Causeway Bay station

Causeway Bay (Chinese: 銅鑼灣; Cantonese Yale: Tùnglòwāan) is an underground metro station on the MTR network in Hong Kong. It is located between Wan Chai and Tin Hau stations on the Island line, and sits underneath Great George Street near Hennessy Road and Yee Wo Street. Named for the Causeway Bay area and its abundant shopping centres, the station serves various malls including Hysan Place, Sino Plaza, Sogo, and the nearby Victoria Park.

Causeway Bay 銅鑼灣
MTR rapid transit station
Platform 2 (2021)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	銅鑼灣
Simplified Chinese	铜锣湾
Hanyu Pinyin	Tóngluówān
Cantonese Yale	Tùnglòwāan
Literal meaning	Copper gong bay
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Tóngluówān Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Tùnglòwāan IPA [tʰʊ̏ŋ lɔ̏ː wáːn] Jyutping Tung4lo4waan1
General information
Location	Hennessy Road × Yee Wo Street, East Point Wan Chai District, Hong Kong
Coordinates	22°16′49″N 114°11′01″E
Owned by	MTR Corporation
Operated by	MTR Corporation
Line(s)	Island line
Platforms	2 (2 split level side platforms)
Tracks	2
Connections	Tram Bus, minibus
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Depth	30 m (98 ft)
Platform levels	2
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	CAB
History
Opened	31 May 1985; 39 years ago (1985-05-31)
Previous names	East Point
Services
Preceding station MTR Following station Wan Chai towards Kennedy Town Island line Tin Hau towards Chai Wan
Track layout Legend to Tin Hau 1 P1 (upper level) 2 P2 (lower level) to Wan Chai
Location Causeway Bay Location within the MTR system Show map of MTR Causeway Bay Causeway Bay (Hong Kong urban core) Show map of Hong Kong urban core Causeway Bay Causeway Bay (Hong Kong Island) Show map of Hong Kong Island

A line servicing Hong Kong Island had been part of the initial 1967 plans for a metro system in the city. The Island line would be approved in 1980 while construction began two years later. In 1985 the station opened along with the first section of the line, which would be extended westward toward Kennedy Town in 2014. The station consists of two separate concourses situated atop two platforms stacked vertically due to geographical constraints and has 6 exits.

History

Planning

Further information: MTR § History, and Island line (MTR) § History

In 1967, the government of Hong Kong saw the need for a public transport system. British transport consultants Freeman, Fox, Wilbur Smith & Associates were commissioned to write the Mass Transport Study, which proposed a new underground railway.^[1] The plan included the Island line between Kennedy Town and Chai Wan stations, as well as the Kwun Tong line, Tsuen Wan line, and the Shatin line. Three lines would become part of the early stages of the MTR, while the Shatin line would eventually be shelved and never built.^[2] Concerns that the Island line would be prohibitively expensive at a time where the MTR was not profitable led the public to believe the government favoured light rail; however, the Transport Advisory Committee—then the agency responsible for public transportation planning—confirmed that fears of surface construction disrupting the main artery of the island would mean the underground metro was ultimately chosen.^[3]

As late as 1980, plans instead named the station "Valley". Causeway Bay was one of the stations planned for above-station property development, along with Admiralty, Wan Chai, and Western Market.^[4]

The Island line was built last; by the time construction had started in October 1982, the Kwun Tong and Tsuen Wan lines were already operational.^[5]

Construction

At least 5,000 local residents were rehoused to accommodate construction of the Island line.^[4]

Contract 405 for the construction of the station and tunnels was awarded to Kumagai Gumi, and civil works began in October 1982. The joint venture between Marples Ridgway and LTA also built the station's structure.

The station construction site was sold by the MTR in 1984 to Taisei Corporation for $380m, now the location of Sogo Hong Kong.^[6] The station opened with the first section of the Island line from Admiralty to Chai Wan on 31 May 1985.^[2]

Design

Along with 36 other stations on the Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan, and Island Lines, Causeway Bay was designed by then-chief architect Roland Paoletti, who would later go on to design the Jubilee Line extension of the London Underground.^[7][8] Paoletti elected for each station to feature its own colour scheme and walls painted in calligraphy–Causeway Bay's station colour is purple.

Services

The station is situated between Wan Chai and Tin Hau stations on the Island line.^[9] The typical off-peak service is 17 trains per hour in both directions, which is a train every 3–6 minutes.^[10]

Station layout

The platforms of Causeway Bay station are constructed in a stacked arrangement, with platform 1 above platform 2.

G	Ground level	Exits
-	Western Concourse	Vending machines, ATM
L1 Concourses	Eastern Concourse	Customer Service, MTRShops
		Hang Seng Bank, vending machines, ATM
		Octopus promotion machine, tourist information centre
	Western Concourse	Customer Service
		ATM, i-centre internet service
L2 Platform	Side platform, doors will open on the left
	Platform 1	→      Island line towards Chai Wan (Tin Hau) →
L3 Concourse	Southern Concourse	Customer Service
		Vending machines, ATM, Octopus Promotion Machine
L5 Platform	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Platform 2	←      Island line towards Kennedy Town (Wan Chai)

^[11]

• 
  Platform 1 (2021)
• 
  West Concourse (2018)
• 
  East Concourse (2017)
• 
  South Concourse (2018)

Entrances/exits

Causeway Bay is a primary shopping district in Hong Kong^{[note 1]} with exits from the MTR leading directly into major outlets such as Sogo and Times Square, which can be accessed through a long, upward sloping pedestrian walkway at Exit A.

Unlike other MTR stations, there are three different concourses in Causeway Bay station. After exiting the paid areas through the turnstiles, the other two concourses are inaccessible underground. The west and east concourses were opened on 31 May 1985 with the opening of the station, while the south concourse and Exit A were opened in 1994 with the opening of Times Square.

• 
  Exit B (2023)
• 
  Exit C (2020)
• 
  Lift access (2018)
• 
  Exit E (2020)

South concourse

In the basement of Times Square:

• A: Times Square^[13]

West concourse

In the basement of Causeway Bay Plaza (Phase 1):

• B: Causeway Bay Plaza
• C: Sino Plaza^[13]

East concourse

In the basement of Sogo Department Store:

• D1/D2/D3/D4: Sogo Department Store
• E: Victoria Park
• F1: Jardine's Crescent
• F2: Hysan Place^[13]

Transport connections

Bus routes

These are the bus routes found in the vicinity of Causeway Bay station that provide connections with other areas not served by the MTR including Aberdeen/Wah Kwai Estate, Braemar Hill, Happy Valley, Jardine's Lookout, Kennedy Town, Lai Tak Tsuen, Lei Tung Estate, Tsuen Wan, Sham Wan/Wong Chuk Hang, Hoi Lai Estate, South Horizons, The Peak, Tin Wan, Tsing Yi/Cheung On, Wah Fu.

Hong Kong Tramways

Hong Kong Island's tramway system consists of an inner loop branching out at Causeway Bay towards Happy Valley. The nearest tram stop is located along Percival Street near the end of Matheson Street.

Gallery

• 
  Platform 2 (2013)
• 
  Causeway Bay station East Concourse (2011)

Notes

1. This causes the station to be very busy all day long.^[12]

References

1. Rail Mass Transit for Developing Countries: Proceedings of the Conference Organized by the Institution of Civil Engineers, and Held in London on 9–10 October 1989 Archived 5 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Thomas Telford, 1990, page 141
2. "歷史". MTR之今昔Expo (in Cantonese). MTR之今昔. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
3. Choi, Barry (6 December 1980). "TAC backs Island MTR line" (PDF). South China Morning Post. Hong Kong University. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
4. Choi, Barry (24 December 1980). "Island Line gets go-ahead" (PDF). South China Morning Post. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
5. "歷史". 港島線 (in Cantonese). 台灣Word. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
6. Sim, Suzanne (7 April 1984). "MTR Causeway Bay site fetches $380m" (PDF). South China Morning Post. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
7. "Hong Kong – A city on the move". Royal Institute of British Architects. Archived from the original on 24 February 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2007.
8. "The surprising reason Hong Kong's MTR stations are colour coded". South China Morning Post. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
9. "MTR system map" (PDF). MTR. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
10. "Service Hours". Services and Facilities. MTR. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
11. "Causeway Bay Station layout" (PDF). MTR Corporation. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
12. "銅鑼灣 Causeway Bay (CAB)". 港島線簡介 (in Cantonese). MTR之今昔. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
13. "Causeway Bay Station street map" (PDF). MTR Corporation. Retrieved 31 July 2014.

External links

• Media related to Causeway Bay Station at Wikimedia Commons