Less than a two-minute walk to new concourse

Michael Shum

It takes less than two minutes for passengers to walk from the new platforms at Admiralty Station on the East Rail Line extension to the concourse, even though the station has added two floors below ground level.

It will become a "super interchange station" for all four lines.

A new real-time monitor informing commuters of the time of the next train on other lines will also be set up in the station.

There will be an atrium in the middle of the extension of Admiralty Station, with 15 escalators that will take passengers to and from the platforms of all four lines and the concourse.

East Rail Line passengers can take a long escalator from the concourse to an interchange lobby at L4 underground, and go down one more short escalator to reach East Rail Line platforms on L5.

It would take around a minute for passengers to reach the L4 interchange lobby, and another 30 seconds to go from the interchange lobby to East Rail Line platforms on L5.

For those who have just alighted from the East Rail Line trains, they can go to the L4 interchange lobby, where there will be escalators that will take them to L6 for the South Island Line, or L2 and L3 to take the Tsuen Wan Line or Island Line.

MTRC has introduced a new "Cross-Harbour Easy" system to enable passengers to choose a more time-saving route between the Tsuen Wan Line and East Rail Line.

It consists of two information display panels added at the concourse and interchange platform at the station, said Sammy Wong, MTRC's chief of operating and metro segment.

It will provide images simulating the waiting conditions on East Rail Line and Tsuen Wan Line platforms as well as the arrival times of the two trains, Wong said.

The "Train Car Loading Indicator," which has already been launched on the Tuen Ma Line, will also be introduced on the East Rail Line on the train platforms as well as on the MTR Mobile app.

The indicator will also help passengers to choose more spacious train cars for boarding, he added.

Wong said there was an upgrade for the station map function of the MTR mobile app, "In-station finder," which provides indoor navigation services.

The rail operator has organized an open day for the new Exhibition Centre Station next Monday, before the station opens on May 15.

There will be 5,600 admission quotas, and citizens can register via two mobile applications - MTR Mobile or The Guru - to obtain QR code tickets starting tomorrow.

There will also be a historic photo display at the Exhibition Centre Station which shows the more-than-a-century old East Rail Line, while there will also be a exhibition called "Remains of War" that shows the casing of a World War II bomb discovered during construction of the station.