With its high population density as well as busy pedestrian and vehicular traffic, an integrated road and railway network plays a vital role in maintaining the prosperity of Hong Kong.
Our road network is now around 1 977 km in length. We are constructing or planning nine strategic highway projects (Table 1).
We will continue to review and develop the road network to support land use planning and meet future development needs.
Railway provides efficient and environmentally friendly mass transportation. Our transport policy is to accord priority to railway with a view of developing it as the backbone of our passenger transport system.
The railway network, including the Light Rail Transit is now about 210 km in length. Two railway projects costing about $10 billion are under construction and will be completed by 2009 (Table 2). By then, the railway network will be increased to about 220 km in length.
Another six railway projects are now at various planning stages. Completion of these projects will extend the total network to about 300 km in length (Table 2).
It will be convenient to travel through Hong Kong via the efficient roads and railway network completed and rail projects under planning: Tin Shui Wai to Central 40 minutes, Ma On Shan to Tsim Sha Tsui 30 minutes, Tsuen Wan to Kai Tak 30 minutes and Shatin to Lantau 35 minutes.
| Table 1 - Strategic Highway Project under Construction or Review | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic Road Project under Construction or Review | Scheduled Completion Year | Estimated Project Cost ** | Length (km) |
| Route 9 (previously Route 5) (Section between Shek Wai Kok and Chai Wan Kok) | 2007 | $0.8 billion | 2.0 |
| Sha Tin New Town II - Construction of Road T3 | 2007 | $1.9 billion | 2.0 |
| *Route 8 (previously Route 9) (Sha Tin to Cheung Sha Wan section) | 2007 | $6.8 billion | 5.9 |
| *Route 8 (previously Route 9) (Tsing Yi to Cheung Sha Wan section) | 2008 - 2009 | $11.1 billion | 7.6 |
| Shatin New Town Phase II, Trunk Road T4 | 2010 | $1.1 billion | 1.6 |
| Route 4 (previously Route 7) (Section between Kennedy Town and Aberdeen) | Under review | Under review | Under review |
| Central Kowloon Route | Under planning | Under planning | Under planning |
| Central Wanchai Bypass and Island Eastern Corridor Link | Under review | $20.5 billion | 4.7 |
| Hong Kong - Zhuhai - Macao Bridge Hong Kong Section and North Lantau Highway Connection |
Under Planning | Under Planning | Under Planning |
*Animation clip available
** Estimated project cost may be subject to changes depending on the planning of individual projects.
| Table 2 - Railway Projects under Construction, Planning or Review | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Project | Length (km) | Routing | Scheduled Completion Year |
| Kowloon Southern Link | 3.8 | Connects the Nam Cheong Station and the East Tsim Sha Tsui Station | 2009 |
| Tseung Kwan O Extension (Phase II) - Tseung Kwan O South Station at Area 86 | 3.1 | Extends Tseung Kwan O Line from Tseung Kwan O Station to Tseung Kwan O South Station | 2009 |
| Shatin to Central Link | 17 | Extends East Rail Line across the harbour to Hong Kong Island together with extension of West Rail Line to Sha Tin / Ma On Shan via Hung Hom, Southeast Kowloon and Diamond Hill | Under planning |
| Northern Link and Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shengzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link | 30 | Northern Link connects the West Rail Line Kam Sheung Road Station to both the Lok Ma Chau boundary crossing and the East Rail Line at north New Territories. Express Rail Link runs from a new terminus at West Kowloon to the boundary at Lok Ma Chau for connection with the Mainland secton of the Express Rail Link. | Under planning |
| West Island Line | 3 | Connects Western District with the Island Line on the Hong Kong Island | Under planning |
| South Island Line | 14 | Connects Southern District with the Island Line on the Hong Kong Island | Under planning |
| North Hong Kong Island Line | 4 | Provides an additional corridor from Hong Kong Station to Fortress Hill Station | Under review |
| Port Rail Line | 30 | Provides a direct freight link from the boundary crossing at Lo Wu to the container ports at Kwai Chung | Under review |
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