Tai Koo (Chinese: 太古; pinyin: Tàigǔ; Cantonese Yale: Taaigú) is a station on the Island line of the Hong Kong MTR system. The station is located in Kornhill, Quarry Bay on Hong Kong Island and serves the area including Kornhill, Kornhill Gardens and Taikoo Shing. Tai Koo has a unique crimson livery.

Tai Koo

太古
MTR MTR rapid transit station
Platform 1
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Hanyu PinyinTàigǔ
Cantonese YaleTaaigú
Literal meaningMost historic
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinTàigǔ
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationTaaigú
JyutpingTaai3Ku2
General information
LocationKornhill, King's Road, Quarry Bay
Eastern District, Hong Kong
Coordinates22°17′05″N 114°12′58″E / 22.2846°N 114.2161°E / 22.2846; 114.2161
Owned byMTR Corporation
Operated byMTR Corporation
Line(s)Island line
Platforms2 (1 island platform)
Tracks2
Connections
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Platform levels1
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeTAK
History
Opened31 May 1985; 39 years ago (1985-05-31)
Previous namesKornhill
Services
Preceding station MTR MTR Following station
Quarry Bay
towards Kennedy Town
Island line Sai Wan Ho
towards Chai Wan
Track layout
1
2
Location
Hong Kong MTR system map
Hong Kong MTR system map
Tai Koo
Location within the MTR system
Hong Kong MTR system map
Hong Kong MTR system map
Tai Koo
Tai Koo (Hong Kong Island)

The station was named for Taikoo Shing, the large-scale residential development built on the former site of Taikoo Dockyard, a Swire company, "Taikoo" being the Romanisation of the latter's Chinese name.

History

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Dragages et Travaux Publics (later Dragages Hong Kong) was awarded as the contractor of the station and construction began in 1982. The works comprised twin tunnels and a station built in a 24-metre span rock cavern.[1]

Excavation of the station cavern was completed in October 1983.[2]

The Island line opening ceremony was held in this station in May 1985 and was officiated by then-MTR chairman Sir Wilfrid Newton and Governor of Hong Kong Edward Youde,[3] who unveiled the commemorative plaques at the concourse level. The station is built in what was, at the time of its construction, the largest man-made cavern in Asia.[4]

Station layout

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Tai Koo adheres to the general layout of most MTR stations. At ground level, there are numerous alphanumerically-named entrances and exits.

Platforms 1 and 2 are arranged in the simple island platform layout. Unlike most of the other underground stations on the Island line, Tai Koo does not have separate tubes for each track and platform, but is located in a single tube encompassing both the concourse and the platform. Although it was not built in the cut and cover method, it is similar to cut and cover stations in that although there are escalators and stairs in the middle of the platform, it has an open design and the platforms are not separated. Each platform is equipped with platform screen doors for safety and ventilation.

G Ground level Exits
L1 Subway Passageway connecting Exit D exits
L2/C Concourse MTRShops
vending machines, ATM
Octopus promotion machine
P
Platform
Platform 1      Island line towards Chai Wan (Sai Wan Ho)
Island platform, doors will open on the right
Platform 2      Island line towards Kennedy Town (Quarry Bay)

[5]

Entrances/exits

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There are five groups of entrances and exits at Tai Koo station labeled A to E. In certain circumstances, there are subsets of these exit groups; these are marked with numbers.[6]

  • A: at the northeast corner of King's Road and Kornhill Road
  • B: opposite the intersection of King's Road and Kornhill Road, for Kornhill blocks N-R
  • C: between Kornhill Road and Hong On Street, for Kornhill blocks A-M and Kornhill Plaza South
  • D: between King's Road and Taikoo Shing Road
  • E: at northeastern corner of Kornhill Gardens at King's Road
    • E1: for Cityplaza
    • E2: for Kornhill Gardens blocks 5-6
    • E3: for Kornhill Gardens blocks 7-10

References

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  1. ^ "Tai Koo MTR Station and Tunnels". Dragages Hong Kong. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  2. ^ Mass Transit Railway Corporation Annual Report 1983. Hong Kong: Mass Transit Railway Corporation. 1984. p. 13.
  3. ^ MTRC Annual Report 1985. Mass Transit Railway Corporation. 1985.
  4. ^ Forsyth, Neil (1990). Underground Pride. Mass Transit Railway Corporation. Retrieved 21 November 2013 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "Tai Koo Station layout" (PDF). MTR Corporation. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Tai Koo Station street map" (PDF). MTR Corporation. Retrieved 31 July 2014.