Central Station (MTR)

Central 中環
MTR rapid transit station
Platforms 1 and 2 on the Tsuen Wan Line
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	中環
Simplified Chinese	中环
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōnghuán Yue: Cantonese Jyutping zung1 waan4 Yale Romanization jung1 waan4
General information
Location	Des Voeux Road Central/Chater Road, Central Central and Western District, Hong Kong
Coordinates	22°16′55″N 114°09′27″E / 22.2820°N 114.1576°E / 22.2820; 114.1576Coordinates: 22°16′55″N 114°09′27″E / 22.2820°N 114.1576°E / 22.2820; 114.1576
Owned by	MTR Corporation
Operated by	MTR Corporation
Line(s)	Tsuen Wan Line      Island Line
Platforms	4 (island platform (Tsuen Wan Line), 2 split level side platforms (Island Line))
Connections	Hong Kong Station, bus, public light bus, tram, ferry, Peak Tram
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Platform levels	3
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	CEN
History
Opened	12 February 1980 (1980-02-12) (Kwun Tong Line) 23 May 1986 (1986-05-23) (Island Line)
Previous names	Chater
Services
Preceding station   MTR   Following station Terminus Tsuen Wan Line Admiralty towards Tsuen Wan Sheung Wan towards Kennedy Town Island Line Admiralty towards Chai Wan Terminus Airport Express Transfer at: Hong Kong Kowloon towards AsiaWorld–​Expo Tung Chung Line Transfer at: Hong Kong Kowloon towards Tung Chung
Location
Central Location within the MTR system

The platforms of the Tsuen Wan Line are located under Chater Road, next to the Court of Final Appeal Building

Platform 3 on the Island Line

Central (Chinese: 中環) is an MTR station located in the Central area of Hong Kong Island. The station's livery is firebrick red but brown on the Tsuen Wan Line platforms. The station is the southern terminus of the Tsuen Wan Line, a stop on the Island Line, and connects to Hong Kong Station, which serves the Tung Chung Line and the Airport Express.

The station was originally named Chater Station. It was initially conceived to cater for 330,000 passengers daily and was planned to be 380 metres (1,250 ft) long – one of the longest stations in the world.^[1] More than 200,000 passengers use this station daily. The longest distance between two exits is approximately 700m.

History

Early plans

Central Station was included in the Hong Kong Mass Transport Study, a system proposed in September 1967.^[2] Together with Western Market Station, it was to serve as an interchange station of the Kwun Tong Line and Island Line. In the recommended system, Tsuen Wan Line would end at Admiralty. The station was originally planned to be located under Des Voeux Road Central between Jubilee Street and Pedder Street.

In 1970, in the Hong Kong Mass Transit Further Studies, the station was proposed as two separate but connected stations: Chater Station (遮打站) under Chater Road and Pedder Station (必打站) under Pedder Street), which would serve the Kong Kow Line (now Tsuen Wan Line) and Island Line respectively.

Modified Initial System and opening

The station first opened as Chater Station on 12 February 1980 as the terminus of the Modified Initial System (MIS, now Kwun Tong Line). Only a portion of the station came into operation as the Island Line had not been opened yet.

The station was named Chater in English but 中環 (Central) in Chinese. This would be misleading as many thought that the Chinese name would be 遮打, a transliteration. When the Island Line between Admiralty and Chai Wan opened on 31 May 1985, MTR renamed Chater to Central together with the renaming of some other stations on the Tsuen Wan line.

Construction for the Island Line was carried out in early 1983 and connected the new platforms with the original structure. The Island Line began service Central on 23 May 1986 when it was extended beyond Admiralty to Sheung Wan and the Island Line platforms came into service.

Passageway to Hong Kong Station

One component of the Airport Core Programme^[3] between 1991 and 1998 was a railway connecting the new Hong Kong International Airport to the city centre. To link Central with the nearby Hong Kong Station, the southern terminus of the Tung Chung Line and the Airport Express, a passageway was built under Connaught Road to connect the two stations. The passageway starts at the Pedder Street concourse and was refurbished with a design similar to that of Hong Kong Station.

Panorama of Platform 3 on the Island Line towards Chai Wan

Station layout

Track layout
Legend
to Admiralty 1 3 L2 (uppermost) 2 L3 4 L4 (lowest) to Sheung Wan

Central Station has four platforms on three levels.

The top level includes platform 3 and is built beneath Des Voeux Road Central at the intersection of Pedder Street, stretching from World-Wide House to Alexandra House, on the northern side of the road. The platform serves Chai Wan-bound trains on the Island Line and this level includes the connecting walkway to Hong Kong Station.

The middle level includes platforms 1 and 2 using a shared island. They serve the Tsuen Wan Line and were built directly under Chater Road, extending from Des Voeux Road Central to Club Street.

The bottom level, two levels from the top level, is platform 4, for Island Line trains in the direction of Kennedy Town.

Passengers from platform 3 transferring to platforms 1 or 2 use the regular escalators on the Chater Road concourse. There are designated escalators from platforms 1 and 2 to platform 4 for the sole purpose of transfer.^[4]

The Tsuen Wan Line platforms are straight and was built by cut-and-cover. Most of the length of the Island Line platforms is the same, although the eastern part (towards Admiralty Station) is curved and the gap is large, as they are located in sections of bored tunnels and have the curved walls typical of most other stations on the Island Line.

^[4]

Exits

Signage showing exit list

Central Station Exit B

Central Station Exit K

Central Station stretches underneath Chater Road from Statue Square in the east and underneath Des Voeux Road to Li Yuen Street East in the west. The distance between the easternmost and westernmost exits is approximately 700m. There are 13 entrances, connecting buildings, shopping malls, main roads and ground transport facilities nearby.^[5]

Transport connections

Central Station is one of the transport hubs of Hong Kong. The area around Central Station and Hong Kong Station offers a wide range of transport options, including the tramway, buses, ferries, minibuses and more. (See also Transport in Hong Kong)

• Bus
  • Citybus
  • KMB, serving only cross-harbour routes on Hong Kong Island
  • New World First Bus
  • Nearby bus termini:
    • Central Piers Bus Terminus (exit A or E then via footbridge, of within paid area via Hong Kong Station)
    • City Hall Bus Terminus (exit K then via tunnel)
    • Exchange Square Bus Terminus (exit A then via footbridge, or within paid area via Hong Kong Station)
• Minibus
• Trams
  • Hong Kong Tramways (exits B, C, G and K)
  • Peak Tram (exit J2)
• Ferries (exit A to Central Ferry Piers)
  • Pier 2: Park Island Ferry, to Park Island
  • Pier 3: Discovery Bay Ferry, to Discovery Bay
  • Pier 4: Hong Kong & Kowloon Ferry, to Sok Kwu Wan and Yung Shue Wan on Lamma Island
  • Piers 5 and 6: New World First Ferry, to Silvermine Bay (Mui Wo), Peng Chau and Cheung Chau
  • Pier 7: Star Ferry, to Tsim Sha Tsui

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Central Station (MTR) (category)

Public transportation in Eastern Pearl River Delta
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Dongguan Rail Transit	Lines in operation  2  Under construction  2  (Phase III) Under planning  1   3   4
Hong Kong MTR	Lines in operation      Airport      Disneyland Resort      East Rail      Island      Kwun Tong      Ma On Shan      Tseung Kwan O      Tsuen Wan      Tung Chung      West Rail Under construction      South Island (East)      East West Corridor      North South Corridor Under Planning      West Rail (Extension)      Northern Link      Tung Chung (Extension)      South Island (West)      Tseung Kwan O (Extension)
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