TRAINS
Since 2 December 2007 train services in Hong Kong have been operated exclusively by MTR Corporation (MTRC) following merger of MTR and KCR (Kowloon-Canton Railway). MTRC has also taken over the Intercity cross border through services to Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing formerly operated by KCR. During a five week period following the merger date all KCR signage and logos at KCR stations were replaced with MTR branding and final integration of the systems was completed by the end of September 2008.
Services can be categorised as;
MTR TRAIN SERVICES ("Heavy Rail")
AIRPORT EXPRESS
MTR "LIGHT RAIL"
MTR INTERCITY PASSENGER SERVICES
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MTR TRAIN SERVICES
Hong Kong's MTR system opened on October 1st 1979 and initially served just one route serving nine stations between Kwun Tong and Shek Kip Mei. The first cross-harbour route was introduced in 1980 when the Kwun Tong Line was extended to Central. Following opening of the Kowloon Southern Link extending West Rail to Hung Hom in southern Kowloon on 16th August 2009 the system now comprises nine interconnected lines covering 174.7kms and serving 82 stations extending from Central, Causeway Bay and Kowloon to Lantau Island and the New Territories.
The lines are;
ISLAND LINE (serving northern and north-east Hong Kong Island from Sheung Wan to Chai Wan)
TSUEN WAN LINE (from Central through the heart of Kowloon to Tsuen Wan)
TSUEN KWAN O LINE (from North Point on north-east HK Island to Tsuen Kwan O in south-east Kowloon with branches to Po Lam and LOHAS Park.
TUNG CHUNG LINE (from Hong Kong Station via west Kowloon along the northern coast of Lantau Island to Tung Chung)
KWUN TONG LINE (from central Kowloon serving northern, eastern and south east Kowloon)
EAST RAIL (former KCR line from Hung Hom in southern Kowloon via the New Territories to Lo Wu mainland border station and via a branch to Lok Ma Chau mainland border station)
MA ON SHAN LINE (former KCR branch line from East Rail at Tai Wai along the south side of the Shing Mun River Channel serving eastern New Territories New Towns terminating at Wu Kai Sha)
WEST RAIL (former KCR line from Hung Hom in southern Kowloon via West Kowloon and western New Territories to Tuen Mun).
DISNEYLAND RESORT LINE (a short dedicated branch line from the Tung Chung Line at Sunny Bay to Disneyland Resort Station)
The full MTR NETWORK MAP can be viewed here;
http://www.mtr.com.hk/jplanner/images/maps/routemap.pdf
Direction sign to MTR Station
Stations and trains are spotlessly clean, well lit and safe and trains frequent and reliable. Most station platforms are served by escalators and lifts and many stations are now equipped with platform safety doors under an ongoing upgrade programme. Several stations have free internet access via terminals in the concourse. Transferring between interconnecting lines is usually fast and simple and at many stations simply involves walking a few metres to an adjacent platform. However when transferring between interconnecting stations some of the subway links can be rather lengthy, including those between East Tsim Sha Tsui and Tsim Sha Tsui stations, Central and Hong Kong Stations and at Kowloon Tong stations when transferring between East Rail Line and Kwun Tong Line.
There are toilet facilities at 40 of the 82 stations on the network, these being mainly former KCR stations on the East Rail and West Rail lines. Since the MTR/KCR merger plans have been announced for toilet facilities at three more stations and in a new concession staff at stations not equipped with public toilets have been instructed to make staff toilets available to the public on request. In May 2008 MTR announced its "In Touch With Nature" refurbishment programme for the East Rail (former KCR) line which will see refurbishment of all stations on the line by 2016 using an architectural theme with earth-toned materials in warm and natural colours. Mong Kok East Station will be the first station to be completed during 2009.
Train seats are rather austere, polished steel benches and standing is commonplace. Eating, drinking and smoking are not allowed in trains or on platforms. Mobile phone signals can be received throughout the whole system.
Platform screen doors have been retro-fitted to platforms at most stations and during May 2009 MTR Corp confirmed it was bringing forward its programme to install platform screen doors at its eight remaining above-ground or open stations for completion by the end of 2011 with the exception of East Rail line where it is not considered viable.
In July 2008 MTR Corporation announced it was bringing into service 22 new trains and renovating 69 existing trains internally to make boarding and disembarking easier and also make trains easier for disabled passengers to use. New internal and external colour schemes are being introduced with white, green and purple replacing silver, red and blue. The additional trains are being acquired to cope with the increase in passengers expected when the Kowloon Southern Link which connects East Rail and West Rail opens. In November 2008 MTR placed its first order with a mainland Chinese company, Changchun Railway Vehicles, for ten new trains to be delivered in 2011/2012 to improve frequency on the Island, Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan and Tseung Kwan O lines.
Since final integration of the MTR/KCR networks was completed in September 2008 interchange barriers at Kowloon Tong, Nam Cheong and Mei Foo have been removed enabling passengers seamless interchange between MTR and former KCR lines.
In November 2009, in a bid to improve caring and courteous behaviour, MTR introduced a pilot scheme for priority seats on the Kwun Tong, Island, East Rail, West Rail, Tsuen Kwan O, Ma On Shan and Tung Chung Lines. One pair of seats located near the doors in selected carriages of trains on each of these lines are designated Priority Seats with the intention that these be offered to people in need such as elderly, pregnant, handicapped or injured. During the first month of the pilot MTR Ambassadors on board trains have rewarded passengers who offer their seats to others with free single-journey tickets.
Using the MTR is simple. Entry and exit barriers are automated and operated by either Octopus Card or by single journey ticket which can be obtained from ticket machines in the station. Tickets and Octopus Cards can also be purchased at Customer Service Centres within each station. Automatic Card Readers at the entry and exit barriers at each station encode the journey details on the magnetic strip and either deduct the correct fare from the Octopus Card on exit at the destination station or if a single journey ticket is used, retain the ticket. Services operate at frequent intervals from approx 06-00 to 00-30.
Fares are inexpensive and full details of fares and journey times are available from the MTR Journey Planner;
http://www.mtr.com.hk/jplanner/engtxt/planner_index.php
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Inside an MTR train
(former KCR branded) MTR train at University Station
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AIRPORT EXPRESS
The Airport Express operates over a 35.3km line from Hong Kong Station on Hong Kong Island via Kowloon, Tsing Yi and Hong Kong International Airport stations to Asia World-Expo Station which is just a short distance beyond the airport. It provides a fast dedicated service to and from the airport and carries an average of 35,000 passengers daily of which about one-third are business travellers. Tsing Yi and Kowloon Stations are interchange stations for the MTR network. Hong Kong Station is also served by the Tung Chung Line and is connected to MTR Central Station by subway and moving walkways. Journey times to/from the airport are;
Tsing Yi Station 12 minutes
Kowloon Station 20 minutes
Hong Kong Station 24 minutes
From the airport to Asia World-Expo is an additional 4 minutes journey time.
Trains to/from the airport operate every 12 minutes from 05-50 to 00-48 daily.
For more information regarding Airport Express see TO/FROM AIRPORT
Airport Express Train passing through Sunny Bay Station
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MTR LIGHT RAIL
The MTR Light Rail system was commissioned in September 1988 and formerly operated by KCR.
Modern electric “streetcars” operate frequent services along eleven interconnecting lines serving 36.15kms and 68 stations in the New Towns and suburbs of Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai, Yuen Long and Tuen Mun in the western New Territories. Some of the stations are interconnecting stations with MTR West Rail. As at October 2008 there was a fleet of 119 Light Rail Vehicles (LRV'S) with an additional 22 LRV's costing HK$400 million due to be phased into service between 2009 and 2010 in order to meet anticipated additional demand after commissioning of the Kowloon Southern Link in September 2009 and population growth in the New Territories. The new trains will incorporate CCTV surveillance and a new internal and external livery which eventually be extended to the existing fleet. The 69 first-generation LRV's are to being refurbished to improve comfort and capacity in a programme which will be completed in 2011. The average daily patronage as at October 2008 is 446,000. The system is supported by a fleet of 110 MTR feeder buses.
The Light Rail System is easy to use. Fare payment can be made either by Octopus Card or by individual journey ticket which can be obtained from ticket machines on the platform. The system is based on honesty and there are no entry or exit barriers at stations. You simply walk onto the platform and either validate your Octopus Card or buy a ticket. When you disembark you again validate the Octopus Card at one of the card readers on the platform to ensure the correct fare is deducted. Fares are structured by zone, there being five zones. However don’t be tempted to try and avoid fare payment as spot checks are carried out and hefty fines can be imposed for non payment.Detailed route maps are displayed on all station platforms. Services operate from approx 05-30 to 01-00.
For full schedules see;
http://www.mtr.com.hk/engtxt/lr_bus/schedule/schedule_index.html
For a detailed map of the Light Rail system see;
http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/lr_bus/routemap_index.html
Light Rail car at Ping Shan
MTR Light Rail also operates some feeder bus services mainly in the North West New Territories along routes serving Light Rail and former KCR stations.
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MTR INTERCITY PASSENGER SERVICES
MTR operates cross border Intercity through passenger services formerly operated by KCR. These services start from the terminus at Hung Hom in Kowloon. Hung Hom Station is also served by MTR East Rail.
There are twelve daily services from Hung Hom to Guangzhou East of which ten call at Dongguang with a journey time of approx 1 hour 40 minutes. One service calls at Foshan and terminates at Zhaoqing, a journey time of around 4 hours.
There are also trains to and from Beijing West (journey time 24 hours) and Shanghai (journey time 20 hours) on alternate days.
Hong Kong Immigration formalities are completed at Hung Hom Station (not at the border).
For full timetable, fares, ticketing and online ticket purchase see;
http://www.it3.mtr.com.hk/b2c/frmIndex.asp?strLang=Eng
A new HK$39.5 billion express rail link between Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou is being planned by MTR Corporation. The line known as "Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link" (XRL) will run from its terminus at West Kowloon via Futian Station in Shenzhen to Guangzhou East Station. Construction is expected to begin in 2009 and when the line comes into operation by 2015 will enable the journey time from Hong Kong to Guangzhou to be reduced from nearly two hours to just 48 minutes and to Shenzhen to 14 minutes. For more information on XRL see WHAT'S PLANNED