Hong Kong gives green light to Northern Link tunnels

18th April 2025

Hong Kong’s Executive Council has approved the commencement of Phase 2 of the Northern Link railway line which will connect Kam Sheung Road on the Tuen Ma line with a new station, Kwu Tung, on the Lok Ma Chau spur line.

Phase 2 of the project will comprise of a 10.6km long tunnel with intermediate stations at San Tin, Ngau Tam Mei, and Au Tau. The scheme will make east west travel across the New Territories much easier. Indicative costs for Phase 2 are approximately HK$58 billion with construction expected to commence this year and be complete in 2034. A future eastern extension of the link will create a suburban rail loop around the proposed Fanling and New Territories North New Town.

Kwu Tung Station Progress Photo

Construction of Phase 1 of the metro extension commenced in 2023 with the award of Contract 1601 Kwu Tung Station to Dragages Hong Kong Limited. Kwu Tung Station will serve the new Kwu Tung North NDA, part of the Hong Kong Government’s massive Northern Metropolis mega project. The station and link were first announced in the Railway Development Strategy Document in 2014 (covered in our 2017 article). The project will be technically challenging as it will, for the first time in Hong Kong, involve construction of a station on top of a live railway tunnel. The works will be undertaken on an NEC4 Option C design and build target cost contract with an activity schedule and target completion is 2027.

Architectural Rendering of Kwu Tung Station

The Northern Link is part of the Northern Metropolis which will comprise the expansion of three existing towns, construction of a new town and four New Development Areas (NDA), into an International Innovation and Technology Hub in close collaboration with Shenzhen, immediately to the North. The Northern Metropolis is projected to increase the residential population in the northern New Territories by over 1.5million and provide about 650,000 jobs, which include some 150,000 Innovation and Technology (I&T) jobs. In terms of infrastructure, the development strategy proposes construction of five completely new railways and additional cross-boundary transport infrastructure between Hong Kong and Shenzhen to link up the multiple towns and NDAs.

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