The longest railway line in Hong Kong is born – MTR Tuen Ma Line opened on June 27

Hong Kong’s metropolitan railway operator MTR (港鐵) opened the last construction section of the Tuen Ma Line (屯馬綫) on June 27, 2021 (Sunday).

The newly opened section is between Hung Hom Station (紅磡) and Kai Tak Station (啟德) (see the figure below for the route map). It is connected to the existing West Rail Line (西鐵綫) at Kai Tak Station and the first phase section of the Tuen Ma Line, which opened in February 2020 at Kai Tak Station. The longest in Hong Kong with 56km / 27 stations have been fully opened as Tuen Ma Line including all of these sections. From Tuen Mun Station (屯門) to Wu Kai Sha Station (烏溪沙), the Tuen Ma Line runs through the New Territories and Kowloon from east to west without changing trains, which connects to other MTR lines at six stations and gives good access to every areas of Hong Kong.

In the new section running in the eastern Kowloon district, two new stations was opened – To Kwa Wan Station (土瓜灣) and Sung Wong Toi Station (宋皇臺), which will improve the traffic conditions in the area. Of these, Sung Wong Toi Station has many archaeological sites excavated during the construction of the Song Dynasty, so the design and artwork of the station are characteristic with many archaeological elements.

Hung Hom Station, which was a terminus on the West Rail Line, has been improved so that it can be transferred to the East Rail Line (東鐵綫) via the concourse with a new platform to start direct operation as the Tuen Ma Line. In addition, Tuen Ma Line crosses the existing Kwun Tong Line (觀塘綫) at Ho Man Tin Station (何文田), making it a connecting station.

MTR is in the process of extending the East Rail Line from its current terminus, Hung Hom Station, to Admiralty Station (金鐘) on Hong Kong Island, with the aim of opening in 2022. When completed, it will be the fourth railway line that crosses the strait, further enhancing the transportation network that connects the New Territories and Hong Kong Island.