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Coordinates: 22°17′16″N 114°10′20″E / 22.2878°N 114.1721°E / 22.2878; 114.1721
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{{short description|Railway tunnel crossing Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong}}
{{short description|Railway tunnel crossing Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong}}
{{distinguish|Cross-Harbour Tunnel|Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel|}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Expand Chinese|topic=struct|date=September 2021}}
{{Expand language |langcode=zh-tw |otherarticle=香港第一條過海鐵路 ||date=September 2021}}

{{Infobox tunnel
{{Infobox tunnel
| name = Tsuen Wan line immersed tube
| name = Harbour Crossing Tunnel
| image = Plaque in Central Station (MTR). 1980 opening of the MTR.jpg
| image = Plaque in Central Station (MTR). 1980 opening of the MTR.jpg
| image_size =
| image_size =
| alt =
| alt =
| caption = Plaque commemorating the February 1980 opening of the full Modified Initial System
| caption = A plaque in Charter station commemorating the 1980 opening of the entire {{permalink|MTR#Modified Initial System|1049335760|Modified Initial System}}.
| official_name =
| official_name =
| other_name =
| other_name =
| line =
| line =
| location =
| location = [[Victoria Harbour]]
| coordinates = {{coord|22.2878|114.1721|type:landmark_region:HK|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates = {{coord|22.2878|114.1721|type:landmark_region:HK|display=inline,title}}
| os_grid_ref =
| os_grid_ref =
| status = Active
| status = Active
| system = [[Tsuen Wan line]] ([[MTR]])
| system = [[Tsuen Wan line]] ([[MTR]])
| crosses = [[Victoria Harbour]]
| crosses = Victoria Harbour (Chung Mun strait)
| start = [[Tsim Sha Tsui]]
| start = [[Tsim Sha Tsui]]
| end = [[Admiralty, Hong Kong|Admiralty]]
| end = [[Admiralty, Hong Kong|Admiralty]]
Line 25: Line 27:
| traffic = Rail
| traffic = Rail
| character =
| character =
| engineer = Per Hall Consultants
| engineer = Per Hall Consultants{{fact|date=September 2022}}
| construction = [[Kumagai Gumi]]
| construction = [[Kumagai Gumi]]
| length = 1.4 km
| length = 1.4 km
Line 44: Line 46:
| extra =
| extra =
}}
}}
[[Image:HK 金鐘 Admiralty 港鐵站 MTR Station September 2021 SS2 01.jpg|thumb|An entrance/exit of the Admiralty station on the southern end of the tunnel]]
[[Image:Tsim Sha Tsui Station platform.jpg|thumb|The platforms of the Tsim Sha Tsui station on the northern end of the tunnel]]


The [[Tsuen Wan line]] of Hong Kong's [[Mass Transit Railway]] (MTR) system includes a {{convert|1.4|km|yard|abbr=|adj=on|}} [[double track|dual-tracked]], [[reinforced concrete]], [[immersed tube]] railway tunnel across [[Victoria Harbour]], connecting [[Hong Kong Island]] to [[Kowloon]].
The '''Harbour Crossing Tunnel''' is a {{convert|1.4|km|yard|abbr=|adj=on|}} [[double track|dual-track railway]], [[reinforced concrete]], [[immersed tube]] tunnel across [[Victoria Harbour]].


Connecting Kowloon and the City of Victoria in the former [[British overseas territories|British dependent territory]] of Hong Kong, its construction by [[Kumagai Gumi]]<ref>{{Cite news|date=23 December 1993|title=Giant shapes HK|url=https://www.scmp.com/article/56778/giant-shapes-hk|access-date=2021-09-29|newspaper=South China Morning Post|language=en|archive-date=21 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921210100/https://www.scmp.com/article/56778/giant-shapes-hk|url-status=live}}</ref> commenced in 1976.<ref name="workstarts">{{cite news |title=Work starts on MTR tunnel |work=South China Morning Post |date=9 September 1976 |page=6}}</ref>
⚫
==History==
⚫
First proposed as early as 1967<ref name=initial>{{cite report|author=[[Sir Ralph Freeman (1911-1998)|Freeman]], [[Charles Fox (civil and railway engineer)|Fox]][[Hyder Consulting|, Wilbur Smith & Associates]]|title=Hong Kong Mass Transport Study|year=1967}}</ref> in a study commissioned by the Hong Kong government in 1966,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzBdy6w82psC&q=Freeman%2C+Fox%2C+Wilbur+Smith+&pg=PA141 ''Rail Mass Transit for Developing Countries: Proceedings of the Conference Organised by the Institution of Civil Engineers, and Held in London on 9–10 October 1989''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805070120/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mzBdy6w82psC&lpg=PA141&ots=aP5vsZP35d&dq=Freeman%2C%20Fox%2C%20Wilbur%20Smith%20%26%20Associates%20mtr&pg=PA141#v=onepage&q=Freeman,%20Fox,%20Wilbur%20Smith%20&%20Associates%20mtr&f=true |date=5 August 2016 }}, Thomas Telford, 1990, p. 141</ref> it was the first [[railway tunnel]] to cross the Victoria Harbour and also the first [[subsea tunnel|subsea]] railway tunnel in the territory. It was the second [[fixed crossing]] to cross the harbour, after the vehicular [[Cross Harbour Tunnel]] opened in 1972. The stations at the southern and northern ends of the tunnel are, respectively, [[Admiralty station (MTR)|Admiralty]] and [[Tsim Sha Tsui station|Tsim Sha Tsui]].


==Specifications==
Its construction by [[Kumagai Gumi]] commenced in 1976.<ref name="workstarts">{{cite news |title=Work starts on MTR tunnel |work=South China Morning Post |date=9 September 1976 |page=6}}</ref> The 14 tunnel segments, each 100 metres long, were cast in a basin in Chai Wan.<ref name="tubesformtr">{{cite news |last1=Choi |first1=Barry |title=Tubes for MTR's harbour tunnel |work=South China Morning Post |date=26 January 1977 |page=8}}</ref><ref name="morris">{{cite journal |last1=Morris |first1=Martin |last2=Yang |first2=Morgan W. W. |last3=Tsang |first3=Chor Kin |last4=Hu |first4=Alan Y. M. |last5=Shut |first5=Dunson S.C. |title=An overview of subsea tunnel engineering in Hong Kong |journal=Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers |date=November 2016 |volume=169 |issue=6 |pages=9–15 |doi=10.1680/jcien.15.00073 |issn=0965-089X}}</ref><ref name="workstarts"/> The tunnel was designed by Per Hall Consultants under the supervision of Freeman Fox and Partners.<ref name="workstarts"/><ref name="tubesformtr"/> A specially designed barge, constructed for Kumagai Gumi by [[Mitsubishi Heavy Industries]], arrived in Hong Kong in February 1977 to help form the seabed alignment and thereafter lay the tunnel segments into place.<ref name="MTRbarge">{{cite news |title=MTR barge arrives |work=South China Morning Post |date=24 February 1977 |page=1}}</ref>
With its deepest point at {{convert|24.24|m|feet|abbr=on}}, the [[immersed tube|binocular section]]s<ref>{{cite web|title=An historical picture showing the pre-cast units of first cross-harbour rail tunnel between Tsim Sha Tsui and Admiralty stations when it was under construction in 1977|url=http://en-gb.facebook.com/mtrhk/posts/10160058633970151|author=MTR Corporation Limited|access-date=1 October 2021|archive-date=6 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106212953/https://en-gb.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fen-gb.facebook.com%2Fmtrhk%2Fposts%2F10160058633970151|url-status=live}}</ref> comprises 14 {{convert|100|metre|adj=on|yard|spell=in}}-long segments cast in a basin in [[Chai Wan]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The State-of-Art Technology for Immersed Tube Tunnel in Hong Kong and Korea|first1=Joseph Y C|last1=Lo|last2=Maunsell AECOM|url=psdas.gov.hk:80/content/doc/2007-1-02/Seminar1_04%2520-%25202007-1-02.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516225441/psdas.gov.hk:80/content/doc/2007-1-02/Seminar1_04%2520-%25202007-1-02.pdf |archive-date=2017-05-16 |access-date=2021-09-29|date=28 March 2008|website=psdas.gov.hk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Lo|last2=Tsang|last3=Maunsell AECOM|first1=Joseph Y C|first2=C K|date=2008-03-28|title=State-of-Art Technology for Immersed Tube Tunnel in Hong Kong and Korea; pp. 46, 47, 51|website=psdas.gov.hk|url=http://www.psdas.gov.hk/content/doc/2007-1-02/Seminar1_04_paper%20-%202007-1-02.pdf#---https://www.scribd.com/document/264532945/Seminar1-04-paper-2007-1-02---https://www.academia.edu/32351466/THE_STATE-OF-ART_TECHNOLOGY_FOR_IMMERSED_TUBE_TUNNEL_IN_HONG_KONG_AND_KOERA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Wong|first=Marcus|date=2017-05-16|title=Underwater tunnels of the Hong Kong MTR|url=https://www.checkerboardhill.com/2017/05/underwater-tunnels-mass-transit-railway-hong-hong/|access-date=2021-09-29|website=Checkerboard Hill|language=en-AU|archive-date=18 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918093011/https://www.checkerboardhill.com/2017/05/underwater-tunnels-mass-transit-railway-hong-hong/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Morris|first1=Martin|last2=Yang|first2=Morgan W. W.|last3=Tsang|first3=Chor Kin|last4=Hu|first4=Alan Y. M.|last5=Shut|first5=Dunson S. C.|date=2016-11-01|title=An overview of subsea tunnel engineering in Hong Kong, chapter 2.2 on p.2|url=https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/10.1680/jcien.15.00073#---https://pdf.zlibcdn.com/dtoken/f2f1c390f873082150ae476a73c0fa8a/jcien.15.00073.pdf---https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/37995287/21st-century-the-university-of-hong-kong---D7d_ceRUUkkJ---https://julac.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/search?query=any,contains,i0%E4%BA%8C%E5%8D%81%E4%B8%80%E4%B8%96%E7%B4%80%E6%96%B0%E6%8C%91%E6%88%B0%20,%20international%20conference%20on%20coastal%20infrastructure%20development&tab=default_tab&search_scope=My%20Institution&sortby=date&vid=HKU&facet=frbrgroupid,include,498377147&offset=0---https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/cr56p602g#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-1074%2C-96%2C3352%2C1904|journal=Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Civil Engineering|volume=169|issue=6|pages=9–15 |doi=10.1680/jcien.15.00073|issn=0965-089X|access-date=28 September 2021|archive-date=29 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929162430/https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/10.1680/jcien.15.00073#---https://pdf.zlibcdn.com/dtoken/f2f1c390f873082150ae476a73c0fa8a/jcien.15.00073.pdf---https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/37995287/21st-century-the-university-of-hong-kong---D7d_ceRUUkkJ---https://julac.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/search?query=any,contains,i0%E4%BA%8C%E5%8D%81%E4%B8%80%E4%B8%96%E7%B4%80%E6%96%B0%E6%8C%91%E6%88%B0%20,%20international%20conference%20on%20coastal%20infrastructure%20development&tab=default_tab&search_scope=My%20Institution&sortby=date&vid=HKU&facet=frbrgroupid,include,498377147&offset=0---https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/cr56p602g|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="tubesformtr">{{cite news |last1=Choi |first1=Barry |title=Tubes for MTR's harbour tunnel |work=South China Morning Post |date=26 January 1977 |page=8}}</ref> A specially designed barge, constructed for Kumagai Gumi by [[Mitsubishi Heavy Industries]], arrived in Hong Kong in February 1977 to help form the seabed alignment and thereafter lay the tunnel segments into place.<ref name="MTRbarge">{{cite news |title=MTR barge arrives |work=South China Morning Post |date=24 February 1977 |page=1}}</ref>

⚫
==History==
⚫
First proposed as early as 1967<ref name=initial>{{cite report|author=[[Sir Ralph Freeman (1911-1998)|Freeman]], [[Charles Fox (civil and railway engineer)|Fox]][[Hyder Consulting|, Wilbur Smith & Associates]]|title=Hong Kong Mass Transport Study|year=1967}}</ref> in a study commissioned by [[British Hong Kong#Government|the government]] in 1966,<ref>[https://books.google.co.uk//books?id=mzBdy6w82psC&q=Freeman%2C+Fox%2C+Wilbur+Smith+&pg=PA141 ''Rail Mass Transit for Developing Countries: Proceedings of the Conference Organised by the Institution of Civil Engineers, and Held in London on 9–10 October 1989''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805070120/https://books.google.co.uk//books?id=mzBdy6w82psC&q=Freeman%2C+Fox%2C+Wilbur+Smith+&pg=PA141 |date=5 August 2016 }}, Thomas Telford, 1990, p. 141</ref> it was the first [[railway tunnel]] to cross the Victoria Harbour and also the first [[subsea tunnel|subsea]] railway tunnel in the territory. It was the second [[fixed crossing]] to cross the harbour, after the vehicular [[Cross Harbour Tunnel]] opened in 1972 as part of the territory's [[Route 1 (Hong Kong)|Route 1]]. The pair of stations on both ends of the tunnel are, respectively, [[Tsim Sha Tsui station|Tsim Sha Tsui]] and [[Admiralty station (MTR)|Admiralty]]. To the north of Tsim Sha Tsui is a [[cut-and-cover]] and [[tunnel boring machines|bored]] tunnel through Kowloon beneath [[Nathan Road]] towards its junction with [[Boundary Street]] and onwards through [[Bishop Hill, Hong Kong|Bishop Hill]] to {{stn|Shek Kip Mei}}.


The structural completion of the tunnel was marked on 26 March 1979 by a celebratory walk-through and breaking-open of a barrel of [[sake]].<ref name="saketoasts">{{cite news |title=Sake toasts tube tunnel |work=South China Morning Post |date=27 March 1979 |page=1}}</ref>
The structural completion of the tunnel was marked on 26 March 1979 by a celebratory walk-through and breaking-open of a barrel of [[sake]].<ref name="saketoasts">{{cite news |title=Sake toasts tube tunnel |work=South China Morning Post |date=27 March 1979 |page=1}}</ref>


Upon its opening in 1980, the tunnel was part of the [[MTR#Modified Initial System|Modified Initial System]] of the territory's [[Mass Transit Railway|MTR]]. The full Modified Initial System was opened on 12 February 1980 by [[Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy|Princess Alexandra]]. She also rode the inaugural train through the immersed tube beneath [[Victoria Harbour]] to [[Chater station]], which was renamed Central station in 1985.<ref name="1979annualreport">{{cite book |title=Annual Report 1979 |date=1980 |publisher=Mass Transit Railway Corporation |location=Hong Kong}}</ref> In 1982 the tunnel became part of the network's [[Tsuen Wan line]].
Upon its opening in 1980, it was part of the {{permalink|MTR#Modified Initial System|1049335760|Modified Initial System}} of the territory's [[Mass Transit Railway|MTR]]. The full Modified Initial System was opened on 12 February 1980 by [[Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy|Princess Alexandra]], a cousin of [[Queen Elizabeth II]]. She also rode the inaugural train through the immersed tube beneath [[Victoria Harbour]] to [[Chater station]], which was renamed Central station in 1985.<ref name="1979annualreport">{{cite book |title=Annual Report 1979 |date=1980 |publisher=Mass Transit Railway Corporation |location=Hong Kong}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/mtrupdate/posts/237583676330039|title=MTR Service Update|website=facebook.com/mtrupdate|access-date=8 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb|URL=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvIiMMfI0as|title=回顧1980年過海地鐵首通車雅麗珊郡主開乘塔首班車經典直擊 - 新聞掏寶|date=15 July 2022|author=TVB News}}</ref> In 1982 the tunnel became part of the network's [[Tsuen Wan line]], when this new line took over the southernmost part of the Modified Initial System.

==Patronage==
{{expand section|date=September 2021|reason=To expand with more recent development such as Michael Tien's trials and subsequent remarks, pphpd figures, capacity used during morning peaks, and controversies around number of passengers for each 10 square feet area.}}
It has been heavily used in terms of ridership as soon as it entered service. Between 1988 and 1993, a surcharge was imposed on passengers through the tunnel along with Jordan and Tsim Sha Tsui on the "Nathan Road corridor" in the morning peak on weekdays<ref>{{Cite web|date=12 August 1993|title=MTR passengers face Nathan Rd surcharge|url=https://www.scmp.com/article/40165/mtr-passengers-face-nathan-rd-surcharge|access-date=2021-09-29|website=South China Morning Post|language=en|archive-date=28 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928131322/https://www.scmp.com/article/40165/mtr-passengers-face-nathan-rd-surcharge|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=8 April 1993|title=MTR to drop rush-hour surcharge|url=https://www.scmp.com/article/25242/mtr-drop-rush-hour-surcharge|access-date=2021-09-29|website=South China Morning Post|language=en|archive-date=28 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928131354/https://www.scmp.com/article/25242/mtr-drop-rush-hour-surcharge|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=23 March 1993|title=Pressure on MTR to cut prices|url=https://www.scmp.com/article/23164/pressure-mtr-cut-prices|access-date=2021-09-29|website=South China Morning Post|language=en|archive-date=28 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928131344/https://www.scmp.com/article/23164/pressure-mtr-cut-prices|url-status=live}}</ref> in order to bring the [[pphpd]] level under 75,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr87-88/english/lc_sitg/hansard/h880427.pdf|website=Legislative Council|title=Hansard|date=27 April 1988|access-date=28 September 2021|archive-date=31 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031225756/https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr87-88/english/lc_sitg/hansard/h880427.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Passengers were encouraged to use the [[Eastern Harbour Crossing]] (EHC), opened in 1989 to connect Kwun Tong and Quarry Bay stations of the MTR. Fare adjustment machines were installed along the passageways between the two levels of platforms at Quarry Bay, the interchange station between the [[Kwun Tong line|Kwun Tong]] and [[Island line (MTR)|Island]] lines, to identify passengers who took the EHC to cross the harbour. The [[Transport Department]], under the [[Transport and Housing Bureau#History|Transport Branch]], also commissioned [[Kowloon Motor Bus|KMB]] to operate {{ill|Cross-Harbour Bus Route 300|lt=a new bus route, numbered 300|zh|過海隧道巴士300線}}, through the neighbouring [[Cross-Harbour Tunnel]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=九巴新綫&nbsp;波霸剪綵 繪上芳容&nbsp;吸引乘客|date=1991-05-14|url=https://mmis.hkpl.gov.hk/en/coverpage/-/coverpage/view?_coverpage_WAR_mmisportalportlet_ref&#61;LPEC03&p_r_p_-1078056564_c&#61;QF757YsWv58JCjtBMMIqohWUZ3uuiE/t&_coverpage_WAR_mmisportalportlet_log&#61;Y&tabs1&#61;FILE_DOWNLOAD|access-date=2021-09-29|website=Urban Council Public Libraries|last=[[Wah Kiu Yat Po]]|language=yue|archive-date=28 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928131311/https://mmis.hkpl.gov.hk/en/coverpage/-/coverpage/view?_coverpage_WAR_mmisportalportlet_ref=LPEC03&p_r_p_-1078056564_c=QF757YsWv58JCjtBMMIqohWUZ3uuiE%2Ft&_coverpage_WAR_mmisportalportlet_log=Y&tabs1=FILE_DOWNLOAD|url-status=live}}</ref> The MTR service across Eastern Harbour Crossing would go on to be congested too in the mid-1990s.<ref>{{Cite web|date=18 February 1994|title=MTR safety fears over KCR freeze|url=https://www.scmp.com/article/63385/mtr-safety-fears-over-kcr-freeze|access-date=2021-09-29|website=South China Morning Post|language=en|archive-date=29 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929162429/https://www.scmp.com/article/63385/mtr-safety-fears-over-kcr-freeze|url-status=live}}</ref>


== See also==
==See also==
* [[Victoria Harbour crossings#MTR|Victoria Harbour crossings § MTR]]
* [[Victoria Harbour crossings#MTR|Victoria Harbour crossings § MTR]]
* [[List of tunnels in Hong Kong#Railway tunnels|List of tunnels in Hong Kong § Railway tunnels]]
* [[List of tunnels in Hong Kong#Railway tunnels|List of tunnels in Hong Kong § Railway tunnels]]
* [[1980s in Hong Kong]]
* [[1980s in Hong Kong]]


== References ==
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Reflist|2}}


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|structure=Tunnel crossings
|structure=Tunnel crossings
|place=[[Victoria Harbour]]
|place=[[Victoria Harbour]]
|bridge=Tsuen Wan line
|bridge=Harbour Crossing Tunnel
|upstream='''[[Airport Core Programme#Airport Railway|Airport Railway]] immersed tube''' <br />[[Airport Express (MTR)|Airport Express]] and [[Tung Chung line]]
|upstream='''[[Airport Core Programme#Airport Railway|Western Immersed Tube]]''' <br />[[MTR]] [[Airport Express (MTR)|Airport Express]] and [[Tung Chung line]] between [[Hong Kong station|Hong Kong]] and [[Kowloon station (MTR)|Kowloon]] stations
|upstream text=West
|upstream text=West
|downstream='''[[Cross-Harbour Tunnel]]'''<br />[[Route 1 (Hong Kong)|Route 1]]
|downstream='''[[Cross-Harbour Tunnel]]'''<br />[[Route 1 (Hong Kong)|Route 1]] between [[Canal Road Flyover]] and [[Hong Chong Road]]
|downstream text=East
|downstream text=East
}}
}}
{{Victoria Harbour}}
{{Victoria Harbour}}

{{tunnel-stub}}
{{HongKong-rail-transport-stub}}
{{HongKong-struct-stub}}

Revision as of 06:19, 15 April 2023

Not to be confused with Cross-Harbour Tunnel or Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel.

Harbour Crossing Tunnel
A plaque in Charter station commemorating the 1980 opening of the entire Modified Initial System.
Overview
LocationVictoria Harbour
Coordinates22°17′16″N 114°10′20″E / 22.2878°N 114.1721°E / 22.2878; 114.1721
StatusActive
SystemTsuen Wan line (MTR)
CrossesVictoria Harbour (Chung Mun strait)
StartTsim Sha Tsui
EndAdmiralty
Operation
ConstructedKumagai Gumi
Opened12 February 1980; 44 years ago (1980-02-12)
OwnerMTR Corporation
OperatorMTR Corporation
TrafficRail
Technical
Design engineerPer Hall Consultants[citation needed]
Length1.4 km
No. of tracksDouble
Track gauge1,432 mm (4 ft 8+3⁄8 in)
Electrified1.5 kV DC
An entrance/exit of the Admiralty station on the southern end of the tunnel
The platforms of the Tsim Sha Tsui station on the northern end of the tunnel

The Harbour Crossing Tunnel is a 1.4-kilometre (1,500 yd) dual-track railway, reinforced concrete, immersed tube tunnel across Victoria Harbour.

Connecting Kowloon and the City of Victoria in the former British dependent territory of Hong Kong, its construction by Kumagai Gumi[1] commenced in 1976.[2]

Specifications

With its deepest point at 24.24 m (79.5 ft), the binocular sections[3] comprises 14 one-hundred-metre (110 yd)-long segments cast in a basin in Chai Wan.[4][5][6][7][8] A specially designed barge, constructed for Kumagai Gumi by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, arrived in Hong Kong in February 1977 to help form the seabed alignment and thereafter lay the tunnel segments into place.[9]

History

First proposed as early as 1967[10] in a study commissioned by the government in 1966,[11] it was the first railway tunnel to cross the Victoria Harbour and also the first subsea railway tunnel in the territory. It was the second fixed crossing to cross the harbour, after the vehicular Cross Harbour Tunnel opened in 1972 as part of the territory's Route 1. The pair of stations on both ends of the tunnel are, respectively, Tsim Sha Tsui and Admiralty. To the north of Tsim Sha Tsui is a cut-and-cover and bored tunnel through Kowloon beneath Nathan Road towards its junction with Boundary Street and onwards through Bishop Hill to Shek Kip Mei.

The structural completion of the tunnel was marked on 26 March 1979 by a celebratory walk-through and breaking-open of a barrel of sake.[12]

Upon its opening in 1980, it was part of the Modified Initial System of the territory's MTR. The full Modified Initial System was opened on 12 February 1980 by Princess Alexandra, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. She also rode the inaugural train through the immersed tube beneath Victoria Harbour to Chater station, which was renamed Central station in 1985.[13][14][15] In 1982 the tunnel became part of the network's Tsuen Wan line, when this new line took over the southernmost part of the Modified Initial System.

Patronage

It has been heavily used in terms of ridership as soon as it entered service. Between 1988 and 1993, a surcharge was imposed on passengers through the tunnel along with Jordan and Tsim Sha Tsui on the "Nathan Road corridor" in the morning peak on weekdays[16][17][18] in order to bring the pphpd level under 75,000.[19] Passengers were encouraged to use the Eastern Harbour Crossing (EHC), opened in 1989 to connect Kwun Tong and Quarry Bay stations of the MTR. Fare adjustment machines were installed along the passageways between the two levels of platforms at Quarry Bay, the interchange station between the Kwun Tong and Island lines, to identify passengers who took the EHC to cross the harbour. The Transport Department, under the Transport Branch, also commissioned KMB to operate a new bus route, numbered 300 [zh], through the neighbouring Cross-Harbour Tunnel.[20] The MTR service across Eastern Harbour Crossing would go on to be congested too in the mid-1990s.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Giant shapes HK". South China Morning Post. 23 December 1993. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Work starts on MTR tunnel". South China Morning Post. 9 September 1976. p. 6.
  3. ^ MTR Corporation Limited. "An historical picture showing the pre-cast units of first cross-harbour rail tunnel between Tsim Sha Tsui and Admiralty stations when it was under construction in 1977". Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  4. ^ Lo, Joseph Y C; Maunsell AECOM (28 March 2008). "The State-of-Art Technology for Immersed Tube Tunnel in Hong Kong and Korea" (PDF). psdas.gov.hk. Archived from [psdas.gov.hk:80/content/doc/2007-1-02/Seminar1_04%2520-%25202007-1-02.pdf the original] (PDF) on 16 May 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2021. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  5. ^ Lo, Joseph Y C; Tsang, C K; Maunsell AECOM (28 March 2008). "State-of-Art Technology for Immersed Tube Tunnel in Hong Kong and Korea; pp. 46, 47, 51" (PDF). psdas.gov.hk.
  6. ^ Wong, Marcus (16 May 2017). "Underwater tunnels of the Hong Kong MTR". Checkerboard Hill. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
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  8. ^ Choi, Barry (26 January 1977). "Tubes for MTR's harbour tunnel". South China Morning Post. p. 8.
  9. ^ "MTR barge arrives". South China Morning Post. 24 February 1977. p. 1.
  10. ^ Freeman, Fox, Wilbur Smith & Associates (1967). Hong Kong Mass Transport Study (Report).{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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  15. ^ TVB News (15 July 2022). "回顧1980年過海地鐵首通車雅麗珊郡主開乘塔首班車經典直擊 - 新聞掏寶".
  16. ^ "MTR passengers face Nathan Rd surcharge". South China Morning Post. 12 August 1993. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  17. ^ "MTR to drop rush-hour surcharge". South China Morning Post. 8 April 1993. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  18. ^ "Pressure on MTR to cut prices". South China Morning Post. 23 March 1993. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Hansard" (PDF). Legislative Council. 27 April 1988. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
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  21. ^ "MTR safety fears over KCR freeze". South China Morning Post. 18 February 1994. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
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