Lo Wu Station

This article is about a rapid transit station in Hong Kong. For the rapid transit station in Shenzhen with the same Chinese name, see Luohu Station.
Lo Wu
羅湖
MTR rapid transit station

Platform 2
Location Lo Wu Station Road, Lo Wu
North District, Hong Kong
Coordinates 22°31′42″N 114°06′48″E / 22.5283°N 114.1134°E / 22.5283; 114.1134Coordinates: 22°31′42″N 114°06′48″E / 22.5283°N 114.1134°E / 22.5283; 114.1134
Owned by Kowloon–Canton Railway Corporation
Operated by MTR Corporation
Line(s)
Platforms 4 (Spanish solution: 2 side platforms and island platform)
Tracks 2
Connections Main line Shenzhen Railway Station, Shenzhen Metro      Line 1 Luohu Station
Construction
Structure type At-grade
Platform levels 1
Disabled access Yes
History
Opened
  • 14 October 1949 (1949-10-14)
Electrified 1983
Traffic
Passengers (2012) 240,000 daily entries and exits[1]
Services
Preceding station   MTR   Following station
towards Hung Hom
East Rail LineTerminus
Across Hong Kong boundary
Preceding station   Shenzhen Metro   Following station
toward Airport East
Line 1 (Luobao)
Transfer at: Luohu
Terminus
Location
Hong Kong MTR system map
Lo Wu
Location within the MTR system
Lo Wu Station
Traditional Chinese 羅湖
Simplified Chinese 罗湖

Lo Wu Station is the northern terminus of the East Rail Line (Kowloon-Canton Railway) of Hong Kong, located in Lo Wu within the Closed Area on Hong Kong's northern frontier. The station serves as a primary checkpoint for rail passengers between Hong Kong and mainland China and vice versa, rather than serving a specific residential/commercial area like the other stations do. It is also the northernmost railway station in Hong Kong.

When the Kowloon-Canton Railway first went into service, trains did not stop at Lo Wu, as there was no border patrol at the time.[2] However, shortly after the People's Republic of China was created in October 1949, the KCR announced that trains would terminate at Lo Wu, and that passengers would be able to cross the border on foot.

Refurbishment work of the station started in 2002 and new facilities such as a group waiting area and new ticket gates were introduced. Since 28 December 2004, this station also serves as the interchange station for the Shenzhen Metro Luohu station, which shares the same Chinese name.

This station is also unique to rail systems of any kind in that sliding doors limit the number of people that are allowed on the platform. Two large glass sliding doors close after about a minute elapses from the time the train pulls in for boarding. These doors are located after the area for validating at the ticket barriers, but before the platforms area. Even with this system in place, passengers may have to wait for the next train to arrive before they can travel back towards Hung Hom, as alternate trains pull into each paired platform. This layout makes use of the Spanish solution.

Timetable

Line Destination First train Last train
East Rail LineHung Hom05:5500:30
Source: MTR[3]

Station layout

Platform 4 was built in 2004 to accommodate increasing patronage. Before the completion of refurbishment works, trains would stop at the island platform for simultaneous alighting and boarding. The platform was always crowded during the time. The building of platform 4 and converting platform 1 (which was rarely used before the refurbishment) for boarding smoothened passenger flow. Ever since, trains have been emptied with doors opened towards platforms 2 and 3 for passengers getting off; afterwards, the doors are opened to platforms 1 and 4 for boarding passengers.

This particular system of loading/unloading is popular in Europe and many US subway systems and named the Spanish solution.

Footbridge Upper Level Concourse
(Mainland China to HK)
Hong Kong Immigration Department and Customs and Excise Department checkpoints, Customer Service, HK Tourism Commission Office, Starbucks Coffee
Ground/Footbridge Lower Level Concourse
(HK to Mainland China)
Fare adjustment, Immigration Department and Customs and Excise Department checkpoints, duty-free shop, Lo Wu resident exit
Platforms
- Track for Intercity trains
Side platform (inbound), doors will open on the right
Platform 1 ↑      East Rail Line towards Hung Hom (Sheung Shui)
     East Rail Line termination platform →
Platform 2 ↓
Island platform (outbound), doors will open on the left for platform 2 and right for platform 3
Platform 3 ↑      East Rail Line termination platform →
     East Rail Line towards Hung Hom (Sheung Shui)
Platform 4 ↓
Side platform (inbound), doors will open on the left

[4]

Entrances/exits

The station has three exits:[5]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lo Wu Station.
Station before renovation in 2008 
Border crossing (Shenzhen side) 
Lo Wu Resident Exit 
Station viewed from Shenzhen side 
Platforms 2 and 3, January 2008 

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, March 17, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.