During the Month of July 2021 it was the working operationally on June 27th 2021 the full Tuen Ma Line for the World Leading public Transport provider MTR Hong Kong – Hong Kong SAR – China – People’s Republic of China……. The full Tuen Ma Line commenced passenger service on 27 June 2021. Fancy taking a look at the construction process? Through diversified construction methods, this community railway was built with our commitment to protecting the environment, conserving the archaeological remains, as well as reducing the impacts on road traffic. The team also took the opportunity to improve community facilities. Let’s check out the construction of the longest railway line in Hong Kong…!
The Tuen Ma Line is the longest railway line in Hong Kong SAR, the line connects with the Tuen Mun Station with Wu Kai Shan Station Via Kowloon East and link up the east and west of the New Territories. Tuen Ma Line serves 27 Stations with Travelling time of 73 minutes, with the commission of the new Sung Wong Toi and To Kwa Stations the Railway service will be extended to Kowloon City District which enhances the overall railway network….The Tuen Ma Line has 6 interchanges Stations , bringing convenience to passengers ….
Adopting diversified Construction Methods – The Tuen Ma Line project was huge and highly complex Numerous Challenges had been overcome during the construction including the complex geology, archaeological finds and the alignment also runs through the Hustle and bustle of the city with the heavy traffic to minimise impacts on the community and traffic diversified and different construction methods were adopted during the construction for example, for the Chatham Road North Tunnel section the cut and cover method was adopted , The Excavation was in an up –down direction and the roads were reinstated upon the completion of works. For the railway tunnels from Sung Wong Toi Station to Ho Man Tin Station tunnel boring machines were used to minimise the road traffic disruption during the construction. For the whole Tai Wai to Hung Hom Section four tunnel boring machines were used in which bored through a total length of about 8.2 Kilometers. More than half of the Tunnel section of the Tuen Ma Line Were Constructed by the tunnel boring machines. Extensive drill and blast tunnelling took place underneath Lion Rock with a total more than 500 blasts… During the Construction of the full Tuen Ma Line over four million cubic meter of soil and rocks were excavated enough to fill 2,200 standard swimming pools , More than 7,000 on-site workers were deployed during the peak construction period ..
Heritage Preservation – Another Project challenge was the discovery of archaeological finds for instance, at Sung Wong Toi work site a large number of Ceramic Shards and features dating from the Song –Yaun Dynasty to the 20th Century were discovered , The archaeological area is the size of nearly four standard football fields to ensure these cultural assets could be protected and preserved the corporation followed the conservation proposal to adjust the station design and the work sequence. In order to facilities the Construction of Diamond Hill Station the Two Historical Structures i.e. the Old Pilbox and the former Royal Air Force Hanger Have also been preserved ..
Implementing Temporary Traffic Management Schemes – The alignment of the Tuen Ma Line runs through many old districts great efforts was taken to minimise impact on the local community.. For instance, during the construction of the To Kwa Wan Station a large scale temporary traffic management scheme was implemented on Ma Tau Wai Road While the construction was being carried out Most of the Carriageways were maintained at the same time to minimise the traffic impact on Ma Tau Wai Road .
Bringing new vitality to the Community – Reinstatement works were carried out after the construction The team took the opportunity to improve the nearby Community Facilities such as Olympic gardens, Sung Wong Toi Playground and Ma Tau Wai Road gardens with other communities projects … and Ma Tau Road to Kwa Wan Road Garden .. by providing addition recreational Facilities and green spaces and brining new vitality to the community….. The Corporation is committed to protecting the environment, Such Tree perseveration; the team assessed the impact on trees and formulated tree migration and preservation plans such as the successful relocation of the old banyan trees at the Diamond Hill station work site …. At the same time, greening of the station was also strengthened including planting vegetations on top of the station to create an environmentally friendly station …
Upgrading Existing railway facilities – During the construction of the Tuen Ma Line Facilities on eh existing railway lines have also been enhanced such as retrofitting of Automatic platform gates on the former Ma On Shan Line and upgrading of the West Rail Line and the Former Ma On Shan Line to an eight Car Train Operation which has increase the overall carrying capacity …
A New Journey – With the commission of the full Tuen Ma Line The Two New Stations, Sung Woi Toi Station and To Kwa Wan Station will be put into service, Sung Woi Toi Station is a Station telling the old history of Hong Kong, Archaeological elements are included in the Station design which forms a special feature of the station – To Kwa Station is situated in a well-developed old district bring convenience to the nearby residents, The Station shows some photos of personal items shared from neighbourhoods in the district which turns the station into a community station blending with the old and new.. A number of facilities have been provided in the new two new Stations including baby care rooms and smart customer service centres bringing a more comfortable and convenient travelling experience to passengers. Ho Man Tin Station will be an interchange station for the Kwun Tong Line and the Tuen Ma Line offering passengers fast and convenient journeys during interchange. Hung Hom station has been extended and modified and there’s a new Tuen Ma Line Platform. Various stations facilities have also been enhanced for passengers Hung Hom Station will be upgrade to a Major Railway Hub for the Domestic and intercity services. The Successful coming of the Tuen Ma Line Owes to the efforts and supports from the consultants, contractors, local stakeholders and communities… This Demonstrates the Corporation’s Commitment to serving Hong Kong SAR with safe, reliable and efficient railway services ….