Tung Chung Line - History

History

In October 1989, the Hong Kong government decided to replace the overcrowded Kai Tak International Airport, located in Kowloon, with a new airport to be constructed at Chek Lap Kok. The government also invited the MTR, then called the MTRC, to build a train line to the airport called the Lantau Airport Railway. The project did not begin until the People's Republic of China government and the British government settled financial and land disagreements in November 1994.

The Lantau Airport Railway turned into two MTR lines, the Tung Chung Line as well as the Airport Express, both lines being served by A-Stock trains with dedicated interior fitouts and liveries. On 21 June 1998, the Tung Chung Line was officially opened by Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa, and service commenced the next day.

On 16 December 2003, an open house for charity took place at the recently completed Nam Cheong Station, an interchange station between the Tung Chung Line and the West Rail Line. The station closed on 19 December 2003 in preparation for the opening of West Rail, and it was officially opened to the public on 20 December 2003. At the same time, the numbers of car units per A-Stock train increased from seven to eight.

On 1 June 2005, Sunny Bay Station, the interchange station for Disneyland Resort Line (DRL), opened two months prior to the opening of DRL.

Between 2006 and 2007, four new Korean built K-Stock trains were added in to Tung Chung Line to improve frequencies. The first train was received on 9 February 2006 and entered service on June 12, 2006. However, since the new trains were found to be a few millimetres wider than the existing trains, some modifications were made to station platforms.