MTR may build $2b new tunnel

AMBITIOUS plans to build an extension to the Kwun Tong MTR line from Quarry Bay to Tin Hau are being considered by the Mass Transit Railway Corporation to relieve growing congestion at the Quarry Bay interchange, where passengers change between the Kwun Tong and Island lines.

The $2 billion scheme entails the construction of a two kilometre tunnel from Quarry Bay to a major cross-platform interchange at Tin Hau, near Victoria Park.

This will allow Kwun Tong line passengers travelling towards Central to bypass Quarry Bay, North Point and Fortress Hill stations and change to the Island line at Tin Hau.

It also means that people travelling to North Point and Fortress Hill can change at Quarry Bay in the normal way.

The direct benefit to passengers is that it will provide an express connection and save a five-minute walk for people transferring between the Kwun Tong and Island line platforms at Quarry Bay.

The MTRC said it would also significantly reduce overcrowding at Quarry Bay station during the morning and afternoon peak periods.

Corporation officials believe that as Tseung Kwan O continues to grow and more people from the area use the MTR system to get to work this massive overcrowding can only get worse at Quarry Bay as passengers transfer between Kowloon and Island line trains.