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Modified Initial System

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"Modified Initial System" route map

The Modified Initial System refers to the railway project and the first line of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) which ran between Kwun Tong station in New Kowloon and Chater station (the eastern part of Central station since 1985) in Victoria City on Hong Kong Island. It was the first rapid transit rail line in the territory.

History

In early 1975, the Mass Transit Steering Group was replaced by the Mass Transport Provisional Authority, which held more executive powers.[1] It announced that the Initial System would be reduced to 15.6 kilometres (9.7 mi) and renamed the "Modified Initial System". Plans for a single contract were abandoned in favour of 25 engineering contracts and 10 electrical and mechanical contracts. On 7 May 1975 the Legislative Council of the territory passed legislation setting up the government-owned Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC) to replace the Mass Transport Provisional Authority.[2][3][4]

Construction of the Modified Initial System (which comprises the northern/eastern part of the Kwun Tong line and the southern part of the Tsuen Wan line) commenced in November 1975. The northern section was completed on 30 September 1979 and was opened on 1 October 1979 by the Governor, Sir Murray MacLehose,[5] who entered the driving cabin and ceremonially pressed the button to kick-start the first train from Shek Kip Mei. A commemorative ticket was issued.[6] Trains on this route ran from Kwun Tong to Shek Kip Mei in Phase 1, entirely within New Kowloon, from there to Tsim Sha Tsui in Phase 2 in December 1979,[7] extending through Kowloon beneath Nathan Road, and to Chater in the last phase, reaching the City of Victoria across the harbour with two stations, initially in a four-car configuration. The section between Kwun Tong and the midpoint of Choi Hung and Kowloon Bay stations runs on viaducts, and the rest mostly in bored tunnels and cut-and-cover stations,[8][9] except for short sections underneath hills such as Bishop Hill (Wo Chai Shan) near Shek Kip Mei, as well as the tunnel beneath Victoria Harbour.

During its constructions many roads were closed, for example, Chater Road and the entire length of Nathan Road in several stages. The former Supreme Court Building, which later became the home of the territory's Legislative Council and now the Court of Final Appeal, had to be reinforced, and only the façade would go on to be a declared monument.[10] The former General Post Office was demolished and World Wide House was built in its place, atop the Chater and Pedder stations beneath it.

The first train drivers were trained on the London Underground.[5]

A plaque in Charter station commemorating the 1980 opening of the entire Modified Initial System.

The full Modified Initial System was opened on 12 February 1980 by Princess Alexandra, who rode the inaugural train through the immersed tube beneath Victoria Harbour to Chater station, since renamed Central station.[11][12][13] Trains were gradually extended to six cars to accommodate an increase in passenger numbers.

Design and construction

It was designed by a consortium of consultants led by Freeman Fox and Partners. On later extensions to the railway the stations were designed under the supervision of Roland Paoletti, the chief architect at MTR.[14]

Harbour Crossing Tunnel

Main article: Harbour Crossing Tunnel

Between Tsim Sha Tsui and Admiralty is the Harbour Crossing Tunnel, a 1.4-kilometre (1,500 yd) reinforced concrete immersed tube tunnel across Victoria Harbour which construction commenced in 1976. Its deepest point is at 24.24 m (79.5 ft). The binocular sections were constructed in Chai Wan.[15][16][17][18][19] It was the first railway tunnel to cross the Victoria Harbour and also the first subsea railway tunnel in the territory.

Later development

In preparation for the opening of the Tsuen Wan line in May 1982, trains began operating in two sections in April 1982, between Kwun Tong and Waterloo (Yau Ma Tei) stations, and between Chater (Central) and Argyle (Mong Kok) stations respectively. The former would become the Kwun Tong line and labelled green on system maps, and the latter became part of the Tsuen Wan line upon its opening, labelled red. Prince Edward station was added to the north of Argyle station. The Nathan Road corridor and onwards across the harbour to Admiralty remains the busiest stretch of the entire system.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Executive powers for tube Authority". South China Morning Post. 9 February 1974. p. 7.
  2. ^ "Mass transit: 'Ayes' have it". South China Morning Post. 8 May 1975. p. 1.
  3. ^ "Tube: the last legal hurdle is removed". South China Morning Post. 8 May 1975. p. 4.
  4. ^ Mass Transit Railway Modern Tramway & Light Rail Transit April 1980 page 134
  5. ^ a b "Mass transit railway is all set to roll". South China Morning Post. 24 September 1979. p. 18.
  6. ^ "MTR's opening". News File. Television Broadcasts Limited. 2017-01-09. Archived from the original on 2017-01-13. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
  7. ^ "The History". Hong Kong Mass Transit InfoCenter. 27 October 2003. Archived from the original on 7 October 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2007.
  8. ^ MTR Corporation Limited. "Diamond Hill Station and the tunnel connecting to Choi Hung Station under construction".
  9. ^ Geotechnical Engineering Office, Civil Engineering Department, Catalogue of Hong Kong tunnels (up to September 2013) - https://www.cedd.gov.hk/filemanager/eng/content_446/hktunnel_cat.pdf
  10. ^ "The Legislative Council Building". Legislative Council. Archived from the original on 23 November 2011.
  11. ^ Annual Report 1979. Hong Kong: Mass Transit Railway Corporation. 1980.
  12. ^ "MTR Service Update". facebook.com/mtrupdate. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  13. ^ 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".
  14. ^ "Hong Kong – A city on the move". Royal Institute of British Architects. Archived from the original on 24 February 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
  15. ^ 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. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
  16. ^ Lo, Joseph Y C; Tsang, C K; Maunsell AECOM (2008-03-28). "State-of-Art Technology for Immersed Tube Tunnel in Hong Kong and Korea; pp. 46, 47, 51" (PDF). psdas.gov.hk.
  17. ^ Wong, Marcus (2017-05-16). "Underwater tunnels of the Hong Kong MTR". Checkerboard Hill. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
  18. ^ Wong, Marcus (2017-05-16). "Underwater tunnels of the Hong Kong MTR". Checkerboard Hill. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
  19. ^ Morris, Martin; Yang, Morgan W. W.; Tsang, Chor Kin; Hu, Alan Y. M.; Shut, Dunson S. C. (2016-11-01). "An overview of subsea tunnel engineering in Hong Kong". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Civil Engineering. 169 (6): 9–15. doi:10.1680/jcien.15.00073. ISSN 0965-089X.
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