Yau Tong (Chinese: 油塘; Cantonese Yale: Yàutòng) is a station on the Hong Kong MTRKwun Tong line and the Tseung Kwan O line. It is the only station of the Tseung Kwan O line located in Kowloon. The livery of the station is yellow. Although the train platforms are constructed above ground level, they are sealed from the outside with concrete walls to prevent the noise of trains from disturbing the nearby residents of Yau Tong Estate.
History
Yau Tong station was originally built as a part of the MTR Tseung Kwan O extension, to make a cross-platform interchange between Kwun Tong line and the newly built Tseung Kwan O line, and to provide nearby residents in Lei Yue Mun and Sze Shan (Chinese: 四山; lit. 'Mount Four') convenient access to the MTR system. The construction project was given to Kumagai Gumi and was valued at HK$457 million.[1]
There was debate over whether the interchange should be built in a new station by redirecting the original route, or by utilising existing stations such as Lam Tin or Kwun Tong. Ultimately the interchanges were built in 2 brand new stations, Yau Tong and Tiu Keng Leng. This resulted in complaints from passengers because the new arrangement forced them to change trains twice when crossing the Victoria Harbour.
The station opened on 4 August 2002 so that passengers could interchange between the two lines. The new station made travel times between Lam Tin and Quarry Bay four minutes longer.
The station was built without public toilets, like most other MTR stations at the time. New toilets and a babycare room were commissioned at the station on 29 May 2019.[2]
Station layout
The multiple cross-platform-interchange system between Tiu Keng Leng and Yau Tong stations
Yau Tong station has three main levels: the concourse, the upper platforms, and the lower platforms.
The upper platform level consists of Platforms 2 and 3. Passengers crossing the harbour on the Tseung Kwan O line towards the Kowloon side can cross over to Platform 2 to change to the Kwun Tong line to get to most destinations in East Kowloon.
The lower platform level contains Platforms 1 and 4. Passengers travelling on the Kwun Tong line travelling towards Tiu Keng Leng can cross over to Platform 4 to change to the Tseung Kwan O line to cross the harbour to North Point.
U4 Concourse
Concourse
Exits, footbridge to Yau Tong Estate/Lei Yue Mun Plaza
A new shopping centre, Domain, opened on 29 September 2012. It was the second shopping mall in Yau Tong. The first one was Lei Yue Mun Plaza, which opened in 2001. On 2 July 2012, Yau Tong Public Transport Interchange was opened; bus and public light bus routes serving the previous Yau Tong Station Temporary Bus Terminus were moved to the new location. The transport interchange can be accessed via exit A2.
