In 1989, the Hong Kong Government decided to build a new international airport at Chek Lap Kok off the northern shore of Lantau Island. However, the new location was four times the distance that Kai Tak Airport was from the Central business district and the provision of fast and convenient transport link was critical in eliminating concerns that the new airport would be too far away. In essence, the MTR had to bring the airport back to the city. The journey time to the new airport had to be comparable to that of a trip from Central to Kai Tak. Transportation studies and surveys determined that a 23-minute journey time would be considered reasonable, a time-frame which was actually shorter than the 30 to 45 minutes it took to drive through rush hour from Central to Kai Tak.
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