Tin Wing stop

Tin Wing Stop (Chinese: 天榮) is an MTR Light Rail stop. It is located at ground level beside Tin Shing Road in Tin Shui Wai Town Centre, Yuen Long District. It began service on 26 March 1995 and belongs to Zone 4.

Tin Wing 天榮
MTR Light Rail stop
Platforms 6 and 7 in January 2018
Location	Tin Shui Wai Town Centre Yuen Long District Hong Kong
Owned by	KCR Corporation
Operated by	MTR Corporation
Line(s)	Light Rail routes 705, 706, 751 and 751P
Platforms	2 (2 side platforms)
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus, minibus
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	500
Fare zone	4
History
Opened	26 March 1995
Services
Preceding stop MTR Light Rail Following stop Tin Yuet Anticlockwise around Tin Shui Wai 705 Ginza One-way operation Tin Yuet One-way operation 706 Ginza Clockwise around Tin Shui Wai Ginza towards Yau Oi 751 Chestwood towards Tin Yat Ginza towards Tin Shui Wai 751P Peak hours only
Location
Tin Wing Location within the MTR system

History

The stop was originally named Tin Shui Wai Terminus (Chinese: 天水圍總站). To avoid confusion with the new Tin Shui Wai station (Chinese: 天水圍站) on the KCRC West Rail (now MTR West Rail line), which has a light rail station of the same name, its name was changed to Tin Wing.[1] The change came into effect on 1 August 2003.[2]

On 7 December 2003, two extensions of the light rail network in Tin Shui Wai came into service, namely the Tin Shui Wai Phase 4 Extension and Tin Shui Wai Reserve Zone Extension, two weeks before the opening of the new West Rail commuter line.[3][4] This transformed Tin Wing from the terminus of the line into an intermediate station. At the same time, the 720 (Tin Wing–Yau Oi) and 721 (Tin Wing–Yuen Long Terminus) routes were replaced with routes 751 (Tin Yat–Yau Oi) and 761 (Tin Wing–Yuen Long), respectively.[4]

Route 761 was discontinued on 8 October 2006.[5][6] In other words, there is no longer a direct service from Tin Wing stop to Yuen Long.

Property development

The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCR) successfully applied to the Town Planning Board to allow a property development above the then-Tin Shui Wai Terminus. When the MTR Corporation (MTRC) and Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation merged their operations in 2007, the MTRC purchased various KCR property development rights, including the Tin Wing project. The original plans included four 43-storey blocks with 1,600 flats.[7]

In February 2015, the MTR Corporation signed an agreement with developer Sun Hung Kai Properties to jointly develop the site as a three-tower development with 1,930 flats and a commercial element.[8] Tin Wing stop was reconfigured as a conventional side platform station along Tin Shing Road, and the other platforms as well as the loop tracks were demolished to make way for the construction project, which is expected to be completed in 2024.

In July 2018, the MTR Corporation disclosed that subsidence had been detected at platform 7 between October 2017 and 25 June 2018, as a result of the construction of the adjacent property development; and that Sun Hung Kai Properties was asked to suspend work after a limit of 80 mm (3.1 in) was breached on 25 June. Light rail drivers were apparently told by MTRC management to slow down upon approaching the stop without being informed why. The corporation was criticised by some legislators, including Roy Kwong of the Democratic Party, for not having previously publicly disclosed that the incident had happened.[9]

According to the Hong Kong government, the situation was examined by the Buildings Department (BD) and Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD). The Buildings Department subsequently agreed to raise the acceptable subsidence limit from 80 to 150 mm. In May 2019, the government gave the go-ahead for construction work to resume.[10] The government stated that BD, EMSD, and MTRC would continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure the safety of railway operations.[11]

References

1. "KCRC announces stop names for new Light Rail Extensions". Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation. 1 November 2002.
2. "Four Light Rail stops get new names". Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation. 31 July 2003.
3. "KCR Light Rail extends its reach in Tin Shui Wai". Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation. 24 April 2001.
4. "New Light Rail extensions commissioned today". Kowloon-Canton Railway. 7 December 2003.
5. "KCRC strives to improve Light Rail service". Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation. 29 September 2006.
6. "Light Rail Rationalization to be launched on 8 October". Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation. 6 October 2006.
7. "LCQ5: Property development project above the Tin Shui Wai Light Rail Terminus". Legislative Council. 21 December 2011.
8. "Tin Wing Stop (Light Rail)". MTR Corporation. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
9. Yau, Cannix; Chung, Kimmy (11 July 2018). "Lawmakers blast MTR's disclosure of more light rail subsidence". South China Morning Post.
10. Yau, Cannix (24 May 2019). "Sinking project at Tin Wing light rail station to resume after Hong Kong government nearly doubles acceptable subsidence level". South China Morning Post.
11. "Consent given to resume the building works near Light Rail Tin Wing Stop". Hong Kong Government. 24 May 2019.