Wan Chai station

Route map
	Legend

Wan Chai

灣仔
Wan Chai; 灣仔
MTR rapid transit station
	Platform 2 of Wan Chai station in May 2014
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	灣仔
Simplified Chinese	湾仔
Cantonese Yale	Wāanjái
Literal meaning	Mini-bay
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Wānzǎi
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Wāanjái
Jyutping	Waan1zai2
General information
Location	Intersection between Hennessy Road and , Wan Chai; Wan Chai District, Hong Kong
Coordinates	22°16′38″N 114°10′22″E / 22.2773°N 114.1728°ECoordinates: 22°16′38″N 114°10′22″E / 22.2773°N 114.1728°E
Owned by	MTR Corporation
Operated by	MTR Corporation
Line(s)	Island line;
Platforms	2 (2 split level side platforms)
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus, public light bus, tram, ferry
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Platform levels	2
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	WAC
History
Opened	31 May 1985; 36 years ago;
Services
Route map
Route map
	Legend
Location
	Wan Chai Location within the MTR system

Wan Chai (Chinese: 灣仔) is a station on the Island line of the Hong Kong MTR. The livery colour is lime green. It serves the Wan Chai locality within the district of the same name. The station platforms are located underneath Hennessy Road, a major trunk road connecting the Central and Eastern districts.

History[]

The station was built under Southorn Playground. It opened along with the Island line on 31 May 1985. It was built by a Bachy Soletanche–Dragages joint venture. Entrance D was opened for public on 22 December 2017. Its passageway crosses underneath Southorn Playground and Johnston Road, then joins the underground mall in Lee Tung Street Redevelopment Project.^[1] It is expected to ease the overcrowding problem at entrance A3 and Johnston Road crossing.^[2]

Station layout[]

U1	Footbridge	Footbridge along O'Brien Road towards Wan Chai North (Immigration Tower, Central Plaza, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai Pier)
G	Ground level	Exits
L1	Concourse	Customer Service, MTRShops
		Hang Seng Bank, vending machines, ATM
		Octopus promotion machine
L3 Platform	Platform 1	→ Island line towards Chai Wan (Causeway Bay) →
	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Lower Concourse	Customer Service
		iCentre internet service
L5 Platform	Platform 2	← Island line towards Kennedy Town (Admiralty)
	Side platform, doors will open on the left

The platforms of Wan Chai station are constructed in a stacked arrangement, with Platform 1 above Platform 2.^[3]

Platform 1 of Wan Chai station in May 2014

Due to the large catchment of Wan Chai station and the locality as a business hub and centre for tourists, government offices, foreign embassies and institutions, the station houses more than 50 ticket gates as distributed across three ticket halls (two at the concourse and one at platform level). There are 8 station exits, two of which were constructed in 1999 to provide a more convenient reach for the southern areas of Wan Chai. The footbridge above O'Brien Road, which connects the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Immigration Tower (Immigration Department of Hong Kong) and the Star Ferry Pier (Wan Chai Pier), was extended to reach one of these new exits above Hennessy Road.

The tunnel for eastbound trains towards Causeway Bay station has once featured a mobile advertisement, which was presented in the form of a slideshow across the length of the tunnel. The large number of sequential panels allowed passengers to view the advertisement as a slideshow, as trains undertakes their journey to the next station.^[4]

Usage and overcrowding[]

As the only railway station of Wan Chai and its Central Business District, this station serves a large number of residents and commuters. In reference to consultation document Our Future Railway, average train loading from Wan Chai to Causeway Bay is approximately 71%. Government consultant analysed that there would not be significant drop by 2031, even if train frequency would increase.^[5]