The predecessor of the East Rail Line was the Kowloon–Canton Railway, which was opened in 1910. At the time of opening, its southern terminus was the old Kowloon Station located in Tsim Sha Tsui, where the Clock Tower stands today. However, the old Kowloon Station was closed in 1975, and the southern terminus of the railway was relocated to the newly built Hung Hom Station. An early predecessor to the present East Tsim Sha Tsui station, named Mariner in the East Kowloon line 1970 scheme, was intended to provide interchange to of the Kong Kow Line. Plans for East Tsim Sha Tsui were subsequently revived in 1993 when the plans for East Kowloon line were modified to become a medium-capacity system as part of an Eastern Corridor with transfer to the Lantau Airport Railway. The contract to construct East Tsim Sha Tsui was subsequently awarded to a consortium consisting of Hong Kong-based Gammon Construction and Japan-based Nishimatsu. East Tsim Sha Tsui was opened on 24 October 2004 as a southward extension of the KCR East Rail from, symbolising the return of the railway to the Tsim Sha Tsui area after 30 years. It served as the southern terminus of the East Rail Line until 16 August 2009. As a result of its underground location, the station was equipped with full-height platform screen doors, of the same type used on the KCR West Rail, which opened the year prior. The station was the only one on the East Rail Line with these doors for five years, and as a result, the 12-car-long set of screen doors were the longest in the world. The status of the East Tsim Sha Tsui station as the southern terminus of the East Rail Line was intended to be a temporary arrangement only. Upon the opening of the MTR Kowloon Southern Link on 16 August 2009, the East Rail Line's southern terminus became Hung Hom again, and the tracks between Hung Hom and East Tsim Sha Tsui became part of the West Rail Line. As a result, Hung Hom is now the common southern terminus of the East Rail Line and the West Rail Line, whilst East Tsim Sha Tsui is now an intermediate station on the West Rail Line. Due to the shorter length of the West Rail Line and Tuen Ma Line trains, the ends of the platforms were taken out of use and closed off.
Station layout
Passengers heading towards the Tsuen Wan Line ride the escalator up to the concourse and leave the West Rail Line system. Then they walk along the Middle Road or Mody Road subway system respectively to reach Tsim Sha Tsui station at exits L2 and M3, respectively. Although the stations are connected by subway, the fare gates for East Tsim Sha Tsui and Tsim Sha Tsui Stations are separated. Single journey ticket passengers transferring from the West Rail Line to the Tsuen Wan Line must purchase a second ticket at Tsim Sha Tsui Station as the ticket is withdrawn once the passengers exit through the turnstiles at East Tsim Sha Tsui station. In contrast, Octopus card users who transfer between East Tsim Sha Tsui and Tsim Sha Tsui stations within thirty minutes without making any other transport related purchases or more than nine non-transport related purchases in between stations are considered to have taken a single journey and are charged accordingly. Also, MTR City Saver users who transfer between East Tsim Sha Tsui and Tsim Sha Tsui stations within thirty minutes are considered to have taken a single journey and are charged accordingly.
Entrances/exits
East Tsim Sha Tsui Station is linked with Tsim Sha Tsui Station through the Mody Road and Middle Road Subways. When both stations' exits are combined, the total number of exits outnumber even that of Central. Tsim Sha Tsui Station has the exit with the highest letter of all rail stations in Hong Kong.
