紅磡站Hung Hom
紅磡的名稱來源有兩個説法。1909年，建築工人在打井時，發現湧出來的井水是紅色的，就有風水專家推測動土傷了龍脈，流出的是龍血，因此此地便得到了紅磡之名。There are two accounts of how Hung Hom (紅磡) got its name. In 1909, workmen sinking a well found that the water coming up was red. A fung shui master concluded that the digging had wounded the dragon's vein and that what was flowing out was dragon's blood, and from then on the place was known as Hung Hom, the red place.
又一説法是，磡，指的是山崖，紅磡即紅色的山崖。傳説這地方的山泥為紅色，村民便稱它為紅磡。The other explanation is more matter-of-fact: hom (磡) means a cliff, so Hung Hom is simply the red cliff. The earth on the hillside here was said to be red, and the villagers named the place after it.
如今的紅磡是演唱會曼妙歌聲餘音繞樑之境，是理工大學學子們學習進步的成長園地，更是香港重要的交通樞紐。Today Hung Hom is the place where the music of concert nights lingers in the air, where students of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University do their growing up, and, not least, one of Hong Kong's most important transport hubs.
太子站Prince Edward
太子指的是中國古代皇位繼承人的正式封號。而太子站地鐵的名稱要追溯到1922年4月，當時英國皇儲愛德華太子到該區的一條主要道路參觀，該道路命名為太子道，旁邊的車站也就以太子命名。In Chinese, taizi (太子) was the formal title of the heir to the imperial throne. The station's name, though, goes back to April 1922, when the British heir apparent, Edward, Prince of Wales, visited a main road in the district. The road was named Prince Edward Road, and the station beside it took the same name.
如今的太子站周遭有各種品種的金魚和水族用品售賣，同時花墟街道兩邊繁花似錦，每逢節日，人山人海，氣氛極其熱鬧。Around Prince Edward station today you will find goldfish of every variety and all the aquarium supplies to go with them, while the Flower Market spills blossom along both sides of the street. Come a festival, the crowds are shoulder to shoulder and the atmosphere could hardly be livelier.
彩虹站Choi Hung
彩虹站的名稱來源非常直接，也極富社區色彩。其命名源自車站上蓋及周邊的大型公共屋邨——彩虹邨。The name Choi Hung, meaning rainbow, is as literal as it is local. It comes from the large public housing estate built above and around the station: Choi Hung Estate.
彩虹邨色彩鮮明的樓房，如今是極具辨識度的文化符號和攝影場景，為社區增添了更多活力。彩虹站也因此成為眾多遊客爭先打卡的景點。The estate's brightly coloured blocks have become an instantly recognisable cultural emblem and a favourite backdrop for photographs, bringing extra life to the neighbourhood and turning Choi Hung into a spot visitors queue up to be photographed in.
奧運站Olympic
奧運站，這名字聽起來就和奧運會有關，事實也如此。1996年亞特蘭大奧運會，香港運動員李麗珊在女子滑浪風帆項目中奪冠，為香港贏得了有史以來第一枚奧運金牌。為了紀念這一歷史性的成就，多方經協商決定，將這座新建的車站命名為奧運站。Olympic station sounds as though it must have something to do with the Olympic Games, and so it does. At the 1996 Atlanta Games, the Hong Kong athlete Lee Lai-shan won the women's windsurfing event, taking the city's first ever Olympic gold medal. To commemorate that historic achievement, it was agreed after discussion among the parties involved that the newly built station would be called Olympic.
如今的奧運站是大型屋苑社區，更是極其重要的交通轉化節點。Today Olympic is a district of large residential estates, and an important interchange point in the network.
銅鑼灣站Causeway Bay
銅鑼灣站因臨近跑馬地，在規劃時中文名原擬定為跑馬地站，後改為銅鑼灣站。Because the station lies close to Happy Valley, the planners' original Chinese name for it was Happy Valley station; this was later changed to Causeway Bay.
銅鑼灣原本是一個天然海灣，19世紀末至20世紀初，港英政府進行填海工程，海岸線逐漸外擴。舊時海岸線曲折，形狀好似銅鑼，因此得名。隨着城市日益發展，銅鑼灣形成今日人流密集的黃金地段。Causeway Bay was once a natural inlet. From the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century the colonial government carried out reclamation here and the shoreline gradually pushed outwards. The old coastline curved round in a shape said to resemble a Chinese gong, tung lo (銅鑼), and that is where the name comes from. As the city grew, Causeway Bay became the crowded prime district we know today.
小結In closing
地鐵並非冰冷的運輸機器。每一個站名，都是一把開啓本地記憶的鑰匙。The MTR is no cold machine for moving people about. Every station name is a key that unlocks a piece of local memory.
在彩虹站月台望見彩色屋邨；在奧運站回温無盡的自豪感；在太子站感受市井的生命力；在銅鑼灣邂逅霓虹的不眠夜……The coloured blocks of the estate seen from the platform at Choi Hung; a swell of pride revisited at Olympic; the street-level vitality of Prince Edward; the sleepless neon met with at Causeway Bay.
香港地鐵用精準的班次定義着香港速度，更用名稱和歷史定義着城市靈魂。The MTR defines the pace of Hong Kong with the precision of its timetables, and defines the soul of the city with its names and their histories.