Commuters travelling to the Southern District of Hong Kong Island will be able to enjoy the MTR railway service from December 28th.

With green lights received from relevant authorities that all of the required statutory inspections and tests having been successfully completed, the MTR Corporation announced the Fully Automatic Operation train service of the MTR South Island Line will begin at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, extensive pre-operation trials are being conducted in advance of the opening.

“With the opening of the South Island Line, MTR’s railway service will reach all 18 districts of Hong Kong,” said Lincoln Leong, chief executive, MTR Corporation.

“Passengers can then enjoy more seamless and convenient journeys as they travel to different corners of the city.

“We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all relevant parties, including our project team, operations team, contractors and government departments in overcoming the challenges we have faced along the way.

To make it easier and more convenient for passengers to find their way to the SIL platforms at Admiralty Station, giant eye-catching directional signs with a light green colour will be displayed in prominent positions from concourse to platform levels, including on the floor, columns and escalator portals.

Additional directional signs indicating the Tsuen Wan Line in red and the Island Line in blue will also be installed at the interchange platforms to provide information for passengers to connect to these existing lines.

To allow passengers to seamlessly interchange with SIL and other MTR lines, 17 additional escalators and five new lifts will be provided in the station with clear directional signage.

Passengers can go to other platforms quickly and conveniently with the additional escalators.

Customers are encouraged to give priority to passengers with special needs when using the lifts.

With four new stations, Ocean Park, Wong Chuk Hang, Lei Tung and South Horizons connecting to the existing Admiralty Station, the seven-kilometre SIL will extend MTR’s convenient service to 350,000 people living and working in the Southern District.

The frequency of train service during peak periods for SIL will be approximately three minutes.