Beacon Hill Tunnel
Hong Kong
1906 | 1910
The Beacon Hill tunnel (7,212ft or 2,198m long) allowed the Kowloon - Canton Railway Line through the Kowloon hills. The tunnel was the most difficult undertaking in the construction of the entire Railway Line. Mainly for the difficulty in finding local workers experienced in tunnel construction. Also the rocks composition was very complex. The tunnel is of major interest in that it is the longest existing tunnel in China.
Three shafts were constructed, one 91m from the south portal 28m deep, one 15m deep close to the north portal, and the third 81m deep located 396m from the north portal. At the top of each shaft was a winding house, driven by a steam engine. Road access to the portals had to be constructed along with metre-gauge line for the transport of materials. In the south, a 3.2km line was constructed to the nearest jetty and in the north a 2.4km line was constructed to the sea.
