User:R3cps/sandbox

This article is about Tai Lam Tunnel for motor vehicles.

Tai Lam Tunnel (abbreviation TLT, 欖隧), running along Tsing Long Highway, is part of Route 3 Country Park Section (R3CPS) and is a vital  transport link between Kowloon and  Northwest New Territories.

Tai Lam Tunnel was constructed to ease traffic congestion at Tuen Mun Road and Castle Peak Road and to link traffic directly from New Territories to urban areas of Kowloon, the Hong Kong International Airport as well as Kwai Chung Container Terminals. Located adjacent to the boundary crossings of Lok Ma Chau and Shenzhen Bay, it connects smoothly with Shenzhen and Guangzhou for serving both cross-boundary passenger services and cargo logistics.

Introduction of Control Area
Tai Lam Tunnel is a 3.8km dual 3-lane tunnel. The total length of the R3CPS (the tolled area) is 10.1 km.

The tolled area, with two entrances/exits at the south end - Ting Kau and Tuen Mun Road, crosses Tai Lam Country Park to its north end at Pat Heung. There are four entrances / exits at the north end -  Pat Heung, Kam Tin, San Tin and Yuen Long

Located at Pat Heung and about 1 km from the north tunnel portal, the toll plaza consists of 22 tollbooths, 16 of which are for manual tolls and 6 are Autotoll lanes.

Construction and Operation
Tai Lam Tunnel is a   Build-Operate-Transfer (B.O.T) project with a franchise period of 30 years (including construction period). Its total construction cost was HKD 7.25 billion. Tai Lam Tunnel was started its construction in late May 1995 and was officially opened to traffic on 25 May, 1998 to match with the opening of the new Hong Kong International Airport.

The designed traffic capacity of Tai Lam Tunnel is 140,000 vehicles per day. In 2011, the average daily traffic was over 52,000 vehicles.

According to the statistics from Transport Department, Tai Lam Tunnel has excellent safety records. In 2010, the accident rate per million vehicle-km was just 0.12.

Environmental Protection and Sustainable Measures
As a major transport infrastructure project, Route 3 Country Park Section also shoulders its responsibility for environmental sustainability.

To protect the beautiful landscape of Tai Lam Country Park, the Tunnel Company carried out many environmental protection initiatives, including the employment of a tunnel to passing through the country park area and the keen preservation of vegetation and wild animals. One of the tasks was compensatory tree planting at a rate of three replacement saplings for each tree felled. In total, 250,000 trees, 150,000 shrubs and 60,000 climbing plants were planted during the construction period. .

As to conservation of wildlife, there is a small tunnel constructed at the south portal of Tai Lam Tunnel, mainly for small wild animals in this area to commute in the valley freely, allowing them to maintain their habituation.

To keep in pace with technology development, Tai Lam Tunnel has gradually replaced traditional light bulbs with Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). The indicator lighting signals inside the tunnel tubes and at the toll plaza as well as the illuminating system in the administration building have thus been replaced for reducing carbon emission.

In fact, Route 3 Country Park Section itself is essentially an environmental protection project, since the travelling distance between urban areas and Northwestern New Territories has been greatly shortened. . Savings in fuel and reduction in emission help improve air quality and reduce resources consumption.

Bus Routes Travelling through Tai Lam Tunnel (Reference Only)
Regarding the Tai Lam Tunnel Interchange Discount Scheme, please visit KMB website http://www.kmb.hk/en/ and Citibus website http://www.nwstbus.com.hk/home/default.aspx?intLangID=1

Concessionary Offers
Concessionary Offers to Tai Lam Tunnel Motorists and Trades (Reference Only) On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays up to 30 June 2012, private car can enjoy $5 discount by presenting single-entry Adult Ticket of HK Wetland Park of the same day at Tai Lam Tunnel manual booths. Child/Student/Senior tickets are not eligible for this offer.

From now on till 30 June 2012, during 0000-0600 hours, empty taxis (taxis without passengers) that pay by cash can enjoy concessionary tolls of $10. Taxis without passengers must have the light boxes illuminated as identification.

From now on till 30 June 2012, empty trailers pay by cash or empty trailer toll tickets can enjoy special tolls of $25.

From now on till 30 June 2012, during 0000-0600 hours, all heavy goods vehicles (including articulated and rigid) pay by cash or using Autotoll (with valid tags) can enjoy concessionary tolls of $25.


 * Offers abovementioned are based on information published on the website http://www.route3cps.com.hk/html/eng/index.asp

Links
Route 3 (CPS) Company Limited