Read More
It took 39 minutes to travel the East Rail Line from Sheung Shui to Admiralty yesterday, one minute shorter than a 40-minute journey estimated by the MTR mobile application.
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
With Admiralty Station the terminal of the East Rail Line, passengers from New Territories East will be spared several change to cross the harbor, before they switch to the Island Line.
A Tai Po resident said he had to switch to the Kwun Tong Line at Kowloon Tong from the East Rail Line, then to the Tsuen Wan Line in Mong Kok and Island Line at Admiralty to get to Wan Chai, but now he can go all the way to Exhibition Centre Station from Tai Po Market.
The MTR's mobile app says those living along the East Rail Line heading to Hong Kong Island should interchange at Admiralty Station.
Those living in Ma On Shan should take the Tuen Ma Line to Tai Wai and cross the harbor on the East Rail Line, except those going to North Point and Quarry Bay, as it will be quicker to cross the harbor with the Tseung Kwan O Line.
Residents of the northwestern part of the New Territories can still change to the Tung Chung Line at Nam Cheong to cross the harbor if they are heading to Central or the western part of Hong Kong Island.
But for those going to Admiralty and the eastern part of Hong Kong Island, the MTR app suggests changing to the East Rail Line at Hung Hom to save two to three minutes and spare from walking between Hong Kong and Central stations.
Mr Lee, who lives in Tai Wai and works in Wan Chai, said he will continue interchanging to cross-harbor buses at Hung Hom Station.
"My workplace is far from Exhibition Centre Station, and it will take more time for me to take the MTR to Wan Chai compared to changing to cross-harbor buses at Hung Hom," Lee said.
The long-awaited East Rail Line cross-harbor extension under the Shatin-Central Rail Link took more than 10 years to fully open service, with the first proposal submitted to the government in 2008.
It has become Hong Kong's costliest railway at HK$91.4 billion, over budget by about HK$26 billion, after the shoddy works scandal at Hung Hom Station in May 2018.
Excavation work of Exhibition Centre Station also had to be halted in August of the same year as reports revealed that 14 areas around the station had sunk.
