Admiralty (Chinese: 金鐘; Cantonese Yale: Gāmjūng) is a Mass Transit Railway (MTR) station in Admiralty, Hong Kong. The station's livery is blue and white. Served by the largest number of lines of any MTR station at four: the East Rail line, the Tsuen Wan line, the Island line, and the South Island line, Admiralty is a major interchange station within the MTR network.

Admiralty 金鐘
MTR rapid transit station
Platform 3 of Admiralty station
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	金鐘
Simplified Chinese	金钟
Hanyu Pinyin	Jīnzhōng
Cantonese Yale	Gāmjūng
Literal meaning	Gold clock
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Jīnzhōng Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Gāmjūng Jyutping Gam1zung1
General information
Location	Drake Street × Tamar Street, Admiralty Central and Western District, Hong Kong
Coordinates	22°16′44″N 114°09′53″E
Owned by	KCR Corporation (East Rail line) MTR Corporation (Island, South Island and Tsuen Wan lines)
Operated by	MTR Corporation
Line(s)	Tsuen Wan line Island line East Rail line South Island line
Platforms	8 (3 island platforms, 1 split platform)
Tracks	8
Connections	Bus, minibus Tram Peak Tram
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Platform levels	3
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	ADM
History
Opened	Kwun Tong line : 12 February 1980; 42 years ago (1980-02-12)   Island line : 31 May 1985; 37 years ago (1985-05-31)   South Island line : 28 December 2016; 5 years ago (2016-12-28)[1]   East Rail line : 15 May 2022; 4 months ago (2022-05-15)
Services
Preceding station MTR Following station Central Terminus Tsuen Wan line Tsim Sha Tsui towards Tsuen Wan Central towards Kennedy Town Island line Wan Chai towards Chai Wan Terminus East Rail line Exhibition Centre towards Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau South Island line Ocean Park towards South Horizons
Track layout Legend           Upper platforms to Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui 3 1 L2 L3 4 2 to Central      Middle platforms to Exhibition Centre 7 8      Lower platforms 6 5 L6 to Ocean Park
Location
Admiralty Location within the MTR system

The station and surrounding area are named after HMS Tamar, once the headquarters of the Royal Navy in Hong Kong. It was built on the former site of the naval dockyards, which were built in 1878 and demolished in the 1970s. The Chinese name, which translates to "gold clock", refers to a clock with gold-coloured numerals and hands that was located on the main building of Wellington Barracks from 1890 to 1962.

Between 2011 and 2016, the station underwent major expansion to accommodate two new sets of platforms underneath the original structure to serve two more MTR lines, the South Island line and the East Rail line (part of the Sha Tin to Central Link project). The South Island line opened in 2016, while the East Rail line platforms opened on 15 May 2022.[2][3]

History

Development and construction

The government gave the Mass Transit Railway Corporation first refusal on the 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m²) site, which was sold to it in 1976 for around HK$200 million for cash and equity consideration.[4]

The Admiralty Centre, United Centre and Queensway Plaza commercial buildings formed part of the development, and sit directly above the station.

On 12 February 1980, the segment of the first MTR line between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui was opened. At the time, Admiralty and Central stations were the only two MTR stations on Hong Kong Island.[5] The platforms began serving the Tsuen Wan line on 10 May 1982.

Admiralty was designed to be a transfer station with the then-planned Island line. On 31 May 1985, the first phase of the Island line (between Admiralty and Chai Wan) opened, with Admiralty the temporary western terminus of the Island line. To facilitate cross-platform interchange, the Tsuen Wan- and Chai Wan-bound platforms were located on a very wide island platform on the lower level, while the Central-bound and termination platforms shared another very wide island platform on the upper level. When the second part of the Island line (Admiralty to Sheung Wan) opened in 1986, the termination platform became the Sheung Wan-bound platform, while the other platforms remained unchanged.[6]

2004 arson attack

At 9:14 a.m. on 5 January 2004, 14 passengers suffered minor injuries when a delusional 55-year-old man ignited two gas cylinders full of paint thinner in the first train car of a Central-bound train from Tsim Sha Tsui.[7] The driver decided to complete the journey and passengers were evacuated from the train in Admiralty.[8]

Station expansion and new lines

Admiralty station was expanded to serve two additional lines - the South Island line on level L6 and the East Rail line on level L5.[9]

The South Island line platforms opened on 28 December 2016,[1] after a public open day on 24th of that month,[10] giving residents in the Southern District quicker access to Hong Kong Island's central business district. The opening date was delayed from 2015 due to technical problems in the deep tunnels for the new platforms. The East Rail line began servicing Admiralty on 15 May 2022, allowing commuters from the northeast New Territories to travel directly to Admiralty.[9][11]

A new single level underground interchange concourse with natural light was built to the east of the original concourse, allowing passengers to transfer to the new lines. The atrium was also expanded. The station expansion, located under Harcourt Garden, incorporates 34 escalators and five lifts to integrate with the existing station.[9] The East Rail line takes up one level under the interchange concourse, with the South Island line being directly below it.[9][11] Exits E1 and E2 were rebuilt as one exit to accommodate the glass roof of the interchange concourse and has since opened. While the East Rail line tracks will have sidings for terminating trains south of the station, the South Island line tracks end at bumper blocks north of the station with no overrun track.[11]

• 
  South Island line Platform 5
• 
  South Island line Platform 6
• 
  New toilets on Level 5 in paid area
• 
  An image of when SCL platforms were still behind hoardings

The narrowest part of the existing platforms on L3 was widened to provide better access to the first and second cars of the Tsuen Wan line trains, as well as last two cars of Island line trains. Island line passengers travelling towards Tsuen Wan now have easier access to these cars.[12] The expansion brought new toilets in the paid area, a lift between the concourse and, ground level, and artwork in the station.

The new station has two artworks.[9] The first is Sense of Green by Tony Ip, which is a new bamboo-covered landscaped deck over Harcourt Garden.[9] The second, Urban Soundscape by Otto Li, is located along either side of the escalator shaft between the new and current stations. It depicts passengers' journeys through Admiralty.[9]

Usage and overcrowding

As the primary interchange point between the Tsuen Wan line, the Island line, the East Rail line, and the South Island line, Admiralty is heavily congested during rush hours.

Admiralty and North Point are the only cross-platform interchange stations on Hong Kong Island between lines serving it and Kowloon in the MTR system. It is also the only interchange station for the South Island line. Despite trains departing at capacity (every 2.1 minutes), commuters frequently have to board the second or even the third train when changing lines. The situation deteriorated following fare cuts following the MTR–KCR merger.[13]

Temporary measures are undertaken during peak hours, including the deployment of additional station assistants, adjustment of escalator directions[14] and making pacifying announcements by local celebrities.[15]^{[non-primary source needed]} During evening peak hours, some Tsuen Wan line trains are taken out of service at Central, and placed back into service at Admiralty, in order to relieve the demand at Admiralty.[16][17] In the long term, the existing signalling system of Tsuen Wan line will be upgraded by Thales Transport & Security in 2018.[18]

In addition, the 2022 extension of the East Rail line (from Hung Hom to Admiralty) has helped to divert some cross-harbour demand from the Tsuen Wan line, thereby reducing congestion.[19]

• 
  Crowd waiting to transfer train at Admiralty
• 
  The busiest part of Admiralty during the evening peak hour – Tsuen Wan line platform for Tsuen Wan-bound train

Station layout

Admiralty station has a total of six underground floors; the uppermost (L1) floor has the fare control, lobby, shops, Customer Service Centre and other major facilities.[20]

On floor L2, passengers can access Platforms 4 (Tsuen Wan line to Central) and 3 (Island line to Chai Wan). One floor down, on level L3, are Platforms 2 (Island line to Kennedy Town) and 1 (Tsuen Wan line to Tsuen Wan).[20]

There are very wide passageways between the two platforms on each of floors L2 and L3; they are also curved platforms with trains going in opposite directions. The platforms are in the shape of a trapezium.[20] Because all the platforms are curved, there are large stickers in front of the platform screen doors with "Mind the gap" text, which can only be found in this station.^{[citation needed]} Passengers travelling from Eastern District and Wan Chai District can walk across to platform 1 to board the Tsuen Wan line trains bound for Kowloon, Kwai Chung and Tsuen Wan. Passengers travelling from Kowloon, Kwai Chung and Tsuen Wan can walk across and board the Island line trains bound for Chai Wan from platform 3.[20]

Entrances and exits

Admiralty is part of the central business district of Hong Kong Island. There are many office buildings around the station. A major shopping centre, Pacific Place, is accessed through a pedestrian walkway from Exit F.[21]

• A: Admiralty Centre
• B: Drake Street, Lippo Centre
• C1: Queensway Plaza
• C2: Taxi stand
• D: United Centre
• E1: Rodney Street
• E2: CITIC Tower
• F: Pacific Place

Transport connections

There is a bus terminus stretching across the length of Admiralty that can be reached from exits B, C2 and D. The terminus is served by buses that connect to many different parts of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories.

Bus routes

• Bus
  • KMB, serving only cross-harbour routes on Hong Kong Island
  • First Bus
  • Citybus
  • Bus terminuses within walking distance of the station:
    • Admiralty (West) – Exit B
    • Admiralty (Tamar Street) – Exit B
    • Admiralty (Drake Street) – Exit C2
    • Admiralty (East) – Exit D
    • Admiralty (Rodney Street) – between Exit D

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Admiralty Station.