Mei Foo () (formerly named Lai Wan until 31 May 1985) is an MTR station on the Tsuen Wan Line and the . It is located under Mei Foo Sun Chuen, Lai Chi Kok, New Kowloon in Hong Kong. When not counting the out-of-system transfer between Tsim Sha Tsui and East Tsim Sha Tsui stations, Mei Foo is the only interchange station between those two lines. The station is situated between and stations on the Tsuen Wan Line and and stations on the Tuen Ma Line. Opened on 17 May 1982, Mei Foo station's colour scheme is blue, but white for the Tuen Ma Line.
The Tsuen Wan Line part of the station is a simple through station with a central island platform, located under Mount Sterling Mall, a pedestrian-only street between the rows of residential buildings in the Mei Foo Sun Chuen housing estate. The station is designed to facilitate the transport needs of the residents of Mei Foo Sun Chuen housing estate, consisting of 132 buildings and several schools, and the point of transfer between the Kowloon urban area and the new town of Tsuen Wan. If there is heavy traffic on Kwai Chung Road, the main road into urban Kowloon, many commuters transfer from buses to trains here to continue to Kowloon and Central on Hong Kong Island.
History
Tsuen Wan Line The station's original name was Lai Chi Kok during the planning stage, but upon its opening on 17 May 1982 the station was called "Lai Wan"Yu, Pui-kwan, Robin, "A study on quasi-public space in large scale private residential development, case in Hong Kong" , p. 28, University of Hong Kong, 2007 (荔灣, short for Lai Chi Kok Bay), and was renamed to its current name on 31 May 1985 when the opened. Kumagai Gumi was the contractor for the station's construction.
West Rail line and now, the Tuen Ma Line The (then known as KCR West Rail) part of the station opened on 20 December 2003 along with the rest of the line. That section is located in the middle of Lai Chi Kok Park, slightly to the west of the Tsuen Wan Line section of the station. The contract for the station on the West Rail Line (now Tuen Ma Line) was awarded to Kier-Zen Pacific joint venture. The and West Rail line stations merged into one station on 2 December 2007 in the MTR–KCR merger.
On 27 June 2021, the West Rail line officially merged with the (which was already extended into the Tuen Ma Line Phase 1 at the time) in East Kowloon to form the new , as part of the Shatin to Central link project. Mei Foo became an intermediate station on the Tuen Ma Line.
Station layout Both Tsuen Wan Line platforms share the same island platform. Unlike at Nam Cheong station (where there is one cross-platform interchange between the and the Tuen Ma Line), the and platforms are relatively far apart. The concourses for these platforms are a five to ten-minute walk along a connecting passageway.
Although the Tuen Ma Line platform is constructed at ground level, the station and surrounding track is covered to avoid disturbance to the nearby park.
U1roof gardenExit G, Lai Chi Kok Park, footbridge to Ching Lai Court, Lai King Hill RoadC / GTuen Ma Line concourseExit F, customer services, washrooms, shops, vending machines, automatic teller machinesP / L1side platformPlatform towards () Platform Tuen Ma Line towards ()side platformGpassagewayExit D, Lai Chi Kok ParkTsuen Wan Line concourseExits A, B, C, EL1subwaypassageway connecting Tuen Ma Line and Tsuen Wan Line concoursesL2Tsuen Wan Line concoursecustomer service centre, shops, vending machine, automatic teller machines, Octopus promotion machineL3Platform towards () island platformPlatform Tsuen Wan Line towards ()
Entrances/exits A: Broadway B: Mount Sterling Mall C1: Lai Wan Road C2: Humbert Street D: Lai Chi Kok Park (Lai Wan Road) E: Lai Wan Road F: Lai Chi Kok Park G: Lai King Hill Road
References