ENG-2018 — Page 262

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Transport

Line with the West Rail Line in Hung Hom via Diamond Hill and south-eastern Kowloon. The North South Corridor will extend the East Rail Line from Hung Hom Station across the harbour to Admiralty Station on Hong Kong Island. Construction started in 2012. Upon commissioning, the Shatin to Central Link will handle about 1.1 million passenger trips per day and save about an average of 75 million hours in travelling time per year. It will provide a train service for districts not currently served by the railway network, such as Hin Keng, Kai Tak and To Kwa Wan, and increase the railway capacity between Sha Tin and Hung Hom and across the harbour, relieving the burden on existing rail lines in urban Kowloon and on Hong Kong Island.

Future Railway Development

The government's Railway Development Strategy 2014 provides a framework for planning the expansion of the railway network up to 2031. The strategy recommends undertaking seven railway projects in view of the transport demand, cost-effectiveness and development needs of New Development Areas. These seven projects are the Northern Link and Kwu Tung Station, Tuen Mun South Extension, East Kowloon Line, Tung Chung West Extension, Hung Shui Kiu Station, South Island Line (West) and North Island Line.

Tramway

Electric trams have been running on Hong Kong Island since 1904. Hong Kong Tramways runs seven routes on 13km of double tracks along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island between Kennedy Town and Shau Kei Wan, and about 3km of single track round Happy Valley.

The company's 167 trams, including one sightseeing tram, one air-conditioned tram, three trams for tourists and private hire and three special maintenance trams, make up the world's largest fleet of double-decker trams in operation. The tramway recorded a daily average of about 164,700 passenger trips in 2018.

Road Transport

Road Network

The territory has 2,123km of roads, 1,357 road structures, 18 road tunnels including three immersed-tube cross-harbour tunnels, and five major cable-supported bridges.

Tunnels

The government owns 15 road tunnels, all managed and operated by private companies under management contracts: the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, the Eastern Harbour Crossing, and the Lion Rock, Aberdeen, Kai Tak, Shing Mun, Tate's Cairn, Tseung Kwan O, Scenic Hill, Airport, Cheung Tsing, Tai Wai, Sha Tin Heights, Eagle's Nest and Nam Wan tunnels. The last four are located in the Tsing Sha Control Area, while the Cheung Tsing Tunnel is located in the Tsing Ma Control Area. The Cheung Tsing, Kai Tak, Nam Wan and Airport tunnels, as well as the Scenic Hill Tunnel that forms part of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Hong Kong Link Road, are toll-free.

Two other tunnels are operated by private companies under build-operate-transfer arrangements: the Western Harbour Crossing and Tai Lam Tunnel. The franchises of these tunnels will expire in 2023 and 2025 respectively.

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