Admiralty station (MTR)

The government gave the Mass Transit Railway Corporation first refusal on the 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m²) site, which was sold to it in 1976 for around HK$200 million for cash and equity consideration.[4]

The Admiralty Centre, United Centre and Queensway Plaza commercial buildings formed part of the development, and sit directly above the station.

On 12 February 1980, the segment of the first MTR line between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui was opened. At the time, Admiralty and Central stations were the only two MTR stations on Hong Kong Island.[5] The platforms began serving the Tsuen Wan line on 10 May 1982.

Admiralty was designed to be a transfer station with the then-planned Island line. On 31 May 1985, the first phase of the Island line (between Admiralty and Chai Wan) opened, with Admiralty the temporary western terminus of the Island line. To facilitate cross-platform interchange, the Tsuen Wan- and Chai Wan-bound platforms were located on a very wide island platform on the lower level, while the Central-bound and termination platforms shared another very wide island platform on the upper level. When the second part of the Island line (Admiralty to Sheung Wan) opened in 1986, the termination platform became the Sheung Wan-bound platform, while the other platforms remained unchanged.[6]

The platforms are wide enough for a very large number of passengers to change trains at the same time.

Platform livery before the platform renovation around 2016.

At 9:14 a.m. on 5 January 2004, 14 passengers suffered minor injuries when a 55-year-old man suffering from delusional disorder ignited two gas cylinders full of paint thinner in the first train car of a Central-bound train from Tsim Sha Tsui.[7] The driver decided to complete the journey and passengers were evacuated from the train in Admiralty.[8]

Admiralty station was expanded to serve two additional lines - the South Island line on level L6 and the East Rail line on level L5.[9]

The South Island line platforms opened on 28 December 2016,[1] after a public open day on 24th of that month,[10] giving residents in the Southern District quicker access to Hong Kong Island's central business district. The opening date was delayed from 2015 due to technical problems in the deep tunnels for the new platforms. The East Rail line began servicing Admiralty on 15 May 2022, allowing commuters from the northeast New Territories to travel directly to Admiralty.[9][11]

A new single level underground interchange concourse with natural light was built to the east of the original concourse, allowing passengers to transfer to the new lines. The atrium was also expanded. The station expansion, located under Harcourt Garden, incorporates 34 escalators and five lifts to integrate with the existing station.[9] The East Rail line takes up one level under the interchange concourse, with the South Island line being directly below it.[9][11] Exits E1 and E2 were rebuilt as one exit to accommodate the glass roof of the interchange concourse and has since opened. While the East Rail line tracks will have sidings for terminating trains south of the station, the South Island line tracks end at bumper blocks north of the station with no overrun track.[11]

• 
  South Island line Platform 5
• 
  South Island line Platform 6
• 
  New toilets on Level 5 in paid area
• 
  An image of when SCL platforms were still behind hoardings
• 
  Signs directing passengers to the newly opened South Island line on its opening day (28 December 2016)

The narrowest part of the existing platforms on L3 was widened to provide better access to the first and second cars of the Tsuen Wan line trains, as well as last two cars of Island line trains. Island line passengers travelling towards Tsuen Wan now have easier access to these cars.[12] The expansion brought new toilets in the paid area, a lift between the concourse and, ground level, and artwork in the station.

Art Work "Sense of Green" located between Level L5 and L6

The new station has two artworks.[9] The first is Sense of Green by Tony Ip, which is a new bamboo-covered landscaped deck over Harcourt Garden.[9] The second, Urban Soundscape by Otto Li, is located along either side of the escalator shaft between the new and current stations. It depicts passengers' journeys through Admiralty.[9]

• Bus
  • KMB, serving only cross-harbour routes on Hong Kong Island
  • First Bus
  • Citybus
  • Bus terminuses within walking distance of the station:
    • Admiralty (West) – Exit B
    • Admiralty (Tamar Street) – Exit B
    • Admiralty (Drake Street) – Exit C2
    • Admiralty (East) – Exit D
    • Admiralty (Rodney Street) – between Exit D