Tai Lam Tunnel
| |
|---|---|
| Part of Route 3 (Country Park Section) | |
| Route information | |
| Length: | 3.8 km (2.4 mi) |
| History: | Built 1998 |
| Major junctions | |
| South end: | Ting Kau |
| North end: | Kam Tin (near Ma On Kong) |
| Highway system | |
| Hong Kong Strategic Route and Exit Number System | |
Tai Lam Tunnel (Chinese: 大欖隧道), running along Tsing Long Highway, is part of Route 3 Country Park Section (R3CPS) and is a transport link between the western New Territories in Ting Kau and Yuen Long.
Tai Lam Tunnel was constructed to ease traffic congestion at Tuen Mun Road, Tate's Cairn Tunnel and Castle Peak Road, and to link traffic directly from New Territories West to urban areas of Kowloon West and Hong Kong Island, the Hong Kong International Airport and the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals. Located adjacent to the boundary crossings of Lok Ma Chau and Shenzhen Bay, it connects smoothly with Shenzhen and Guangzhou for serving both cross-boundary passenger services and cargo logistics.
Toll area
Tai Lam Tunnel is a 3.8 km (2.4 mi) dual 3-lane tunnel. The total length of the R3CPS (the tolled area) is 10.1 km (6.3 mi).
The tolled area, with two entrances/exits at the south end, Ting Kau Bridge and Tuen Mun Road at Ting Kau, crosses Tai Lam Country Park to its north end at Pat Heung.
Located at Pat Heung and about 1 km (0.62 mi) from the north tunnel portal, the toll plaza consists of 22 tollbooths, 16 of which are for manual tolls and 6 are Autotoll lanes.
Construction and operation
Tai Lam Tunnel is a Build-Operate-Transfer (B.O.T) project with a franchise period of 30 years (including construction period). (Cap 474 s2 on "franchise period") Its total construction cost was HK$7.25 billion. Construction on Tai Lam Tunnel started on 13 March 1995 and was officially opened to traffic on 25 May 1998[1] to match with the opening of the new Hong Kong International Airport.
The designed traffic capacity of Tai Lam Tunnel is 140,000 vehicles per day. In 2011/2012, the average daily traffic was over 54,000 vehicles.[2]
According to the statistics from the Transport Department of the Government of Hong Kong, Tai Lam Tunnel has higher-than-average safety records. In 2011, the accident rate per million vehicle-km was just 0.07.[3]
Tunnel tolls
The tunnel is well known for its high tolls similar as the Western Harbour Tunnel. Its toll for private cars is HK$40, making it the second most expensive tunnel in Hong Kong; the most expensive is the Western Harbour Tunnel at HK$55. For coaches, it is the highest in the city, about 4 times higher than the longer Tate's Cairn Tunnel.
| Category | Vehicle | Standard toll (HK$) | Concessionary toll (current)[4][5] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Motorcycle | 60 | 20 |
| 2 | Private car | 65 | 36 |
| Taxi | |||
| 3 | Private light bus | 180 | 100 |
| 4 | Light goods vehicle (less than 5.5 tonnes) | 180 | 38 |
| 5 | Medium goods vehicle (5.5 to 24 tonnes) | 190 | 43 |
| 6 | Heavy goods vehicle (more than 24 tonnes) | 210 | 48 |
| 7 | Single-decker bus | 180 | 115 |
| 8 | Double-decker bus | 195 | 135 |
| Additional axle | 70 | Free |
Environmental protection and sustainable measures
To protect the landscape of Tai Lam Country Park, the Tunnel Company carried out many environmental protection initiatives, including the employment of a tunnel to passing through the country park area and the keen preservation of vegetation and wild animals. One of the tasks was compensatory tree planting at a rate of three replacement saplings for each tree felled. In total, 250,000 trees, 150,000 shrubs and 60,000 climbing plants were planted during the construction period.
As to conservation of wildlife, there is a small tunnel constructed at the south portal of Tai Lam Tunnel, mainly for small wild animals in this area to commute in the valley freely, allowing them to maintain their habituation.
To keep in pace with technology development, Tai Lam Tunnel has gradually replaced traditional light bulbs with light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The indicator lighting signals inside the tunnel tubes and at the toll plaza as well as the illuminating system in the administration building have thus been replaced for reducing carbon emission.
Bus Routes travelling through Tai Lam Tunnel
| Route | Details | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 68E | Yuen Long Park | ↔ | Tsing Yi Railway Station | |
| 68M | Yuen Long (West) | ↔ | Tsuen Wan Railway Station | |
| 68X | Hung Shui Kiu (Hung Fuk Estate) | ↔ | Mong Kok (Park Avenue) | |
| 69C | Tin Yan Estate | ↔ | Kwun Tong Ferry | Weekdays peak hours only |
| 69M | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | ↔ | Kwai Fong Railway Station | |
| 69X | Tin Shui | ↔ | Jordan (To Wah Road) | |
| 69P | Tin Yiu | → | Kwai Fong Railway Station | Weekdays morning peak hours only |
| 251M | Sheung Tsuen | → | Tsuen Wan Railway Station | Weekdays morning peak hours only |
| 265B | Tin Heng Estate | ↔ | Mong Kok (Park Avenue) | |
| 265M | Tin Heng Estate | ↔ | Lai Yiu | |
| 268B | Long Ping Railway Station | ↔ | Hung Hom Ferry Concourse | |
| 268C | Long Ping Railway Station | ↔ | Kwun Tong Ferry | |
| 268P | Yuen Long (Shan Shui House) | → | Kwun Tong Ferry | Weekdays morning peak hours only |
| 268X | Hung Shui Kiu (Hung Fuk Estate) | ↔ | Jordan (To Wah Road) | |
| 269A | Tin Sau Road | → | Kwai Fong Estate | Weekdays morning peak hours only |
| 269B | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | ↔ | Hung Hom Ferry Concourse | |
| 269C | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | ↔ | Kwun Tong Ferry | |
| 269D | Tin Fu | ↔ | Lek Yuen | |
| 269M | Tin Yan Estate | ↔ | Cho Yiu | |
| 269P | Kwai Fong Estate | → | Tin Heng Estate | Weekdays evening peak hours only |
| 279X | Luen Wo Hui | ↔ | Tsing Yi Railway Station | |
| N269 | Tin Tsz | ↔ | Mei Foo | Night service |
| N368 | Yuen Long (West) | ↔ | Central (Macau Ferry) | Night service |
| 967 | Tin Yan | ↔ | Admiralty (West) | |
| 967X | Tin Yan | ↔ | Causeway Bay (Moreton Terrace) | Weekdays peak hours only |
| 968 | Yuen Long (West) | ↔ | Causeway Bay (Tin Hau) | |
| 968X | Yuen Long (West) | ↔ | Quarry Bay (King's Road) | Weekdays peak hours only |
| 969 | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | ↔ | Causeway Bay (Moreton Terrace) | |
| 969A | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | ↔ | Admiralty／Wan Chai | Weekdays peak hours only |
| 969C | Quarry Bay | → | Tin Chung Court | Weekdays evening peak hours only |
| 969P | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | → | Causeway Bay (Moreton Terrace) | Weekdays morning peak hours only |
| 978 | Wah Ming | ↔ | Wan Chai North | |
| 978A | Luen Wo Hui | → | Wan Chai North | Weekdays morning peak hours only |
| 978B | Chi Fuk Circuit Fanling | → | Wan Chai North | Weekdays morning peak hours only |
| N969 | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | ↔ | Causeway Bay (Moreton Terrace) | Night service |
| A36 | Hung Shui Kiu (Hung Yuen Road) | ↔ | Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) | Peak Hours only |
| E34A | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | ↔ | Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) | |
| E34B | Yuen Long (Ma Wang Road) | ↔ | Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) | |
| E34P | Tung Chung (Yat Tung Estate) | ↔ | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | Weekdays peak hours only |
| E34X | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | → | Tung Chung (Yat Tung Estate) | Weekdays morning peak hours only |
| NA34 | Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) | → | Tin Shui Wai Town Centre | Night service |
See also
References
- ↑ "Monthly Traffic and Transport Digest July 2012 - Tunnel, Lantau Link and Vehicular Ferry Services Statistics: Tai Lam Tunnel" (PDF). Transport Department of the Government of Hong Kong. July 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ↑ "Route 3 Country Park Section Toll Adjustment" (PDF). Route 3 (CPS) Company Limited. 24 December 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ↑ "Road traffic accidents in tunnels by tunnel and severity 2011" (PDF). Transport Department of the Government of Hong Kong. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ↑ "Route 3 (CPS) Company Limited - Tolls and Other Fees". Route 3 (CPS) Company Limited. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ↑ "Transport Department - Tunnels and Bridges". Transport Department of the Government of Hong Kong. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tai Lam Tunnel. |
| Preceded by Ting Kau Bridge |
Hong Kong Route 3 Tai Lam Tunnel |
Succeeded by Tsing Long Highway |
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Coordinates: 22°23′42″N 114°03′39″E / 22.394999°N 114.060831°E