Disneyland Resort line

The Disneyland Resort line (Chinese: 迪士尼綫) is a commuter rail line connecting Sunny Bay to the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, coloured pink on the network diagram. It is the seventh line of the former MTR network before the merger of MTR and KCR, and the world's first metro line designed to service a Disney theme park. There are only two stations on this line, Sunny Bay and Disneyland Resort, and the line operates as a shuttle service between these two stations. Sunny Bay station is an interchange station with the Tung Chung line between Tsing Yi and Tung Chung stations. Administratively, the entire line is in Tsuen Wan District, despite being situated on Lantau Island, and is the only MTR line in Hong Kong to run within a single district.

Disneyland Resort line
迪士尼綫
A Disneyland Resort line train at Sunny Bay station
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerMTR Corporation
LocaleDistricts: Tsuen Wan
Termini
Connecting lines
Stations2
Color on map     Pink (#F173AC)
Service
TypeCommuter Rail, driverless
SystemMTR
Depot(s)Siu Ho Wan
Rolling stock3 refurbished Metro Cammell EMUs (DC)
Ridership11,000 daily average (2010)[1]
History
Opened1 August 2005; 19 years ago (2005-08-01)
Technical
Line length3.8 km (2.4 mi)
Number of tracksBi-directional single-track (with a single passing loop)
CharacterAt-grade
Track gauge1,432 mm (4 ft 8+38 in)
Electrification1,500 V DC (Overhead line)
Operating speed
  • Average: 55 km/h (34 mph)
  • Maximum: 80 km/h (50 mph)[2]
Signalling
  • SelTrac LS, GoA4: UTO (since 2005)
  • Traffic Control Technology CBTC (future)
Route map

Siu Ho Wan Depot
Sunny Bay     
Tung Chung line to Tung Chung/
Airport Express to AsiaWorld–Expo
Right arrow
Sunny Bay Rd/Penny's Bay Hwy
Magic Rd
Disneyland Resort
Ferry and bus transfers
(via short walks from Disneyland Resort station)
Disneyland Resort line
Traditional Chinese迪士尼綫
Simplified Chinese迪士尼线
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDíshìní xiàn
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationdihk sih nèih sin
Jyutpingdik6 si6 nei4 sin3
Geographically accurate route map of the Disneyland Resort line

Construction

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The rail link was constructed by Gammon Construction and completed in April 2005.[3]

In preparation for the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland on 12 September, the line started operating on 1 August 2005. The rolling stock is distinctive on account of its Mickey Mouse windows, interior couch seating, and Disneyland figurines displayed in the carriages.

On 4 September 2005, the Disneyland Resort line served nearly 40,000 passengers. Peak patronage occurs around 08:00–10:00 and 21:00–23:00 hours, at the parks' respective opening and closing times.

Train design

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The Disneyland Resort line is 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) long, and has a travel time of around 6 minutes. Its track gauge is 1,432 mm (4 ft 8+38 in). The MTR designed a new driverless train and produced it by refitting existing M-Trains for the line which is designed with a Disney theme in mind. Bronze statues of well-known Disney characters, such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, are included inside of the trains, and the windows are shaped like Mickey Mouse's head, instead of the rounded rectangles found on trains of other lines.

All of the trains used on the Disneyland Resort line were originally ordered from 1994 to 1998 as subtype H-Stock train (Phase 3 EMU, A/C 270-291, B/C 486-496). MTR contracted Alstom for these trains, but they were made in England, much like the Phase 1 and 2 trains ordered from 1979 to 1989 and made by Metro-Cammell (also in England), which was acquired by GEC Alsthom (now Alstom) in 1989. Units A/C274 A/C281 A/C284 A/C289 A/C291 and B/C490 are now used on the Disneyland Resort line; they were refurbished in 2005 by United Goninan, the same company that modernized the Urban Line trains from 1998 to 2001.

These trains are the first on the MTR to use automatic train operation during normal operation, followed by the CNR Changchun EMUs in service on the South Island line. However, unlike the South Island line, the operator's cab area has been retained, visible through glass windows at each end of the train.

Stations

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This is a list of the stations on the Disneyland Resort line.

List

Livery Station Name Images Interchange;
Adjacent transportation
Opening District
English Chinese
Disneyland Resort Line (DRL)
Sunny Bay 欣澳   Tung Chung line 1 June 2005;
19 years ago
Tsuen Wan
Disneyland Resort 迪士尼   1 August 2005;
19 years ago

Disneyland Resort station was designed in Victorian architecture, while Sunny Bay was designed to be modern. This contrast in design was done to make passengers feel like they are travelling through time between the fantasy world of the Disneyland Resort and the rest of the city.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Daily average patronage and train loading on MTR Railway Lines in 2005 to 2010" (PDF). HKSAR Government. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  2. ^ "Business Overview" (PDF). MTR. July 2021. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  3. ^ "Gammon Construction awarded £238m". The Engineer. 19 August 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
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