Shing Mun Tunnels [Remark 1] (城門隧道), abbr. "SMT", is a set of dual two-lane twin-tube tunnels connecting Kwai Tsing and Sha Tin districts in the New Territories, and is part of Route 9, which was opened to traffic on 20 April 1990, with a length of about 2.6 kilometres.
Shing Mun Tunnel Road (城門隧道公路) [Remark 1] was also opened on the same day and is the approach road to the Shing Mun Tunnel at the Sha Tin end.
Except for a short section of Shing Mun Tunnel Road eastbound to the east of Tsing Sha Highway, the remaining sections of Shing Mun Tunnel and Shing Mun Tunnel Road are closed to red minibuses.
History[]
Tsuen Wan and Sha Tin have long been separated by the Shing Mun Reservoir and Needle Hill, with no vehicular access. In the past, travelling between the two places had to be done via Kowloon, via Tai Po Road/Lion Rock Tunnel and Ching Cheung Road, which was a circuitous and time-consuming journey. In 1979, KMB introduced Route 48 between Tsuen Wan Ferry Pier and Sha Tin Market via Tai Po Road, which is evidence of the increasing demand for transport between the two places.
As Tsuen Wan, Kwai Tsing and Sha Tin developed into new towns in the 1960s and 1970s, the demand for travelling between the two districts increased, as re-affirmed in the 1968 Long Term Road Study and the 1976 Hong Kong Comprehensive Transport Study[1], where the former proposed a section of Route 5 from the existing Cheung Wing Road Gyratory, in tunnel to the south-east corner of Shing Mun Reservoir, then along the north shore of the Lower Shing Mun Road to the north shore of the Shing Mun Reservoir. The former proposed a section of Route 5 from the existing Cheong Wing Road roundabout to the southeast corner of the Shing Mun Reservoir, and then along the north shore of the Lower Shing Mun Reservoir at-grade to Sha Tin.
To this end, a feasibility study on the Sha Tin - Tsuen Wan Corridor was carried out in 1982, which recommended the early construction of a dual two-lane trunk road linking Sha Tin and Tsuen Wan, now known as Cheung Pei Shan Road, Shing Mun Tunnels and Shing Mun Tunnel Road[1]. As Needle Hill, where the tunnel passes through, is an abandoned tungsten mine, the Government commissioned Mott Hay Anderson Far East to re-investigate the underground mine paths in the Needle Hill area prior to the construction of the tunnel. The results of the survey showed that the original design of the tunnel tube would cross a mine vein, so the authorities shifted the tube slightly downwards. Before the construction of the Shing Mun Tunnel began, some of the mining tunnels had to be drained and backfilled with concrete for safety, and all the entrances to the tunnels were sealed with concrete to prevent trespassing. At present, the closest point between the Shing Mun Tunnel tube and the Yan Hing Mine is only about one metre.[2]
The 2.6-kilometre-long Shing Mun Tunnel, which connects Cheung Pei Shan Road to the Shing Mun Tunnel Road, consists of two sets of dual two-lane tunnels, the Smugglers' Ridge Tunnel and the Needle Hill Tunnel. The Smugglers' Ridge Tunnel is about 1 kilometre long and passes through the peak of Smugglers' Ridge to connect the Tsuen Wan Toll Plaza with the Lower Shing Mun River, while the Needle Hill Tunnel, which passes through the Needle Hill from the Lower Shing Mun River to Sha Tin, is about 1.6 kilometres long. The two tunnels are connected by two 100-metre-long three-span post-tensioned in-situ concrete girder bridges across the Lower Shing Mun River Valley.[1]
Construction of the Shing Mun Tunnel commenced in April 1986 and the tunnel was opened to traffic on 20 April 1990. A bus stop at the side of the toll plaza at the Tsuen Wan exit of the tunnel, with one stop in each direction, was opened on 26 May 1991 as the Shing Mun Tunnel Bus Interchange, and was the first tolled road tunnel to have a large-scale bus interchange.
Currently, Chun Wo Tunnel Management Company Limited is responsible for the management of Shing Mun Tunnels with effect from 1 June 2018 under a six-year contract[3]. Consisting of two sets of tunnels, the plural form "Tunnels" is used in its English name.
Usage situation[]
Shing Mun Tunnels and Shing Mun Tunnel Road, which connects North Kwai Chung and Shatin, significantly shortened the travelling distance between Shatin and Kwai Chung and Tsuen Wan. Many franchised bus routes have been diverted to travel via the Tunnel and the connecting road (e.g. Routes 73X and 848) after the commissioning of the tunnel.
The design capacity of the Shing Mun Tunnels is 2,600 vehicles per hour per direction, with peak hour utilisation rates of 0.7 (westbound) and 0.7 (eastbound) in 2019.[4]
Bus and minibus routes[]
The following routes use Shing Mun Tunnels and Shing Mun Tunnel Road; except for Routes 263A and 263C heading to New Territories East, all solely-operated KMB routes via Shing Mun Tunnel stop at "Shing Mun Tunnels Bus Interchange", where all LWB routes and GMB routes do not stop.
| List of bus routes passing through Shing Mun Tunnels and Shing Mun Tunnel Road | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bus company | Bus route | Origin | Destination | Service mode |
| The following routes pass through the whole of Shing Mun Tunnels and Shing Mun Tunnel Road | ||||
| Template:KMB 33R doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 40E doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 40X doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 43P doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 43S doesn't exist! | ||||
| KMB | 43X | Yiu On | Tsuen Wan West Station | Service daily, observes this stop in both directions ● |
| Tsuen Wan West Station | Yiu On | |||
| Template:KMB 47A doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 47X doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 48P doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 48X doesn't exist! | ||||
| KMB | 49P | Shatin Central | Tsing Yi Ferry (One-way) |
Service Mondays to Saturdays during Afternoon Peak Hours, bypasses Tsuen Wan Town Centre, one-way westbound ● |
| KMB | 49X | Kwong Yuen | Tsing Yi Ferry | Service daily, observes this stop in both directions ● |
| Tsing Yi Ferry | Kwong Yuen | |||
| Template:KMB 73D doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 73F doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 73P doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 73X doesn't exist! | ||||
| KMB | 263 | Tuen Mun Station | Sha Tin Station | Service daily, observes this stop in both directions ● |
| Sha Tin Station | Tuen Mun Station | |||
| KMB | 263A | Tuen Mun Station | Hong Kong Science Park | Outbound service Mondays to Fridays during Morning Peak Hours ● |
| Hong Kong Science Park | Tuen Mun Station | Inbound service Mondays to Fridays during Afternoon Peak Hours ● | ||
| Template:KMB 263B doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 263C doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 269D doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 273C doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 273P doesn't exist! | ||||
| KMB | 278A | Queen's Hill | Tsuen Wan (Nina Tower) | Outbound service Mondays to Fridays during AM and Afternoon Peak Hours hours, Saturdays and holidays daytime ● |
| Tsuen Wan (Nina Tower) | Queen's Hill | Inbound service Mondays to Fridays during Morning Peak Hours and Afternoon Peak Hours hours to nighttime, Saturdays and holidays whole-day ● | ||
| Template:KMB 278P doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 278X doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 848 doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 868 doesn't exist! | ||||
| LWB | E41 | Tai Po Tau | SKYCITY | Service daily, observes this stop in both directions ● |
| SKYCITY | Tai Po Tau | |||
| LWB | N42A | Fanling (Luen Wo Hui) | Tung Chung Station | Outbound service daily during early morning, via Tai Po ● |
| Tung Chung Station | Fanling (Luen Wo Hui) | Inbound service daily overnight, via Tai Po ● | ||
| LWB | NA40 | Wu Kai Sha Station | HZMB Hong Kong Port | Outbound service daily during early morning ● |
| HZMB Hong Kong Port | Wu Kai Sha Station | Inbound service daily overnight ● | ||
| Template:LWB R42 doesn't exist! | ||||
| The following routes pass through Shing Mun Tunnels and a section of Shing Mun Tunnel Road west of Tai Po Road - Tai Wai | ||||
| Template:KMB 46P doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 46P doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 46S doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 46X doesn't exist! | ||||
| LWB | E42 | Sha Tin (Pok Hong) | Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) | Service daily, observes this stop in both directions ● |
| Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) | Sha Tin (Pok Hong) | |||
| LWB | E42C | Sha Tin (Pok Hong) | Aircraft Maintenance Area | Outbound service Mondays to Fridays during Morning Peak Hours, via Tsing Yi North Coastal Road ● |
| Aircraft Maintenance Area | Sha Tin (Pok Hong) | Inbound service Mondays to Fridays during nighttime, via Tsing Yi North Coastal Road ● | ||
| Template:LWB E42P doesn't exist! | ||||
| LWB | N42 | Ma On Shan (Yiu On) | Tung Chung Station | Outbound service daily during early morning ● |
| Tung Chung Station | Ma On Shan (Yiu On) | Inbound service daily overnight ● | ||
| LWB | NA41 | Shui Chuen O | HZMB Hong Kong Port | Outbound service daily during early morning ● |
| HZMB Hong Kong Port | Shui Chuen O | Inbound service daily overnight ● | ||
| The following routes pass through a section of eastbound Shing Mun Tunnel Road one-way from Tsing Sha Highway and Tai Po Road - Sha Tin | ||||
| Template:KMB 38B doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:CTB 79P doesn't exist! | ||||
| Citybus | 79X | Cheung Sha Wan (Kom Tsun Street) | Queen's Hill Fanling | Inbound Mondays to Fridays whole-day, Saturdays and holidays after Morning Peak Hours ● |
| KMB | 270B | Olympic Station | Sheung Shui | Inbound daily after Morning Peak Hours ● |
| Template:KMB 270S doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 271X doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:KMB 272E doesn't exist! | ||||
| KMB | 272P | kwai Hing Station | Tai Po (Fu Heng) | Service Mondays to Saturdays during peak hours ● |
| Template:KMB 272X doesn't exist! | ||||
| KMB | 280X | Tsim Sha Tsui East (Mody Road) | Fo Tan (Sui Wo Court) | Service daily ● |
| KMB | 286C | Cheung Sha Wan (Hoi Tat Estate) | Ma On Shan (Lee On) | Inbound daily after Morning Peak Hours ● |
| Template:KMB 287D doesn't exist! | ||||
| Template:CTB 798P doesn't exist! | ||||
| KMB | 900 | Wan Chai (HKCEC) | Pak Shek Kok | Inbound Mondays to Saturdays during Afternoon Peak Hours hours to nighttime ● |
| KMB, Citybus | 907D | Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground | Tai Po (Ting Tai Road) | Service Mondays to Fridays during peak hours ● |
| Citybus | 979 | Central (Hong Kong Station) | Queen's Hill Fanling | Inbound Mondays to Fridays during Afternoon Peak Hours, via Sheung Wan ● |
| LWB | A41P | Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) | Ma On Shan (Wu Kai Sha Station) | Service daily ● |
| LWB | A47X | Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) | Tai Po (Tai Wo) | Inbound daily after Morning Peak Hours ● |
| LWB | NA47 | HZMB Hong Kong Port | Tai Po (Tai Wo) | Inbound daily overnight ● |
| Template:KMB W3 doesn't exist! | ||||
| List of green minibus (GMB) routes passing through Shing Mun Tunnels and Shing Mun Tunnel Road | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Route | Origin | Destination | Service mode |
| The following routes pass through the whole of Shing Mun Tunnels and Shing Mun Tunnel Road | ||||
| Kit Kee Transport | 403 | Shek Lei (Lei Pui Street) | ↺Sha Tin Wai | Service daily, observes this stop in both directions ● |
| ↺Sha Tin Wai | Shek Lei (Lei Pui Street) | |||
| Kit Kee Transport | 403A | On YamEstate | Shatin Town Hall | Service daily, observes this stop in both directions ● |
| Shatin Town Hall | On YamEstate | |||
| Kit Kee Transport | 403P | Shek Lei (Lei Pui Street) | Shatin Town Hall | Service daily, observes this stop in both directions ● |
| Shatin Town Hall | Shek Lei (Lei Pui Street) | |||
| Aberdeen Maxicab Service | 481 | Tsuen Wan (Tsuen Wan Market Street) | Fo Tan (Shan Mei Street) | Service daily, observes this stop in both directions ● |
| Fo Tan (Shan Mei Street) | Tsuen Wan (Tsuen Wan Market Street) | |||
| Aberdeen Maxicab Service | 481A | Tsuen Wan (Tsuen Wan Market Street) | Shatin Town Hall | Service Mondays to Saturdays after Morning Peak Hours, holidays whole-day, observes this stop in both directions ● |
| Shatin Town Hall | Tsuen Wan (Tsuen Wan Market Street) | |||
| Aberdeen Maxicab Service | 481X | Tsuen Wan (Tsuen Wan Market Street) | Fo Tan (Chun Yeung Estate) | Service Saturdays during peak hours, holidays during Morning Peak Hours, observes this stop in both directions ● |
| Fo Tan (Chun Yeung Estate) | Tsuen Wan (Tsuen Wan Market Street) | |||
| The following routes pass through Shing Mun Tunnels and a section of Shing Mun Tunnel Road west of Tai Po Road - Tai Wai | ||||
| Kit Kee Transport | 403X | Tai Wai Station | ↺Shek Lei (Lei Pui Street) | Service daily, observes this stop in both directions ● |
| ↺Shek Lei (Lei Pui Street) | Tai Wai Station | |||
| Aberdeen Maxicab Service | 481B | Tsuen Wan (Tsuen Wan Market Street) | Tai Wai (Tung Lo Wan Hill) | Service daily, observes this stop in both directions ● |
| Tai Wai (Tung Lo Wan Hill) | Tsuen Wan (Tsuen Wan Market Street) | |||
| Aberdeen Maxicab Service | 482 | Tsuen Wan (Tsuen Wan Market Street) | Shatin Town Hall | Service daily overnight, via Mei Lam Estate, observes this stop in both directions ● |
| Shatin Town Hall | Tsuen Wan (Tsuen Wan Market Street) | |||
Gallery[]
Tunnel portals[]
Tunnel tubes[]
_Interior_(1).jpg "Shing Mun Tunnel (Tsuen Wan Bound) Interior (1).jpg (1.8 MB)")
_Interior_(2).jpg "Shing Mun Tunnel (Tsuen Wan Bound) Interior (2).jpg (2.21 MB)")
Others[]
Remarks[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 According to the official information of the Transport Department, the official English name of the tunnel is "Shing Mun Tunnels", in plural form. However, the English name is often misspelled as the singular form by the public, and the same mistake is also made in the list of streets in the map products published by the Survey and Mapping Office of the Lands Department. However, the official English name of connecting road is "Shing Mun Tunnel Road", where the singular form is used.
Related Articles[]
- Shing Mun Tunnels Bus Interchange
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Chan Chi-keung and others, 連繫 (Hong Kong: Highways Department HKSARG, 2016), p.35.
- ↑ Jackie Chu and others, Hong Kong Mining History (Hong Kong: ProjectTerrae, June 2015), p.90-91.
- ↑ "亞洲聯合基建旗下公司獲兩份隧道管理合約" (Two Tunnel Management Contracts Awarded to companies under Asia Allied Infrastructure Holdings), Ta Kung Pao, 29 May 2018
- ↑ Replies to supplementary questions raised by Finance Committee Members in examining the Estimates of Expenditure 2020-21 CONTROLLING OFFICER'S REPLY TO INITIAL WRITTEN QUESTION No. THB(T)120
External Links[]
Template:List of Shing Mun Tunnel Bus Routes Template:List of tunnels and bridges Template:Hong Kong Strategic Routes