| Eastern Harbour Crossing | |||||||||||
| Location: | Beneath Victoria Harbour, between Quarry Bay and Lam Tin (near Cha Kwo Ling) | ||||||||||
| Coordinates: | 22.2995°N 114.2311°W | ||||||||||
| Status: | Active | ||||||||||
| Start: | Quarry Bay | ||||||||||
| End: | Lam Tin (near Cha Kwo Ling) | ||||||||||
| Owner: | Hong Kong Government (Road Tunnel) MTR Corporation (Superficies and Track Tunnel) | ||||||||||
| Operator: | Pacific Infrastructure Limited[1] | ||||||||||
| Traffic: | Vehicular and Rail | ||||||||||
| Opened: | [2] | ||||||||||
| Character: | immersed tube | ||||||||||
| Vpd: | 71471 (2022) | ||||||||||
| Linelength: | 2.29km (01.42miles) | ||||||||||
| Notrack: | 2 tracks (1 per direction) in train tunnel | ||||||||||
| Lanes: | 4 lanes (2 lanes per direction) in road tunnel with 6 lanes (3 lanes per direction) on exit | ||||||||||
| Speed: | 70kph (within road tunnel) 50kph (exit and entrance to road tunnel) | ||||||||||
| Embedded: |
| ||||||||||
| Country: | HKG |
| Type: | Underwater road tunnel |
| Route: | 2 |
| Eastern Harbour Crossing | |
| Alternate Name: | Part of Route 2 |
| Direction A: | West |
| Terminus A: | Quarry Bay |
| Junction: | 2 in total; Route 4 at Quarry Bay |
| Direction B: | East |
| Terminus B: | Lam Tin (near Cha Kwo Ling) |
| Cities: | Kwun Tong, Quarry Bay |
The Eastern Harbour Crossing, abbreviated as "EHC", is a combined road-rail tunnel that crosses beneath Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong. Opened on 21 September 1989, it is the second harbour-crossing tunnel built and the longest amongst the three. It connects Quarry Bay on Hong Kong Island and Cha Kwo Ling in Kowloon East.
Initially, the Government of Hong Kong had plans to build a bridge across the eastern portion of the harbour but due to fears of the bridge blocking planes landing at Kai Tak airport, this was shelved in favour of a tunnel.[3]
In 1986, the New Hong Kong Tunnel Company Limited won the bidding for this contract, and was given the right to run the road tunnel on a 30-year franchisee, and the train tunnel on an 18-years-and-6 months franchisee counting from the first rail operating date.[4] Construction started on 25 September 1986, and was commissioned on 21 September 1989, four months earlier than the original planned finishing date. The first person to cross the tunnel was the then-Governor of Hong Kong Sir David Wilson.[5] The tunnel was officially opened by the then Prince of Wales Charles on the 8 November of the same year during his and Princess of Wales Diana's Royal Tour to Hong Kong.[6]
In February 2008, the 18-and-6 months franchisse for the train tunnel expired and was transferred to the government. The government continued leasing the tunnel to the MTR Corporation until 2013, when it was acquired by the MTR Corporation for only HK$1,000, a deal made in the 2000 when the MTR Corporation was undergoing its partial privatisation process.[7]
On 7 August 2016, the 30-year franchisee for the road tunnel expired and the ownership was transferred to the government. The Eastern Harbour Crossing Ordinance was repealed alongside the franchisee's expiry and is instead replaced by the Road Tunnels (Government) Ordinance as the tunnel is now owned by the government. Pacific Infrastructure Limited was granted a new contract to continue operating the tunnel.
On 27 August 2023, the HKeToll was implemented for the Eastern Harbour Crossing. The toll plaza on the Kowloon side was subsequently demolished gradually.
The tunnel consists of two components, the road part and the rail part:
The Eastern Harbour Crossing is the second most-used tunnel in Hong Kong.
| width=20% | Year | width=40% | Total Traffic | width=40% | Average Daily Traffic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 26,087,021 | 71,471 | |||
| 2021 | 28,988,802 | 79,421 | |||
| 2020 | 26,376,844 | 72,068 | |||
| 2019 | 28,823,264 | 78,968 | |||
| 2018 | 28,485,605 | 78,043 | |||
| 2017 | 28,173,747 | 77,188 | |||
| 2016 | 27,730,541 | 75,767 | |||
| 2015 | 27,546,065 | 75,469 | |||
| 2014 | 26,657,699 | 73,035 | |||
| 2013 | 26,317,796 | 72,104 | |||
| 2012 | 25,883,548 | 70,720 | |||
| 2011 | 25,374,790 | 69,520 | |||
| 2010 | 24,648,289 | 67,530 | |||
| 2009 | 22,990,195 | 62,987 | |||
| 2008 | 23,137,619 | 63,218 | |||
| 2007 | 23,361,921 | 64,005 | |||
| 2006 | 22,268,743 | 61,010 | |||
| 2005 | 23,310,701 | 63,865 | |||
| 2004 | 26,893,049 | 73,478 | |||
| 2003 | 26,018,772 | 71,284 | |||
| 2002 | 26,789,599 | 73,396 | |||
| 2001 | 27,227,360 | 74,596 | |||
| 2000 | 26,435,435 | 72,228 | |||
| 1999 | 25,116,703 | 68,813 | |||
| 1998 | 25,914,641 | 70,999 | |||
| 1997 | 31,321,427 | 85,812 | |||
| 1996 | 32,256,922 | 88,134 | |||
| 1995 | 31,530,828 | 86,386 | |||
| 1994 | 31,778,701 | 87,065 | |||
| 1993 | 29,192,003 | 79,978 | |||
| 1992 | 24,983,737 | 68,262 | |||
| 1991 | 17,794,630 | 48,752 | |||
| 1990 | 11,733,837 | 32,147 | |||
| 1989 | 2,326,493 | 23,035 | |||
Tolls are collected by HKeToll in both directions on both sides.[8]
| Category | Vehicle Type | Tolls | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Motor cycles & motor tricycles | HK$8-16 | |
| 2 | Private cars | HK$20-40 | |
| 3 | Taxis | HK$25 | |
| 4 | Public and Private light buses | HK$50 | |
| 5 | Light goods vehicles | ||
| 6 | Medium goods vehicles | ||
| 7 | Heavy goods vehicles | ||
| 8 | Public and Private Single-decked buses | ||
| 9 | Public and Private Double-decked buses | ||
| 10 | Each additional axle in excess of two | Free |
| Category | Vehicle Type | 21 September 1989 to 31 December 1997 | 1 January 1998 to 30 April 2005 | 1 May 2005 to 16 February 2019[9] | 17 February 2019 to 1 August 2023[10] | 2 August 2023 to 27 August 2023 (4am) | 27 August 2023 (5am) to 17 December 2023 (5am)[11] | From 17 December 2023 (5am)[12] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Motor cycles & motor tricycles | HK$5 | HK$8 | HK$13 | HK$8-16 | ||||
| 2 | Private cars | HK$10 | HK$15 | HK$25 | HK$30 | HK$20-40 | |||
| 3 | Taxis | HK$25 | HK$25 | ||||||
| 4 | Public and Private light buses | HK$15 | HK$23 | HK$38 | HK$50 | ||||
| 5 | Light goods vehicles | ||||||||
| 6 | Medium goods vehicles | HK$20 | HK$30 | HK$50 | |||||
| 7 | Heavy goods vehicles | HK$30 | HK$45 | HK$75 | HK$50 | ||||
| 8 | Single-decked buses | Non-franchised | HK$20 | HK$30 | HK$50 | HK$50 | |||
| Franchised | Free | ||||||||
| 9 | Double-decked buses | Non-franchised | HK$30 | HK$45 | HK$75 | HK$75 | HK$50 | ||
| Franchised | Free | ||||||||
| 10 | Each additional axle in excess of two | Franchised buses | HK$10 | HK$15 | HK$25 | Free | Free | ||
| Other Vehicles | HK$25 | ||||||||
, there are 46 bus routes passing through the tunnel.
In June 2005, CITIC decided to raise the toll for using Eastern Harbour Crossing from HK$15 to HK$25 for private vehicles and up to 67% for other classes of vehicles, under the fare adjustment mechanism derived from the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.[13] This increase aroused criticisms that the model was detrimental to the public interest, with the increase shifting more traffic to the already congested Cross-Harbour Tunnel.