83-650: Tin Shui Wai New Town is a satellite town in the northwestern New Territories of Hong Kong . Originally a gei wai [ yue ] ( 基圍 ) fish pond area, it was developed in the 1980s as the second new town in Yuen Long District and the eighth in Hong Kong. It is 25 kilometres (16 mi) due northwest of Central , the main business area in the territory, on land reclaimed from low-lying areas south of Deep Bay , next to Ping Shan . The population
166-857: A 400-metre running track. There are other football and rugby pitches at Tin Sau Road Park and Tin Yip Road Park in the northern part of the town. There are four indoor sports centres in Tin Shui Wai. They are Tin Shui Wai Sports Centre, Tin Shui Sports Centre, Tin Fai Sports Centre and Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Sports Centre. There is an outdoor sports area in Tin Sau Road for volleyball, basketball and football court. After years of planning,
249-449: A commercial and financial centre in the region. In consequence, most of the work opportunities remained in the urban areas, forcing residents in the new towns to travel between the new towns and the city centre every day. From the 1990s on, when Hong Kong had almost no more substantial secondary industries, the industrial buildings were repurposed into offices and warehouses , or even rebuilt as residential apartments. The new towns planned in
332-556: A concession fare. As with the contemporaneous East Tsim Sha Tsui extension, the KCRC adopted a value of time methodology when fare levels were established for new services, resulting in a significant markup compared to bus and East Rail services. Like the East Rail, Tuen Ma, and Tung Chung lines , the West Rail line also offered day passes and monthly passes . The following is a list of
415-411: A cost of HK$ 46.4 billion in 2002 prices which was some 28% lower than the original estimate in 1998; later reports cite $ 51.7 billion in money of the day prices. Originally, the KCRC expected the West Rail to have a daily ridership of about 340,000 upon commissioning and 500,000 by 2011. Actual figures hovered around 100,000 by April 2004, however, and rose to 170,000 by the end of the year following
498-692: A domestic passenger service between the Northwestern New Territories (NWNT) and urban Kowloon, a cross-boundary passenger service for passengers travelling between Hong Kong and Mainland China, and container freight transport between ports in Mainland China and Hong Kong. In January 1995, the Government invited the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) to submit a proposal for the design, construction and operation of
581-606: A ground-level/underground hybrid design. Bored tunnels traverse densely populated Kwai Chung and under the Tsuen Wan line towards Tsuen Wan West station on reclaimed land , after which a 5.5 km (3.4 mi) bored rock tunnel, the Tai Lam Tunnel , takes trains through Tai Lam Country Park . The line emerges into open air just south of the train depot at Pat Heung and initially runs at-grade, and later on an embankment , as it approaches Kam Sheung Road station . The rest of
664-469: A railway station had its town centre planned near it. Tsuen Wan New Town was distinctive in having more than one town centre, situated around Tsuen Wan station and Kwai Fong station , and later also around Tsing Yi station after Tsuen Wan New Town had expanded to Tsing Yi. With the exception of Tin Shui Wai New Town, the only new town without a clear town centre, the new towns’ town centres became vibrant business and cultural hubs of their areas. Transport
747-418: A series of discounts. Frequent breakdowns (by local standards: 24 incidents in 2004 caused a delay of eight minutes or more) led KCRC Chairman Michael Tien to announce that he would consider resigning if service performance failed to improve. Some 30,000 flats were originally planned to be built along the route between 2006 and 2011, only to be put on hold when the property market crashed. The commuter line
830-543: A standard 50-metre pool, and are very overcrowded. A new, standard-sized swimming complex has been planned for many years at Tin Shui Wai Area 107, a vacant piece of land in the north of the new town. As of 2021, the pool is under construction and is expected to be completed in 2022 or 2023. The largest sports ground is the Tin Shui Wai Sports Ground , a stadium with a capacity of 2,500 spectators. It also has
913-507: A supporting town for the then- newly constructed airport in Chek Lap Kok . At present, there are nine new towns in all. New Town development slowed in the 2000s, on account of unexpectedly slow population growth. Indeed, even the development of North Lantau New Town was hindered : the population of North Lantau New Town was just 80,000 in early 2010s, less than half of the 200,000 originally planned. No additional new towns were established in
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#1733084727641996-532: A tunnel and descending underground through East Tsim Sha Tsui and Austin stations (the former having originally being served by the East Rail line, and the track heading northwards through the latter), before returning to ground level (though still fully covered) at Nam Cheong station . The track then runs northwest through a sealed box tunnel just to the north to and under the West Kowloon Highway through Lai Chi Kok Park into Mei Foo station , which has
1079-623: Is also set there. A 2020 Cantonese hip-hop song 'Tin Shui Wai Gang Gang' by TomFatKi and Billy Choi had 5 million views on Youtube. They performed a clean version at Chill Club Awards on ViuTV in 2022. A 2020 Hong Kong drama We are the Littles by ViuTV starring Stephy Tang , Zeno Koo , Ian Chan and Anson Lo was set in Tin Shui Wai. New towns in Hong Kong The Hong Kong government started developing new towns in
1162-677: Is an important transport element in Tin Shui Wai, with buses running to most major destinations in Hong Kong. Main roads connecting the township to surrounding areas are Ping Ha Road, Tin Ha Road, Long Tin Road, Yuen Long Highway and Tin Wah Road (to Lau Fau Shan ). Two 2008 Hong Kong films were set in Tin Shui Wai: The Way We Are , directed by Ann Hui and Besieged City directed by Lawrence Ah Mon . The 2009 Ann Hui film Night and Fog
1245-554: Is divided into fare zones 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 5A. All of Tin Shui Wai's 16 light rail stops fall in zones 4 and 5A. The Tin Shui Wai stop of the Light Rail network belongs to Zone 4 for single-ride ticket. It is underneath the Tuen Ma line station at ground level. Platforms 1, 2 and 3 can be reached by escalators at West Rail exits E1, E2 and E3, respectively. A well-developed bus network
1328-845: Is in the south, directly beside the railway station. It opened in 2013 and is the second-largest public library in Hong Kong, behind the Hong Kong Central Library . Tin Shui Wai North Public Library is small, at Tin Chak Estate in the far north of the town. The town has two public swimming pools : the Tin Shui Wai Swimming Pool (opened 1994) and the Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Swimming Pool (opened 2011). These pools are undersized in comparison to standard Hong Kong swimming complexes, both lacking
1411-494: Is vital for the new towns, and thus is planned with care. Before the development of new towns, most areas in the New Territories were poorly connected; new development required both roads and public transport. To ease the traffic between the new towns and the urban area, new roads and highways were built. For example, Tuen Mun Road and Tolo Highway were two principal highways built in the late 1970s and early 1980s to connect
1494-839: The China Railway High-speed network. After KCRC's merger of operations with the MTR Corporation on 2 December 2007, the West Rail line was operated as part of the MTR network. Along with the Ma On Shan line , the line was integrated into the Tuen Ma line in June 2021 upon the completion of Phase 1 of the Sha Tin to Central Link . A railway to the northwestern New Territories from the urban area in Kowloon
1577-562: The Hong Kong Wetland Park , opening to public in May 2006. The total planned population of Tin Shui Wai is about 306,000 while the current population is about 292,000. Parts of Tin Shui Wai have a picturesque and tranquil environment. The Hong Kong Wetland Park , demonstrating the diversity of the Hong Kong's wetland ecosystem, is in north Tin Shui Wai. Tin Shui Wai consists of public and private housing estates . Tin Wah Road separates
1660-682: The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC), then known as the KCR West Rail ( 九廣西鐵 ). It was designed to suburban rail standards similar to that of KCR's first line, now the East Rail line , anticipating freight and intercity services to Mainland China, although the latter role was ultimately superseded by the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link Hong Kong section as part of
1743-553: The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong until 27 June 2021. Coloured magenta on the MTR map, the line ran from Tuen Mun to Hung Hom , with a total length of 35.7 kilometres (22.2 mi), in 37 minutes. The railway connected the urban area of Kowloon and the new towns of Yuen Long , Tin Shui Wai and Tuen Mun in the northwestern New Territories . The line was the second of three lines built and operated by
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#17330847276411826-707: The Tin Shui Wai Hospital opened in January 2017. The hospital's Accident and Emergency Department opened in March 2017 on a part-time basis. Smaller public medical facilities include the Tin Shui Wai Health Centre and the Tin Shui Wai (Tin Yip Road) Community Health Centre, in the south and north of the town respectively. The main residences of Tin Shui Wai are the public housing estates and
1909-755: The Tin Shui Wai Park , which offers many gardens and activities. The Tin Sau Bazaar is a marketplace in the northern part of the town managed by the charity organisation Tung Wah Group of Hospitals . Parts of Tin Shui have a picturesque and tranquil environment. The Hong Kong Wetland Park , demonstrating the diversity of Hong Kong's wetland ecosystem, is in Tin Shui Wai. The light rail routes 705 and 706 stop at Wetland Park stop . Tin Shui Wai has two public libraries. Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Public Library
1992-649: The platform LCD screens and announcements to queue at the right part of the platforms. The line increased capacity between the northwest New Territories and urban areas by about 80%, and on the Tuen Mun-Yuen Long Corridor by about 200%. Crowding on trains–or a lack thereof–has been a matter of heated public debate since its inauguration, as the government has no specific indicator for measuring crowdedness in train compartments as of 2014. Japanese train manufacturer Kinki Sharyo quoted car capacities (standing plus seating) upward of 430 for cab cars and 452 for
2075-460: The slums of nearby Ngau Tau Kok . Thus, in the late 1950s, Kwun Tong became the first developed satellite town. Around the same time, the government also began to develop Tsuen Wan as a satellite town. In 1967, using a similar concept on a smaller scale, it also built Wah Fu Estate , which lay to the west of Aberdeen in Pok Fu Lam , in a remote corner on the southern side of Hong Kong Island. In
2158-470: The 'designed maximum one-hour carrying capacity' is actually 64,000, a figure described in Hansard footnotes as 'calculated in terms of the highest train frequency allowed with the existing signaling system'; in the consultants' report, 2011 average loading from Kam Sheung Road to Tsuen Wan West during the busiest morning peak hour stood at 65% (of the "one-direction passenger capacity of the trains operated along
2241-514: The 1950s to accommodate Hong Kong's booming population . During the first phase of development, the newly developed towns were called " satellite towns ", a concept borrowed from the United Kingdom , of which Hong Kong was a colony . Kwun Tong , located in eastern Kowloon , and Tsuen Wan , located in the south-west of the New Territories , were designated as the first satellite towns, when
2324-598: The 1950s, most of the population in Hong Kong lived in Hong Kong's urban area, namely the central and western parts of the Kowloon Peninsula and the northern coast of Hong Kong Island. After the Second World War , however, the population boomed. The drastic growth was due to prolonged political unrest in Mainland China , which brought a large number of refugees to Hong Kong from the 1950s to the early 1970s and led to
2407-480: The 1970s to build New Towns in other areas as well. As part of this second phase, the development of Tai Po New Town , Yuen Long New Town and Fanling-Sheung Shui New Town began in 1976, 1977 and 1978 respectively; the extension of the Tsuen Wan New Town to Tsing Yi Town also began in the mid-1970s, and was regarded as part of the second phase of new-town development. The third phase of new-town development
2490-598: The 1980s and 1990s had either no more industrial areas (e.g. Tin Shui Wai New Town and Tung Chung), or industrial areas with only high-value-adding industries allowed (e.g. Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate 將軍澳工業邨). Typically, a new town was planned and developed around a town centre, which was the town's business, cultural and traffic hub. For example, in the town centres of Tuen Mun New Town and Sha Tin New Town, one can find shopping centres, public libraries, theatres, government offices, parks, and bus terminuses. Any new town with
2573-617: The 2000s and early 2010s, and new-town development was restricted to further development of the ones already developed. In response to excess housing demand since the late 2000s, however, which resulted in extremely high housing prices and rents as well as very long queues in pending for public housing, government considered to add to the number of new towns again. In the early 2010s, the government proposed to build new towns in Hung Shui Kiu , Kwu Tung , North Fanling and Ping Che - Ta Kwu Ling . The proposals are matters of heated public debate; if
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2656-745: The 2010s, hoping thereby to increase the supply in the private housing market and provide more flats for public housing . For example, Hung Shui Kiu New Town , Kwu Tung North New Town and North Fanling New Town have been proposed by the government and currently under public consultation. Land use is carefully planned in new towns, and development sets aside plenty of room for public housing projects. Highways, tunnels, bridges and railways have been built for accessibility. The first few new towns, such as Tuen Mun, Sha Tin, Yuen Long and Tai Po, were intended to be self-reliant, each having not only residential areas but also commercial, industrial and recreational areas, such that residents would not need to travel between
2739-497: The 5.5 kilometre Tai Lam Tunnel . The entrances/exits of the station are: The district is also served by the Light Rail , with Tin Shui Wai station serving as the main interchange point for the local branch of this network, which runs in a circle around the new town, called Tin Shui Wai Circular. The light rail network, in conjunction with the Tuen Ma line , connects the townships of Tuen Mun and Yuen Long . The light rail
2822-614: The 58 residential blocks of Kingswood Villas . Tin Shui Wai is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 72. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and one government school: Tin Shui Wai Government Primary School (天水圍官立小學). Schools in Tin Shui Wai: The town is served by Tin Shui Wai station on the Tuen Ma line . The station borders
2905-400: The Hong Kong population lives in these newly developed areas. After the government had built a new town on Lantau Island in the 1990s, the pace at which it developed new towns slowed in the 2000s, owing to lower population growth . As demand rose in the housing market and it became difficult for residents to buy new homes, the Hong Kong government suggested that new towns be built again in
2988-485: The KCRC-operated East Rail line , the West Rail project was re-evaluated by the KCRC in autumn of 1998; the present nine-car capacity (of which trains of eight-cars are currently run) is a result of improved ultimate headway from 120 seconds to 90. The first phase of construction included a double-track commuter railway connecting Tuen Mun station and Nam Cheong station in newly reclaimed West Kowloon, at
3071-616: The area. Many demanded the government to create new hospitals, jobs, and increase police enforcement in the town. West Rail and the extension of the LRT service to the Reserve Zone were commissioned in late 2003. To the northeastern portion of the new town, a constructed wetland has been completed which serves as a buffer between the developments in the Reserve Zone and the Mai Po Nature Reserve . The wetland has been further developed into
3154-474: The city centre, lowering both residents’ travel expenditures and the burden on the transportation system. For this reason, the government planned industrial areas near all the new towns it planned before the 1980s: The idea did not work, however. In the 1980s, when the new towns were developing at their highest pace, secondary sector industries in Hong Kong began moving to the Mainland China, where costs were much lower, and Hong Kong gradually emerged instead as
3237-402: The dark tunnel to the station, while around 340 people returned to the ground through a ventilation shaft at Chai Wan Kok . Eleven people were sent to hospital. Train services returned to normal after 4 hours. It was suspected that the overheated transformer caused its insulating oil to vaporise, thus causing the explosion. The train-borne circuit breaker , which was connected in parallel to
3320-457: The entire new town had been built; the estimated population in Sha Tin rose to 500,000 in the planning of the early 1970s. In the corresponding areas, land was reclaimed to create new space for some of the new towns. These newly developed towns, maturing in the 1980s, provided new homes to more than 1 million Hong Kong people. The first phase having succeeded, Hong Kong government proposed later in
3403-418: The flat land in the New Territories. The process of land reclamation for the new town was completed in 1990. Formation of the 2.4 km was estimated to cost HK$ 820 million in a contract signed with a Chinese joint-venture company. 20 million cubic metres (706.29 million cubic feet) of material would be required for the landfill . Maximum possible land formation was 4.88 km. The government
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3486-459: The government as part of the urban area. The first phase of new town development was unveiled in 1973, including Tsuen Wan New Town , which as a satellite town was not brought to full-scale development, and also Sha Tin New Town and Tuen Mun New Town . These new towns were intended to accommodate a few hundred thousand people each. For example, according to the first plan in 1961, the government planned to accommodate 360,000 people in Sha Tin once
3569-452: The initial opening of the line (the same model was ordered in 12-car and 4-car variants for the East Rail and the original Ma On Shan line , respectively). Up to 26 sets run during the morning peak service with a 171-second headway ; MTRC specifies capacities of 52 seated and 286 standing passengers per car. In March 2020, a newly built eight-car East West line train , manufactured by CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles , entered service on
3652-473: The late 1960s and the 1970s, another stage of new-town developments was launched and the term "new town" was officially adopted. As most flat lands in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island had already been developed, the government proposed to build new towns in New Territories, a largely rural area at that time. Kwun Tong, as the first satellite town, was not considered as a new town, as it was part of Kowloon and regarded by
3735-561: The line is fully elevated and constructed on a continuous viaduct , running in a westerly direction through the new towns of Yuen Long and turning towards the south at Tin Shui Wai , before taking a bend towards the Tuen Mun River and eventually terminating at Tuen Mun station . The West Rail line was served by 33 eight-car MTR SP1900 EMUs built by a Japanese consortium of Kinki Sharyo and Kawasaki Heavy Industries , of which 22 were originally ordered by KCRC as seven-car trains for
3818-500: The line. Similar to the previous rolling stock, the trains had a maximum running speed of 130 kilometres per hour (81 mph) and travel at an average speed of 56 kilometres per hour (35 mph) on the West Rail line. Unlike the trains on the East Rail line, there are no first-class compartments . All trains are serviced at Pat Heung depot and are equipped with the SelTrac IS moving block signalling system for train protection ; this
3901-599: The new railway was designed to serve 1.08 million residents in northwestern New Territories, 25% of whom lived within walking distance to stations compared to 80% along the Tseung Kwan O line . In August 1996, the KCR Corporation set up the West Rail Steering Committee to oversee all aspects of the project. Originally conceived and carried through to the technical design phase as a 12-car system, paralleling
3984-495: The new town in 1991. The Housing Authority launched 6,459 Home Ownership Scheme flats in the area at steep discounts to an adjacent private estate and attracted some 90,000 applications. A new modular style of construction for the public housing estates allowed rapid development and, in a first for a new town, on 26 March 1993 Tin Shui Wai was officially opened by Governor Chris Patten . By that time, some 30,000 people were living there. The Development Zone of 220 hectares, in
4067-433: The new towns and the city centre for work and leisure. To this end, a few industrial estates, such as Tai Po Industrial Estate and Yuen Long Industrial Estate , were built to provide work opportunities for the residents in the nearby new towns. Although the government successfully turned most of the new towns's town centres into vibrant commercial and cultural centres in their areas, the overall objective of self-reliance for
4150-588: The new towns failed, since most residents still had their jobs in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon; the objective became impossible to accomplish when most of Hong Kong's secondary sector industries had moved to China . The British government had developed new towns in the United Kingdom to help relocate displaced populations after the Second World War . This experience influenced the colonial Hong Kong government's development of new towns in Hong Kong. Before
4233-518: The new towns in western New Territories and eastern New Territories to New Kowloon; tunnels (e.g. Lion Rock Tunnel and Tate's Cairn Tunnel ) and bridges (e.g. Tsing Yi Bridge ) were also built to shorten travel times. Public transport was also developed. Many new towns were planned with new railway lines (e.g. MTR stations in Tsuen Wan New Town, Tseung Kwan O New Town, Tung Chung and the Ma On Shan Rail for Ma On Shan ). The Kowloon–Canton Railway
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#17330847276414316-667: The night of 21 July 2019, during ongoing protests in the territory, Yuen Long station was stormed by armed men, and 45 people were injured. Current proposals tabled under the Railway Development Strategy 2014 plan by the Hong Kong Government include the Northern Link, a spur line from Kam Sheung Road station to Lok Ma Chau station and a future Kwu Tung station , both on the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line of
4399-399: The north development zone has residential apartment buildings that are generally taller and denser than those in the south zone. The population of Tin Shui Wai rose rapidly over the last part of the century but has since stabilised. The government has been criticised for maintaining an insufficient level of services and facilities to meet the rapid population growth. The new town is centred on
4482-400: The objective that the new towns should be self-reliant. Besides residential areas, then, the government included commercial, industrial and recreational areas in the planning of the new towns in the first two phases, such that the new towns could provide their residents with enough job opportunities. The attempt, if successful, could minimise the need for transportation between the new towns and
4565-433: The one hand, the government began to provide public housing, and on the other hand it proposed to develop “satellite towns” in undeveloped areas in order to make more lands available for the increasing housing need. At first, it identified Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chung as sites for the first satellite towns, but it then found that Kwun Tong , located in then-underdeveloped eastern Kowloon, would be attractive to people living in
4648-589: The only links to Kowloon, the traffic between these new towns and the urban area was highly congested, prompting the government to study new road and rail links. The situation improved when Tai Lam Tunnel opened in 1998. These new towns in the north-western New Territories were finally connected to urban areas with direct railway service when KCR West Rail (now part of the Tuen Ma Line ) opened in 2003. New towns’ residential areas have both private and public housing. When new towns were first developed, land reclamation
4731-484: The proposals are adopted, construction work is expected to begin in the mid-2010s, and its first phase to end in the early 2020s. The planning of the new towns was, in colonial history, the first major attempt at horizontal coordination among government departments. Regarding it as a cornerstone of Hong Kong social policy, the colonial government aimed to alleviate urban overpopulation and improve quality of life for ordinary citizens. It planned all new towns carefully, with
4814-516: The proposed Western Corridor Railway. KCRC submitted a full proposal in November 1995, as did MTRC; twelve months later, the Government adopted KCRC's proposal. Tuen Mun residents clamoured for a direct connection (or failing that, a costly alternative coastal alignment), and the terminus was duly extended along Tuen Mun Nullah. Along with the Light Rail network , which was reconfigured as a feeder system,
4897-413: The railway line", the exact figure of which was unspecified): consultants thus referred to "under-utilisation of train capacity" . (The same consultant also forecast 50,000 pax/hr in 2031, given a peak service of 28 tph at 75,000 pax/hr capacity.) In present operations, parliamentary briefs state that the Kowloon Southern Link raised the one-hour carrying capacity from 39,900 to 46,900 pax/hr when headway
4980-420: The rapid advance of Hong Kong's economy from the 1970s to the early 1990s. The government in the 1950s originally had no plans to deal with the problem of housing the increasing population, until the Shek Kip Mei Fire in 1953 destroyed the homes of 58,203 people in a shanty town . The government, for the first time, built public housing to accommodate the victims and found a change in housing policy essential. On
5063-404: The residents were fishermen before the new town was developed. With the decline in aquaculture , most of the fish ponds were abandoned. The Hong Kong Government developed the area into a new town through land reclamation . The new town, conceived in 1987 to house 140,000 people, was constructed on 2.4 square kilometres (590 acres) of reclaimed fishponds and wetland representing one quarter of
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#17330847276415146-602: The rest. KCRC's stress tests prior to the system's début specified a crush-load capacity of 2345, or 335 passengers in longitudinal seating for each of its seven cars, which corresponds to seven passengers per square metre in line with MTRC standards. This contrasts with a worst-case allowable planning standard of 5 pax /square metre in the United States. In industry journals, KCRC engineers and academics quoted ultimate limits upwards of 100,000 under 105-second headways, in nine-car configuration; however, both post-merger MTRC and government planning consultants report that
5229-520: The same time, the existing segment between East Tsim Sha Tsui station and Hung Hom station was transferred from the East Rail line to the West Rail line, and both services now terminated in the south and interchanged at Hung Hom. Like all MTR lines, the West Rail line is grade-separated throughout its entire length and includes a combination of underground, at-grade, and elevated sections. Running from southeast to northwest, it starts at Hung Hom station at ground level and initially heads southwest into
5312-424: The service level of new MTR lines is pitched at 4 pax/square metre service benchmark. At 4 pax/square metre, the critical link on the line ran at 99% capacity (34,600 pax/hr) in 2013, partly due to lengthy turnaround times at the present Hung Hom terminus which depressed realizable carrying capacity by 20%. Platform screen doors All West Rail line stations have platform screen doors . The only exception
5395-469: The south and the north development zones. The south development zone first started in the early 1990s and has since become a unique community. Since Tin Shui Wai was planned and developed from scratch, locals enjoy wider walkways and larger open areas when compared to other urban developments in Hong Kong. Following the completion of the north development zone, the government planned to build 85,000 units and apartments annually in Hong Kong after 1997. As such,
5478-468: The south of the town, near Ping Shan , and is adjacent to Tin Yiu Estate, Tin Shing Court and Tin Yau Court. It is elevated over the junction of Ping Ha Road and Tin Fuk Road. Several bus stops serve the station. Three footbridges are constructed along Tin Fuk Road and Ping Ha Road to connect the station to the town. The Tuen Ma line directly connects Tin Shui Wai to the neighbouring new towns of Tuen Mun and Yuen Long, as well as Tsuen Wan and Kowloon via
5561-486: The southern part of the new town, has been developed to house about 200,000 people. An LRT (Light Rail Transit) line [ yue ; zh-tw ] and new roads linking the town to the trunk road network provide good connections to the Yuen Long and Tuen Mun districts and to the urban areas beyond. Further expansion of the new town into the remaining areas to the north, known as the Reserve Zone, with an area of 210 hectares, commenced in July 1998. The infrastructure
5644-491: The stations on the West Rail line, all of which have now been transferred to the Tuen Ma line . Platform relocated on 15 May 2022 At 9:15am on 14 February 2007, a passenger train broke down when one of the voltage transformers mounted on the train roof exploded. This incident occurred in the southbound direction in the tunnel between Kam Sheung Road and Tsuen Wan West , about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of Tsuen Wan West. Around 650 passengers had to evacuate through
5727-403: The urban area in Hong Kong was still relatively small, restricted to the central and western parts of Kowloon Peninsula and the northern side of Hong Kong Island . Wah Fu Estate was also built in a remote corner on the southern side of Hong Kong Island, with similar concepts but at a smaller scale. Plans to develop new areas were continued in the late 1960s and 1970s, when the name “new town”
5810-433: The voltage transformer to the train pantograph , was not designed to isolate this kind of fault. After the incident, all SP1900 EMUs had their voltage transformers replaced. The new voltage transformers are German-made dry type transformers, which will not catch fire, even if they fail. As an apology, the West Rail was opened for free rides on 21 February 2007, the first working day after the Chinese New Year holiday. On
5893-438: Was Hung Hom station , which shared its platform with the East Rail line until it was moved underground on 20 June 2021. The fare system of the line generally followed the other lines on the former KCR network. Octopus cards and single ride tickets were available. All persons aged between 12 and 64 were charged the adult fare, whereas children aged 11 or below, full-time students, and seniors aged 65 or above were entitled to
5976-421: Was 292,000 in 2014, while the total projected population for when the town is fully built-out is about 306,000. The land on which Tin Shui Wai was built did not exist at the beginning of the 1900s, while the adjacent Ping Shan was by the sea. The water north of Ping Shan gradually turned to marshes and villagers converted them into pools and rice paddies . The pools became gei wai fish ponds where most of
6059-465: Was accused by the developers of stalling the release of land for political reasons. Tin Shui Wai Development, a company 51% owned by China Resources and 49% by Cheung Kong Holdings , sued the government for damages caused by delays in handing over 388,000 m of land for development originally promised for 1985. The land was eventually handed over in May 1989. The first occupants moved into
6142-404: Was among the earliest applications of the technology on a high-capacity, heavy-rail line worldwide. Beginning in January 2016, all 7-car trains were converted to 8-car trains in anticipation of the Sha Tin to Central Link (see § Future development ); this was completed in May 2018. During the transition period with both 7-car and 8-car trains in service, passengers had to pay attention to
6225-428: Was an important way of gaining land to build on. Large areas were gained by land reclamations in Sha Tin, Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun, Tai Po, Tsing Yi, Ma On Shan, Tin Shui Wai, Tseung Kwan O and Tung Chung – 7 of 9 new towns, with Fanling-Sheung Shui New Town and Yuen Long New Town being the only exceptions. West Rail line The West Rail line ( Chinese : 西鐵綫 ) was a rapid transit line that formed part of
6308-475: Was built after the new towns in north-west New Territories, along with road-based transport networks, were nearing completion. Attempts to boost patronage were made by cutting longstanding bus services, which in turn necessitated government compensation to private bus operator Kowloon Motor Bus . On 16 August 2009, the Kowloon Southern Link from Nam Cheong to East Tsim Sha Tsui station was opened. At
6391-416: Was completed in stages from 2000 to 2004 to cope with population intake of the housing developments. In the early 2000's, Tin Shui Wai developed a notorious reputation as a "city of sadness". The town was criticized for its cramped public housing, isolation, and lack of employment opportunities. On November 25, 2007, numerous residents rallied outside government headquarters to push for more aid and reform for
6474-418: Was electrified in the early 1980s in order to provide convenient transport to the new towns at Fanling-Sheung Shui, Tai Po and Sha Tin. New towns in the north-western New Territories were connected by Light Rail Transit , although at the time they remained the only new towns without direct railway service to the urban areas. Because there was no railway transport, and Tuen Mun Road and Castle Peak Road were
6557-542: Was officially adopted. As most flat lands in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon had already been developed, the government proposed to build new towns in the New Territories, a largely rural area at that time. The first phase of new-town development, which began in 1973, included Tsuen Wan , Sha Tin and Tuen Mun . With the success of these new towns, and the experience gained from building them, the government launched further stages of new-town development in subsequent decades. To date, nine new towns have been built, and about half of
6640-406: Was proposed in the 1980s, including Tseung Kwan O New Town , Tin Shui Wai New Town and Ma On Shan , the last of which was officially considered as an extension of Sha Tin New Town. The fourth phase of new-town development, so far the last, commenced in 1996 and developed North Lantau New Town (only Tung Chung was developed, although originally the plan included the area near Tai Ho Wan ), as
6723-485: Was recommended as early as 1978 in a Tuen Mun Transport Study by Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick & Partner; by the early 1990s, the surge of commuter towns in Yuen Long and Tuen Mun had frequently brought road networks to a standstill, as urban populations spilled over to the bedroom communities while keeping their jobs in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. The 1994 Hong Kong Government Railway Development Strategy report envisaged
6806-514: Was shortened from 3.5 minutes to 3. 2013 LegCo submissions from the MTRC confirmed that the capacity was at 46,900 pax/hr, with average train loading during morning peak hours on weekdays (from 6.30am to 9am) at around 70%. Extrapolated, 4.5 pax/square metre would translate to 'maximal overcrowding' by London Underground authorities' definitions; however, James Blake, then Senior Director/Capital Projects of KCRC, noted that 6 pax/square metre
6889-624: Was used in demand-capacity projections at peak times, and "this figure would be quite acceptable to the ordinary travelling public even at peak times" . In December 2013, the Transport and Housing Bureau submitted detailed definitions to legislators regarding average train loading without specifying the figures: they were eventually released in February 2014 in a Legco subcommittee submission. It recognised that 6 pax/square metre design capacity standards were not achieved in actual operations, and that
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