Template:Yuen Long, so that Light Rail resources can be concentrated on short-distance routes.

The MTR initially refused to offer transfer discounts for West Rail passengers, but later changed its mind. From December 16, 2003, passengers using the MTR Nam Cheong Station and Mei Foo Station can also get a 10% discount on the subway fare. The discount arrangement will be maintained until 2004.

### ****West Rail**** Phase 1 Commences Service

As of January 2003, 91% of the ****West Rail**** project has been completed. It is expected that the railway system will be fully electrified in March, and trial operations will be carried out in June. It is expected to open to revenue service in early September.

However, the opening date of the ****West Rail**** was not up to the requirements due to system debugging, and the opening date was not set until November 2003. KCRC Chairman Michael Tien revealed that the Highways Department and the Transport Department have completed the inspection of each station. It is estimated that the government can complete the gazette process for the opening of the West Rail within this month. In addition, although there is slight vibration during the test run of the train, it does not affect the driving safety. The wheels will be polished as soon as possible to make the train run more smoothly.

After years of ups and downs, the first phase of the  ****KCR West Rail**** from Tuen Mun Station to Nam Cheong Station finally opened to traffic at 2 pm on December 20, 2003. Nearly 300 people lined up at the three entrances and exits of Tuen Mun Station. The first passenger of ****West Rail**** even arrived at 12:00. The first train departed from Tuen Mun to Nam Cheong Station at 2:05 pm. Just as the passengers were celebrating a moment, the train suddenly stopped. About 3 minutes later, the train departed again. The KCRC explained at the time that the delay was caused by the fact that an overhead cable near Tin Shui Wai Station was entangled in a roll of toilet paper and had to send engineering personnel to clean it up.

### Kowloon Southern Link

See: **Kowloon Southern Link**

The Kowloon South Line started construction in 2005. It starts from Nam Cheong Station and terminates at Hung Hom Station through the Template:Tsim Sha Tsui Branch Line, which has already opened in 2004. The total length is 3.8 kilometers, with Austin Station (formerly known as Kowloon West Station) and East Tsim Sha Tsui Station enroute.

When  ****KCR West Rail**** opened to traffic in 2003, with trains running every 3.5 minutes during peak hours. With the opening of the Kowloon Southern Link on August 16, 2009, the West Rail Line was extended from Nam Cheong Station to Hung Hom Station. Headways of train has increased to 3 minutes and the hourly passenger capacity in one direction has increased from 39,900 to 46,900 to cope with the expected increase in passenger numbers.

### Tuen Ma Line

Tuen Ma Line is the Phase 1 project of Sha Tin to Central Link, extending the existing **West Rail Line** from Hung Hom Station eastwards and eventually linking the Ma On Shan Line via the new Sha Tin to Central Link (Tai Wai to Hung Hom Section); this railway project includes the IKK-Trains Reformation Works in order to cope with the daily operation of Tuen Ma Line. **West Rail Line** gradually converted from 7-car operation to 8-car operation from January 2016 to May 2018; due to the platform lengths in Austin Station and Tuen Ma Line Phase 1 stations, the new Tuen Ma Line can only be operated with 8-car trains, but not 9-car train that the **West Rail Line** trains originally designed to expand to.

Ma On Shan Line firstly connected to the new Tai Wai to Kai Tak section of Sha Tin to Central Link, renamed into Tuen Ma Line Phase 1 and commenced service on February 14, 2020. As for the entire Tuen Ma Line, it was fully opened on June 27 2021. After **West Rail Line** and Tuen Ma Line Phase 1 were connected as one, the former two has become history. **West Rail Line** platforms at Hung Hom Station was relocated to the newly-built section on June 20 2021 to facilitate the mixed fleet operations of both lines.

### Records

The  ****KCR West Rail**** Project, of which the 5.5-kilometer Tai Lam Tunnel, extending from Tsuen Wan to Kam Tin, is the longest transportation tunnel in Hong Kong, and was the largest infrastructure project since the new Chek Lap Kok Hong Kong International Airport project. The viaduct connecting Kam Sheung Road Station and Tuen Mun Station, with a total length of more than 13 kilometers, is also the longest bridge structure in Hong Kong. In addition, the Kwai Tsing Tunnel connecting Mei Foo Station and Tsuen Wan West Station is the first to adopt advanced drilling technology for the two-kilometre tunnel.

Other than above, the ****West Rail**** project has also created the following records:

* The first two stations in Hong Kong to be located on the river - Tuen Mun and Siu Hong, and Long Ping Station is also located on the river
* The largest railway depot in Southeast Asia - Pat Heung Depot (covering an area of 32.5 hectares)
* The deepest pile in the world - Long Ping Station (129 metres)
* The longest transportation tunnel in Hong Kong - Tai Lam Tunnel (5.5km)
* The longest viaduct in Hong Kong - Kam Sheung Road Station to Tuen Mun Station (13.4 km in length)
* The longest railway station in Hong Kong - Tin Shui Wai Station (460 metres)
* The world's longest paid transfer channel within a single railway station - Mei Foo Station (400 metres)
* The world's longest platform curtain gate - East Tsim Sha Tsui Station (300 metres)
* The first large-scale engineering project in Hong Kong that requires compensation for wetlands. The Kam Sheung Road section of the West Rail damaged a certain area of wetlands in the Kam Tin River Basin. The KCRC had to relocate the wetlands in accordance with the principle of ecological compensation. The ****West Rail**** Compensation Wetland is located at the bottom of the railway viaduct next to the Kam Tin River, covering an area of about 12 hectares. The wetland relocation project was completed in 2003, and a section of the old Kam Tin River channel was preserved, which also attracted some rare birds and frogs and other animals live here. The West Rail Wetland Compensation Scheme is the first in Hong Kong, and this experience provides an important reference for other wetland redevelopment projects in Hong Kong.

## Service Hours and Timetables

In the early days of the opening of the ****West Rail****, the rush hour headway was 3.5 minutes, and the passenger capacity per hour in one direction reached 39,900; in 2007, there were 18 trains per hour in one direction, and the passenger capacity per hour in one direction was 42,210 people per hour. The Kowloon Southern Link was opened to traffic in 2009, and the West Rail Line was extended from Nam Cheong Station to Hung Hom Station. The frequency of the train was also increased to 3 minutes. During peak hours, there are about 20 one-way departures per hour. During the morning and evening peak hours, passengers can be carried in one direction every hour. Passenger numbers were 46,900 and 40,100 respectively.

Since the end of August 2012, the number of trains on the West Rail Line has increased from 2,963 to 3,151 per week, a total of 188 trains. The frequency of the weekday morning rush hour is 3 minutes, and the weekday evening rush hour frequency has been changed from 4 minutes to 3.5 minutes. As for the off-peak service, it is also increased from a frequency of 6 to 9 minutes to a frequency of 6 to 7 minutes.

Since August 2013, the West Rail Line has added a special train to the Hung Hom direction at Tin Shui Wai during morning rush hours, effectively reducing the passenger volume of the bottle neck section from Kam Sheung Road Station to Tsuen Wan West Station. Beginning in August 2014, the **West Rail Line** will increase by 8 trains on Friday and Saturday from 7:30 pm to 12:00 midnight, so that the frequency can be increased to 5 minutes as needed.

In line with the full opening of the Tuen Ma Line on June 27, 2021, the **West Rail Line** will switch to a new timetable earlier on June 20, and the last train from Hung Hom Station will be delayed to 00:32. The time of each special departure has also been adjusted. Among them, the special departure from East Tsim Sha Tsui to Hung Hom is earlier at 06:01, and the special departures from Tin Shui Wai to Hung Hom are changed to 08:09 and 08:19.

### Special Departures

This timetable only applies before June 20 2021.

 No Service on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays

 06:12,06:19,06:46

 06:04

 07:30-08:35

## Fares

This line is an urban line and uses the same gate area with a unified fare system.

* Children under the age of 12, seniors aged 65 or above, and passengers using personal Octopus cards with "Student Status", "Persons with Disabilities Status" or JoyYou Cards for seniors aged 60 to 64 can enjoy discounted fares.

Passengers can transfer between urban lines without going through a gate, except for transfers between Tsim Sha Tsui and East Tsim Sha Tsui stations.
Passengers who use the same Octopus to transfer via Tsim Sha Tsui Station within 30 minutes will receive a transfer discount. The total Octopus fare is equivalent to the fare from the starting station to the final station.
If passengers use the same MTR City Saver to transfer via Tsim Sha Tsui Station within 30 minutes, only one journey will be deducted in total.
Passengers using one-way tickets who need to transfer at Tsim Sha Tsui Station must purchase a ticket to Tsim Sha Tsui Station first, and then buy another one-way ticket to continue the journey after exiting the gate.
Interchange at Tsim Sha Tsui Station with the QR code of the ticket is also counted as two journeys.
Senior citizens aged 65 or above using Senior Citizen Octopus Cards, JoyYou Card or Personalised Octopus Card, seniors aged 60 to 64 using JoyYou Card, and eligible persons with disabilities using Personalised Octopus Card with "Person with Disability Status" can enjoy each journey Flat rate discount of $2.0, except that the discount is not applicable to the East Rail Line first-class surcharge. If the original discounted fare is less than $2.0, the beneficiary only needs to pay the original discounted fare; and the original full-fare ticket for the elderly aged 60 to 64 using the JoyYou Card is less than $2.0, the beneficiary only needs to pay the original full-fare.
* Passengers can use MTR City Saver to travel on this line between Tsuen Wan West and Hung Hom.
* Passengers with Tuen Mun - Hung Hom Monthly Pass Extra can travel on this line without any charge.
* Passengers with Tuen Mun - Nam Cheong Monthly Pass Extra and Tuen Mun - Nam Cheong Monthly Pass can travel on this line from Nam Cheong and Tuen Mun without any charge.