Construction for a new MTR line in Hong Kong’s south is expected to begin in 2027, linking neighbourhoods including Cyberport and Aberdeen with Wong Chuk Hang.
In a paper submitted to the Legislative Council by the Transport and Logistics Bureau on Monday, authorities estimated that the South Island Line (West) will span around 7.5 kilometres with a total of seven stops.
The stations will include University of Hong Kong (HKU) Queen Mary Hospital, Cyberport, Wah Fu, Tin Wan, Aberdeen and Wong Chuk Hang. Commuters will be able to get from one end of the line to the other in around 20 minutes.
At HKU and Wong Chuk Hang, the two existing stations, commuters will be able to alight and transfer to other lines. Commuters will be able to change to the Island Line at HKU station and to the South Island Line at Wong Chuk Hang station. After the opening of the western link, the current South Island Line will be renamed the South Island (East) Line.
“Detailed planning and design” is expected to begin next year, with construction set to start in 2027.
Instead of heavy rail, the South Island Line (West) will feature a “smart and green mass transit system,” due to the hilly terrain in the area, the Transport and Logistics Bureau wrote.
The line will serve around 130,000 residents in the neighbourhoods and provide around 50,000 jobs, the bureau added.
According to the Railway Development Strategy published by the Transport and Housing Bureau in 2014, the new South Island Line (West) railway will address “emerging transport demand” in the district.
Citing plans for tourism development at Ocean Park and Aberdeen Harbour, the redevelopment of Queen Mary Hospital, as well as the “natural growth of population” in the Southern District, the bureau said there was a need for railway links in the western part of the district to improve accessibility and transport capacity.
Currently, the neighbourhood relies mostly on road-based transport. A railway link would take pressure off the road network, the bureau wrote.
The South Island (West) Line is expected to open between 2034 and 2038, authorities said last year.
