The Northern Link is a proposed

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

line of the

MTR The Mass Transit Railway system, known locally by the initialism MTR, is a rapid transit system in Hong Kong and the territory's principal mode of Rail transport in Hong Kong, railway transportation. Operated by the MTR Corporation (MTRCL), ...

system of

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

which would connect the

Tuen Ma line The Tuen Ma line () is a commuter rail / rapid transit line that forms part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong. It is in length, making it the longest line of the MTR network. It has a total of 27 stations, more than a ...

and the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line of the

East Rail line The East Rail line () is one of the ten lines that form MTR, the rapid transit, mass transit system in Hong Kong. The railway line starts at Lo Wu station, Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau station, Lok Ma Chau, both of which are Border checkpoint, b ...

. The link would also serve as a connection to the border checkpoint to

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

for passengers to and from the western

New Territories The New Territories (N.T., Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: ) is one of the three areas of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of H ...

.Legislative Council - Northern Link and Regional Express
February 2006 The Northern Link would start at Kam Sheung Road and end at Kwu Tung, with 3 intermediate stations. Other benefits for constructing this project are significantly shorter journey times for certain trips (for example, the

Yuen Long Yuen Long is a town in the western New Territories, Hong Kong. To its west lie Hung Shui Kiu (), Tin Shui Wai, Lau Fau Shan and Ha Tsuen, to the south Shap Pat Heung and Tai Tong, to the east Au Tau and Kam Tin (), and to the north Nam Sang Wa ...

Fanling Fanling ( zh, t=粉嶺; also spelled Fan Ling or Fan Leng) is a town in the New Territories East of Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the North District. Fanling Town is the main settlement of the Fanling area. The name Fanling is ...

route would be reduced in length from 20 stations to 5), significantly reducing costs for these trips, as well as relieving the large number of passengers using the East Rail line by diverting some passengers to the Tuen Ma line.

History

According to the Railway Development Strategy 2014, a shuttle service between Kam Sheung Road station and Kwu Tung station spanning was expected to begin construction in 2018 and be inaugurated in 2023.''Railway Development Strategy 2014''

Transport and Housing Bureau The Transport and Housing Bureau (THB) was a policy bureau of the Government of Hong Kong between 2007 and 2022, responsible for a range of policies such as the internal and external transportation, including air transport, land transport, ...

, Hong Kong Government The initial line is expected to cost HK$62 billion in December 2015 prices, with an average of HK$500 million/km. 2021 HK Policy Address Proposed Railway Map

2021 HK Policy Address Proposed Railway Map

Phases

The Northern Link (NOL) project is expected to consist of four phases.

Phase 1

Phase 1 consists of the construction and completion of Kwu Tung station that will initially serve the

after its opening, then later the Northern Link after the completion of Phase 2. It had been partially built by KCR Corporation during the construction of the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line. Construction of Kwu Tung station was approved by the government in 2022 is scheduled to commence in 2023 with completion due in 2027. Construction started on September 29, 2023. The station was expected to cost HK$3.5 billion as of December 2015. As of July 2023, the estimated cost had risen to HK$5.9 billion.

Phase 2

Phase 2 consists of the building of the 10.7 km main line from Kam Sheung Road station to Kwu Tung station. It also includes the construction of 3 new stations (Au Tau, Ngau Tam Mei and San Tin) along with the expansion of Kam Sheung Road station to accommodate the new tracks and platforms. Planning and designing began in 2021. Construction of the mainline is planned to begin in 2025 and be completed in 2034. It is expected to cost HK$58.5 billion in December 2015 prices.

Northern Link Spur Line

The 5.8 km Northern Link Spur Line starts from San Tin station and connects to San Tin Technopole, Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park before terminating at the Huanggang Port in

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

. Planning and design for the line is expected to start in 2024.

Northern Link Eastern Extension

The 9.5 km eastern extension extends eastward from Kwu Tung to Ping Che via Lo Wu South and Man Kam To. Originally planned as part of the extension, the section from Heung Yuen Wai to Fanling station will form the new 8.5 km Northeast New Territories Line.

Stations

Controversies

Land hoarding

In July 2021, Liber Research Community found that developers had begun to hoard land alongside the Northern Link line, buying at least 80 hectares of land near the line.

References

External links

MTR Northern Link Project Website
{{Northern Link navbox MTR lines Standard-gauge railways in Hong Kong Proposed railway lines in Hong Kong 2027 in rail transport