Nam Cheong station was originally the western terminus of the West Rail line before the opening of Kowloon Southern Link on 16 August 2009. The Airport Express passes between the tracks of the Tung Chung line without stopping at this station. A public transport interchange, located to the east of the station, allows for transfers to other modes of public transport. Architecture firm Aedas designed Nam Cheong station.[1]
Nam Cheong station was called Yen Chow Street station (after Yen Chow Street, a major thoroughfare in the area) in its planning stage. The station was subsequently renamed "Nam Cheong" after Nam Cheong Estate, a nearby public housing estate, which in turn is named after Nam Cheong Street (another thoroughfare).
Works for Nam Cheong station started on 5 October 2000; the station was built by a joint venture formed by Balfour Beatty and Zen Pacific.[2] The station was opened for public use on 16 December 2003, coinciding with the pre-opening charity trial run day of the KCR West Rail (later West Rail line), and the Tung Chung line part of the station started operation. On 20 December, the KCR West Rail officially commenced operation, and Nam Cheong became the southern terminus of the rail line.
Upon its completion, the station was a shared-use integrated station between MTR and KCR, and the first integrated one between the two systems. The station concourse was divided into two parts (managed by the two rail operators respectively). Special transfer turnstiles were located between the two parts, enabling passengers paying with Octopus card to interchange between the two systems by tapping their card just once.
The operations of MTR and KCR merged on 2 December 2007, and the management of the station unified under MTRCL. Following the network-wide fare zone merger of the former MTR and KCR networks on 28 September 2008, the transfer turnstiles along with the barriers separating the two fare zones were removed, and cross-platform interchange is now provided between platform 1 (Tuen Ma line towards Tuen Mun) and platform 4 (Tung Chung line towards Hong Kong) and platform 2 (Tuen Ma line towards Wu Kai Sha and platform 3 (Tung Chung line towards Tung Chung); several passageways were opened between the two platforms. One of the wider passages is aligned with the fifth and sixth carriages of the Hong Kong-bound trains on the Tung Chung line platform.
The Kowloon Southern Link extension of West Rail line opened on 16 August 2009, and the once called West Rail line was extended to Hung Hom on that day. Nam Cheong lost its status as the western terminus of West Rail line, and became an intermediate station for both Tung Chung and West Rail lines.
On 27 June 2021, the West Rail line officially merged with the Ma On Shan line (which was already extended into the Tuen Ma line Phase 1 at the time) in East Kowloon to form the new Tuen Ma line, as part of the Shatin to Central link project. Hence, Nam Cheong was included in the project and is now an intermediate station on the Tuen Ma line.
Station layout
Station concourse in August 2009Platform 1 (Tuen Ma line) in February 2013Platform 1 (Tuen Ma line) in May 2015Platform 3 in May 2015Platform 1 (Tuen Ma line) in July 2017Platform 4 in July 2017Platform 1 (Tuen Ma Line) in August 2020Platform 2 (Tuen Ma Line) in August 2020Platform 3 in August 2020Platform 4 in August 2020Platform 1 Tuen Ma Line in June 2021Platform 2 Tuen Ma Line in June 2021Exit C, adjacent to a subway in September 2009Exit C, adjacent to a subway in August 2020Exit C, adjacent to a subway in November 2023
All four platforms are located at ground level. The platforms are curved because they were built around the existing tracks. However, the gaps are not very large.
Before the merging of fare systems on 28 September 2008, Octopus card users transferring between the West Rail line and Tung Chung line had to use the transfer gates separating fare areas the MTR and KCR systems. Once the card was placed on a reader, the first section of journey fare would be deducted and passengers could walk over to the other fare area. Passengers who accidentally walked to the wrong area by mistake had to exit the station through the exit gates (not the transfer gates) within 15 minutes, or an extra fare was charged.
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