Admiralty station (MTR)
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Admiralty station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Connections | Bus, public light bus, tram | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Structure type | Underground | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platform levels | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Admiralty station is an MTR station located on Hong Kong Island, in an area often referred to as Admiralty. The station's livery is blue. The station connects the Tsuen Wan Line with the Island Line in cross-platform interchange type. Before the opening of the Tsuen Wan branch line in 1982, it was part of the Kwun Tong Line.
The station is named after HMS Tamar (a place of land now known as the Tamar site), once the headquarters of the Royal Navy in Hong Kong - this, even though HMS Tamar had never actually been the Admiralty. It was built on the former site of the Hong Kong naval dockyards, which was built in 1878 and demolished in the 1970s.
Currently the station is undergoing major expansion for accommodating 2 more metro lines, North South Corridor and South Island Line (East). This will make Admiralty station the first railway hub in Hong Kong providing access to 4 metro services in one single structure.
Development
The Government had given the MTR Corporation first refusal on the 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) site, which was subsequently sold to it in 1976 for around HK$200 million for cash and equity consideration.[1]
The Admiralty Centre, United Centre and Queensway Plaza formed part of development, and sit directly above the station.
Usage
As the primary interchange station for most Tsuen Wan Line and the Island Line riders, Admiralty is heavily congested during rush hours. Currently, Admiralty and North Point are the only cross-platform interchange stations between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island lines in the entire MTR system. Despite trains departing at capacity (every 2.1 minutes), commuters frequently have to board the second or even the third train when interchanging. The situation has deteriorated following fare cuts due to the MTR-KCRC merger.[2]
2004 arson attack
On 5 January 2004, 14 passengers suffered minor injuries when a delusional 55-year-old man ignited a bottle of paint thinner in an Admiralty-bound train from Tsim Sha Tsui. The driver decided to complete the journey and passengers were evacuated from the train in Admiralty.[3] To date it is the only arson attempt in MTR's history.
Future development
The North South Corridor of the Sha Tin to Central Link project and the South Island Line (East) are under development, completing in 2021 and 2016 respectively. The former will allow commuters from the northeast New Territories direct interchange from the East Rail Line, whereas the latter, terminating at Admiralty, will give residents in the Southern District much quicker access to the central business district. A new underground interchange concourse with natural light will be built to the east of the current concourse, taking up one level, allowing passengers to transfer to the new lines, conveniently. The Sha Tin to Central Link will be one level under the interchange concourse, with the South Island Line being directly below it. Exits E1 and E2 are being rebuilt into one eye-catching exit to accommodate the glass roof of the interchange concourse. There will also be a little rooftop garden in the new Admiralty Station. The opening date of the South Island Line was pushed back by the end of 2016 or the beginning of 2017 due to technical problems underneath the deep tunnel on Harcourt Garden.
Timetable
Station layout
There are very wide passageways between the two platforms on each floor; they are also curved platforms with opposite directions. The platforms are in the shape of a trapezium. Because all the platforms are curved and it is a major interchange station, there are large stickers in front of the screen doors with "Mind the gap" text, which can only be found in this station.
Passengers travelling from Eastern District and Wan Chai District can walk across to platform 1 to board the Tsuen Wan Line trains bound for West Kowloon, Kwai Chung and Tsuen Wan. Passengers travelling from West Kowloon, Kwai Chung and Tsuen Wan can walk across to platform 3 to board the Island line trains bound for Chai Wan in Eastern District.
Ground | - | Exits, Public Transport Interchange |
L1 Concourse |
Concourse | Customer Service, MTRShops, Hang Seng Bank |
Vending machines, automatic teller machines | ||
MTR Travel | ||
Student Travel Scheme Office, MTR Lost Property Office | ||
L2 Platforms |
Platform 4 | ← Template:HK-MTR box towards Central (Terminus) |
Platform 3 | Template:HK-MTR box towards Chai Wan (Wan Chai) → | |
L3 Platforms |
Platform 1 | Template:HK-MTR box towards Tsuen Wan (Tsim Sha Tsui) → |
Platform 2 | ← Template:HK-MTR box towards Kennedy Town (Central) |
Entrances and exits
Admiralty is part of the Central Business District of Hong Kong Island. There are many office buildings around the station. A major shopping mall, Pacific Place, is accessed through a pedestrian walkway from Exit F.[5]
- A: Admiralty Centre
- B: Bus to Ocean Park, Peak Tramways
- C1: Queensway Plaza
- C2: Taxi stand
- D: United Centre
- F: Pacific Place
Transport connections
There is a bus terminus stretching across the length of Admiralty that can be reached from exits B, C2 and D. These buses connect to many different parts of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories.
Bus routes
- Bus
- KMB, serving only cross-harbour routes on Hong Kong Island
- First Bus
- Citybus
- Bus terminuses within walking distance of the station:
- Admiralty (West) - Exit B
- Admiralty (Tamar Street) - Exit B
- Admiralty (Drake St) - Exit C2
- Admiralty (East) - Exit D
- Admiralty (Rodney St) - between Exits E1 and E2
References
- ^ Malcolm Surry, Metro's role in the property game, South China Morning Post, 16 July 1976
- ^ Passengers feel the crush after fare reductions, Anita Lam, 10 Mar 2008, SCMP [1]
- ^ Prosecution against arsonist on MTR train 2006 no.50 - High Court (Hong Kong) (Traditional Chinese)
- ^ "Admiralty Station layout" (PDF). MTR Corporation. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
- ^ "Admiralty Station street map" (PDF). MTR Corporation. Retrieved 30 July 2014.