Kowloon Station (KCR)

Kowloon Station (九龍車站), located in Tsim Sha Tsui on the present site of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, was the former southern terminus of the Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR).

The first Kowloon station was a temporary structure built near the Post Office on Salisbury Road in 1909 and served until the permanent station was completed in 1910. Regular service began at the second station on the 1st October, 1910. [cite web |url=http://www.amo.gov.hk/en/monuments_43.php |title=Declared Monuments in Hong Kong - Kowloon |publisher=Antiquities and Monuments Office, Government of HKSAR |accessdate=2007-12-14] The building consisted of a two storey L shaped terminal building with a clock tower. On the north end of the station was a covered walkway which lead to a two covered elevated platforms. A mile north of the station is a freight station.

After its relocation to Hung Hom (also replacing the old Hung Hum station) in 1974, it had been the name of present-day Hung Hom Station, the new southern terminus of the railway, now renamed East Rail Line.

Relocation

Owing to lacking of space for expansion, the southern terminus of the railway was moved from Tsim Sha Tsui to a new station of the same name on the new reclaimed land from Hung Hom Bay in 1974. The Hong Kong Cultural Centre was constructed on the site. [Richard Frost, [http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=&art_id=8863&sid=&con_type=1&d_str=19980501&sear_year=1998 History floats aboard Star ferries] , "The Standard, May 01, 1998"]

The new Kowloon Station was renamed to its present name, Hung Hom, in late 1990s.

Preservation campaign

A campaign was mounted to preserve the 60-year old red brick terminus. The Kowloon Residents' Association wrote to the Colonial Secretary in 1970; the Tsim Sha Tsui Neighbourhood and Welfare Association also wrote to the Colonial Secretary in 1975, and again in May 1977.

A petition [http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/22_01.01/34621.pdf Strong public support to keep KCR buildings] , South China Morning Post, August 03, 1977] was mounted by the Heritage Society, and sent to the then Governor, Murray MacLehose on July 29, 1977.Gary Coull, [http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/22_01.01/34646.pdf Save railway station plea to Queen] , South China Morning Post, February 09, 1978] The Government rejected the petition, and its request for an independent inquiry into the draft area development plan. It argued that a new cultural complex would assume the role enjoyed by the building, and that the plans for a new cultural complex to be erected on the site were too far advanced to be altered. The Heritage society charged that the Government was engaged in dirty tricks, [Michael Chugani, [http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/22_01.01/34667.pdf Foul tactics used in KCR fight?] , The Standard, June 09, 1978] and was misleading the public.

The Heritage Society escalated lobbying effort, and petitioned Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II [ [http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/22_01.01/34649.pdf ONLY A ROYAL DECISION CAN SAVE KCR STATION] , The Star, February 11, 1978] with a file containing some 15,000 signatures in February 1978, hoping for royal intervention. Within 48 hours of the Royal decision, the demolition crew had already moved in.Michael Chugani, [http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/22_01.01/34666.pdf No place for history in money conscious HK] , The Standard, June 08, 1978]

Clock Tower

The Clock Tower is the only part of the old station in Tsim Sha Tsui remains at its own site. Six pillars of the station building were moved to the Urban Council Centenary Garden in Tsim Sha Tsui East, and a big bell is kept at East Rail depot at Ho Tung Lau.

ee also

*East Tsim Sha Tsui Station
*Hung Hom Station

External links

* [http://www.hkrs.org.hk/members/crush/kcrhistory/construction.htm A Glimpse At Kowloon-Canton Railway's History]

References