The Central–Mid-Levels escalator and walkway system in Hong Kong is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world. The system covers over in distance and traverses an elevation of over from bottom to top. It opened in 1993 to provide an improved link between Central and the Mid-Levels on Hong Kong Island.

As part of ongoing renewal works, the escalators at the top of the system between Robinson Road and Conduit Road were replaced and returned to service on 11 July 2018. Three refurbished escalators between Mosque Street and Robinson Road followed in early 2019, while two replacement escalators between Caine Road and Elgin Street opened in June 2019.

Apart from serving as a mode of transport, the system is also a tourist attraction and is lined with restaurants, bars, and shops.

History

thumb|Central–Mid-Levels escalators under construction in the early 1990s

Origins

The project began in the early 1980s when the government found that much of the east-west traffic in the area arose from north-south travel demand, as the steep topography did not allow for major roads to be built straight up the hill. There was talk of linking Central and Mid-Levels with escalators, a monorail, or a cable-car system.

In late 1982, private consultants Peter Y.S. Pun and Associates and MVA Asia were commissioned to investigate traffic improvement measures in Central. In their report entitled A Study of the Transport Requirements of the Mid-Levels and Central District, the consultant recommended, among other things, to build an "escalator assisted pedestrian route" linking Mid-Levels to the existing Central Elevated Walkway system and a new bus terminus that they proposed should be built on the site of the Central Market.

Construction and opening

The Highways Department commissioned Maunsell Consultants Asia to draw up a detailed design for the system. The Executive Council approved the project on 16 March 1990. Construction began at the end of February 1991, and was carried out by a joint venture between Hong Kong contractor Paul Y. – ITC Construction and the French company Sogen. It took two and a half years to build, and opened to the public at 6:00 am on 15 October 1993.

The opening of the escalator fuelled the proliferation of new restaurants and other commercial operations in the intermediate levels, and contributed to the development of the "SoHo" entertainment district. New businesses opened up in the first or second floors of existing buildings, and added signage to attract escalator riders.

Capital cost

The system cost HK$240 million (US$31 million) to build, although it was originally approved in March 1990 with a budget of $100 million and annual maintenance costs of $950,000. In November 1996, the Director of Audit issued a report that called the project a "white elephant", saying that it failed to achieve the primary objective of reducing traffic between the Mid-Levels and Central, as well as over-running its budget by 153 per cent. The Highways Department's poor handling of the project was the main reason for having five cost revisions of the project since the budget had been initially approved. The Director of Audit blamed it for failing to address the risks and complexities associated with the project in the pre-tender estimates, and costs rising because of delays. Land resumption costs were also underestimated by $74 million (or 180 per cent). The report also points out that a "before-and-after" study by the Transport Department indicated no obvious reduction in traffic congestion.

It links Queen's Road Central in Central with Conduit Road in the Mid-Levels, travelling primarily up Cochrane Street and Shelley Street.

Design

The system includes 18 escalators and three inclined moving walkways.

{| class="wikitable"

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! Year !! Daily usage

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| 1996 || 34,000

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| 2005 || 54,000

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Management and maintenance

Management and maintenance of the system is the responsibility of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD). It is monitored during operating hours by staff in a control room near Caine Road. The system is equipped with 75 CCTV cameras, LED variable-message signage, and a public address system with about 200 speakers. Since 2014, EMSD has contracted out management and maintenance to a private company. As of 2014, the annual maintenance cost of the system is about HK$12.5 million.

The entire system is being refurbished in stages in a project expected to last from 2018 to 2022.

Tidal flow

The one-way escalators and moving walkways run downhill from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and then uphill from 10 a.m. to midnight daily. between Queen's Road Central and Hollywood Road. Then it runs along the entire length of a ladder street, Shelley Street.

The whole system bisects the following streets/roads:

  • Queen Victoria Street ()
  • Des Voeux Road Central ()
  • Queen's Road Central ()
  • Stanley Street ()
  • Wellington Street ()
  • Gage Street ()
  • Lyndhurst Terrace ()
  • Old Bailey Street ()
  • Hollywood Road ()
  • Staunton Street () – SoHo area
  • Elgin Street ()
  • Caine Road ()
  • Mosque Street ()
  • Mosque Junction ()
  • Robinson Road ()
  • Conduit Road ()

As film location

The Central–Mid-Levels escalators have been used as filming locations for several films, including:

  • Chungking Express (1994). Director Wong Kar-wai stated: "That interests me because no one has made a movie there. When we were scouting for locations we found the light there entirely appropriate."
  • Chinese Box (1997). Set in the months immediately preceding the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, the flat-cum-office of the main character John (Jeremy Irons) is located directly at the Central–Mid-Levels escalators.
  • The Batman film The Dark Knight (2008). Filming took place there 6–11 November 2007.

See also

  • Centre Street escalator link
  • List of streets and roads in Hong Kong
  • Transport in Hong Kong

References

  • Labyrinth in the Air – TV programme by Radio Television Hong Kong on the escalators and related Central Elevated Walkway (video archive)
  • BBC Close-up – brief video on the importance of the escalators