Tai Lam Tunnel
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|
 | |
|---|---|
| Part of Route 3 (Country Park Section) | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained by Highways Department | |
| Length | 3.8 km (2.4 mi) |
| History | Built 1998 |
| Major junctions | |
| South end | Ting Kau |
| North end | Kam Tin (near Ma On Kong) |
| Location | |
| Country | China |
| Special administrative region | Hong Kong |
| Highway system | |
Tai Lam Tunnel (Chinese: 大欖隧道), running along Tsing Long Highway, is part of Route 3 Country Park Section (R3CPS) and is a transport link between Kowloon and the Northwest New Territories.
Tai Lam Tunnel was constructed to ease traffic congestion at Tuen Mun Road and Castle Peak Road, and to link traffic directly from New Territories to urban areas of Kowloon, the Hong Kong International Airport and the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals. Located adjacent to the boundary crossings of Lok Ma Chau and Shenzhen Bay, it connects smoothly with Shenzhen and Guangzhou for serving both cross-boundary passenger services and cargo logistics.
Toll Area
Tai Lam Tunnel is a 3.8 km (2.4 mi) dual 3-lane tunnel. The total length of the R3CPS (the tolled area) is 10.1 km (6.3 mi).
The tolled area, with two entrances/exits at the south end, Ting Kau Bridge and Tuen Mun Road at Ting Kau, crosses Tai Lam Country Park to its north end at Pat Heung.
Located at Pat Heung and about 1 km (0.62 mi) from the north tunnel portal, the toll plaza consists of 22 tollbooths, 16 of which are for manual tolls and 6 are Autotoll lanes.
Construction and Operation
Tai Lam Tunnel is a Build-Operate-Transfer (B.O.T) project with a franchise period of 30 years (including construction period).[citation needed] Its total construction cost was HK$7.25 billion.[citation needed] Construction on Tai Lam Tunnel started in late May 1995[citation needed] and was officially opened to traffic on 25 May 1998[1] to match with the opening of the new Hong Kong International Airport.
The designed traffic capacity of Tai Lam Tunnel is 140,000 vehicles per day.[citation needed] In 2011, the average daily traffic was over 52,000 vehicles.[1]
According to the statistics from Transport Department, Tai Lam Tunnel has excellent safety records. In 2011, the accident rate per million vehicle-km was just 0.07.[2]
Tunnel tolls
| Category | Vehicle | Standard toll (HK$) | Concessionary toll (current)[3][4] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Motorcycle | 60 | 20 |
| 2 | Private car | 65 | 36 |
| Taxi | |||
| 3 | Private light bus | 180 | 100 |
| 4 | Light goods vehicle (less than 5.5 tonnes) | 180 | 38 |
| 5 | Medium goods vehicle (5.5 to 24 tonnes) | 190 | 43 |
| 6 | Heavy goods vehicle (more than 24 tonnes) | 210 | 48 |
| 7 | Single-decker bus | 180 | 115 |
| 8 | Double-decker bus | 195 | 135 |
| Additional axle | 70 | Free |
Environmental Protection and Sustainable Measures
 |
To protect the landscape of Tai Lam Country Park, the Tunnel Company carried out many environmental protection initiatives, including the employment of a tunnel to passing through the country park area and the keen preservation of vegetation and wild animals. One of the tasks was compensatory tree planting at a rate of three replacement saplings for each tree felled. In total, 250,000 trees, 150,000 shrubs and 60,000 climbing plants were planted during the construction period.
As to conservation of wildlife, there is a small tunnel constructed at the south portal of Tai Lam Tunnel, mainly for small wild animals in this area to commute in the valley freely, allowing them to maintain their habituation.
To keep in pace with technology development, Tai Lam Tunnel has gradually replaced traditional light bulbs with Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). The indicator lighting signals inside the tunnel tubes and at the toll plaza as well as the illuminating system in the administration building have thus been replaced for reducing carbon emission.
Bus Routes travelling through Tai Lam Tunnel
| Route | Details | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 68M | Yuen Long (West) | ↔ | Tsuen Wan Railway Station | |
| 68X | Hung Shui Kiu (Hung Yuen Road) | ↔ | Jordan (To Wah Road) | |
| 69M | Tin Shui | ↔ | Kwai Fong Railway Station | |
| 69X | Tin Shui | ↔ | Jordan (To Wah Road) | |
| 69P | Tin Yiu | → | Kwai Fong Railway Station | Weekdays morning peak hours only |
| 251M | Sheung Tsuen | ↔ | Tsing Yi Railway Station | |
| 263M | Fu Tai Estate | ↔ | Tsing Yi Railway Station | |
| 264M | Tin Yan Estate | ↔ | Tsing Yi Railway Station | |
| 265B | Tin Heng Estate | ↔ | Mong Kok (Park Avenue) | |
| 265M | Tin Heng Estate | ↔ | Lai Yiu | |
| 265P | Tin Yan Estate | → | Lai Yiu | Weekdays morning peak hours only |
| 268B | Long Ping Railway Station | ↔ | Hung Hom Ferry Concourse | |
| 268C | Long Ping Railway Station | ↔ | Kwun Tong Ferry | |
| 269B | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | ↔ | Hung Hom Ferry Concourse | |
| 269C | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | ↔ | Kwun Tong Ferry | |
| 269D | Tin Fu | ↔ | Lek Yuen | |
| 269M | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | ↔ | Cho Yiu | |
| 279X | Luen Wo Hui | ↔ | Tsing Yi Railway Station | |
| N269 | Tin Tsz | ↔ | Mei Foo | Night service |
| 967 | Tin Yan | ↔ | Admiralty (West) | |
| 967X | Tin Yan | ↔ | Causeway Bay (Moreton Terrace) | Weekdays peak hours only |
| 968 | Yuen Long (West) | ↔ | Causeway Bay (Tin Hau) | |
| 968X | Ma Wang Road (Shan Shui House)／Yuen Long (West) | ↔ | Quarry Bay (King's Road) | Weekdays peak hours only |
| 969 | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | ↔ | Causeway Bay (Moreton Terrace) | |
| 969A | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | ↔ | Admiralty／Wan Chai | Weekdays peak hours only |
| 969C | Quarry Bay | → | Tin Chung Court | Weekdays evening peak hours only |
| 969P | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | → | Causeway Bay (Moreton Terrace) | Weekdays morning peak hours only |
| N969 | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | ↔ | Causeway Bay (Moreton Terrace) | Night service |
| E34 | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | ↔ | Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) | |
| E34S | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | ↔ | Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) | Morning peak hours only |
See also
External links
References
- ^ a b "Monthly Traffic and Transport Digest July 2012 - Tunnel, Lantau Link and Vehicular Ferry Services Statistics: Tai Lam Tunnel" (PDF). Transport Department of the Government of Hong Kong. July 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ "Road traffic accidents in tunnels by tunnel and severity 2011" (PDF). Transport Department of the Government of Hong Kong. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ "Route 3 (CPS) Company Limited - Tolls and Other Fees". Route 3 (CPS) Company Limited. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ "Transport Department - Tunnels and Bridges". Transport Department of the Government of Hong Kong. Retrieved 3 November 2012.