Hong Kong's rail network mainly comprises public transport trains operated by the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRC). The MTRC operates the metro network of the territory, the commuter rail network connecting the northeastern, northwestern and southwestern New Territories to the urban areas, and a light rail network in northwestern New Territories. The operations of the territory's two leading railway companies, MTRC and the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC), were merged in 2007 on grounds of economies of scale and cost effectiveness.[ citation needed ] The Hong Kong Government has an explicit stated[ clarification needed ] transport policy of using railways as its transport backbone. [1]
In addition to the MTR network, there are several smaller-scale railways run by different operators, including the Peak Tram and the Hong Kong Tramways, and other systems including the Disneyland Railroad and the Ocean Express.
The first mode of rail transport for the public in Hong Kong was the Peak Tram, serving The Peak (at Victoria Gap), the Mid-Levels and the city centre since 1888. This was followed by the Mount Parker Cable Car in 1892, but this system was terminated in 1932 and dismantled. The tram started service along the northern coast of the Hong Kong Island in 1904. The British Section of the Kowloon–Canton Railway (later the KCR East Rail, and now the East Rail line), a conventional railway, was opened in 1910.
It was not until 1979 that a rapid transit system, the MTR, was opened. Three years later, the British Section of the Kowloon–Canton Railway began its transition towards electrification, which changed it into a commuter rail, and eventually providing rapid transit-like service. The Light Rail Transit (LRT, now the MTR Light Rail) began its operation in the Tuen Mun and Yuen Long new towns in 1988. The two railway companies, MTR Corporation Limited and Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, merged their operations in 2007 to form a single rapid transit network, with the KCRC granting the MTRCL a service concession to operate their KCR network.
In 2018, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High Speed Railway opened to connect Hong Kong with the Mainland Chinese high speed network through a 26-kilometre (16 mi) tunnel within Hong Kong to West Kowloon station. It has many train services to many Mainland Chinese cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, until service was suspended since midnight of 30 January 2020 amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
There are several extensions planned, such as Tung Chung West station and North Island line.
Including lines owned and most of which previously operated by the KCR Corporation, the MTR network for local service comprises 10 heavy rail lines with 97 railway stations [ needs update ] and one light rail network with 68 stops:
This system makes about HK$2 billion in profit in 2014 which is mainly generated from its property holding and development business. [5] [ needs update ] Its portfolio include two of the city's tallest skyscrapers. [5]
Commonly known as through train (chi. 直通車), the MTRC and railway companies of mainland China jointly provided cross-border train services from Hung Hom station, Kowloon, sharing most of the tracks with the East Rail line, to destinations in mainland China through neighbouring Shenzhen on three Through Train routes, namely Beijing line (to/from Beijing West), Shanghai line (to/from Shanghai) and Guangdong line (to/from Guangzhou East); these services have been suspended since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic from 30 January 2020 onwards. The Through Train service to Guangzhou (formerly Canton) was a legacy of Hong Kong's first railway, the Kowloon–Canton Railway. Outside Hong Kong it was operated through the rail network in mainland China, including the Guangshen railway, Jingguang railway and Hukun railway.
A high-speed rail link connects Hong Kong with Shenzhen and Guangzhou in mainland China. The Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link (sometimes abbreviated "XRL HK section") is a 26-km long stretch of high-speed rail that links Hong Kong to mainland China. The Hong Kong section opened for commercial service on 23 September 2018. [6] From West Kowloon Terminus, trains run through regional stations in Guandong Province, including Futian, Longhua (Shenzhen North), and Humen, to Guangzhou South station and other cities in other provinces. [7] [8]
With the completion of the rail link, the journey times have been reduced to 14 minutes between West Kowloon and Futian stations, 23 minutes between Hong Kong and Shenzhen North and 48 minutes between Hong Kong and Guangzhou South. [9] The service is a cooperation between the MTR Corporation and CR Guangzhou.
West Kowloon station is served by both short-distance and long-haul train services. Short-distance services consist of a frequent service to mainland Chinese cities in neighbouring Guangdong province, including Shenzhen, Dongguan and Guangzhou, while long-distance services link Hong Kong to at least 16 major destinations in mainland China, including Beijing West, Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou East, Wuhan, Changsha South and Shanghai Hongqiao. [10]
A new railway connecting Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong was proposed in the late 1990s by the Government of Hong Kong. This Regional Express Railway (RER) proposal was developed in the 1994 “Railway Development Study” (RDS); it foresaw a continual growth of Hong Kong's population over the next two decades and strong demand for cross-border passenger traffic. [11] By 2002, the concept of “regional express” gained further development and the proposal was advanced to be a high-speed rail line. [12] Construction of the Hong Kong section began in 2010. Following delays and controversies, [13] [14] [15] West Kowloon station was formally opened on 4 September 2018 and high speed trains started to run on the rail link to destinations in Mainland China from 23 September 2018. [16]
Station Name English | Station Name Chinese | Total Distance | Transfer | Location | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hong Kong West Kowloon | 香港西九龍 / 香港西九龙 | Tung Chung line Airport Express (via Kowloon) Tuen Ma line (via Austin) | Yau Tsim Mong, Hong Kong | ||
A second cross-border express railway, the Hong Kong–Shenzhen Western Express Railway, was proposed in the 2000s but shelved amidst concern over costs and the environment. The shelved proposal has been revived in October 2021 by the territory's then Chief Executive. [17] [18] [19]
Apart from the XRL mentioned above, MTR's trainsets for the Guangdong service, namely Lok 2000 locomotives and its carriages the Ktt, are designed to be able to run at 200 kilometres per hour (120 mph) but do not operate at those speeds on the tracks of the East Rail. The SP1900 EMUs (IKK trains; in reference to the Itochu, Kinki Sharyo and Kawasaki consortium) on the Tuen Ma line and formerly on the East Rail may run at 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph) but also do not operate at those speeds on those lines.
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: It has been extended to the SkyPier and the Midfield Concourse. A second system is being built for T2 and the new satellite terminal for the third runway.(October 2021) |
There is an Automated People Mover (APM), [20] a driverless electric train service, which is located at the basement level of Terminal 1 of Hong Kong International Airport. It travels the length of the 750-metre (2,460 ft) concourse between the East Hall and West Hall on a circular mode. Running at a speed of 62 km per hour, each APM carries 304 passengers in four cars. The APM operates every 2.5 minutes from 0600 to 0030 hours every day. It transports passengers whose flights are located at the West Hall, Southwest and Northwest concourses.
An Automated People Mover was also proposed by the territory's Chief Executive to connect Tsim Bei Tsui, Lau Fau Shan and Pak Nai in northwestern New Territories by the Deep Bay. [17] [21] [22] [23]
Rail gauges and power supply of Hong Kong rails.
Rail | Rail gauge | Power supply | Remarks | Signal system | Height of platform | Width of widest car (mm) | Loading gauge width (mm) | Height of tallest car (mm) | Height clearance | Height of contact wire (mm) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MTR Island line, South Island line, Kwun Tong line, Tseung Kwan O line, Tsuen Wan line (collectively Urban Lines except for South Island line) [24] | 1,432 mm (4 ft 8+3⁄8 in) (except for West Island line, South Island line, and Kwun Tong line extension) (almost standard gauge) 1435 mm (West Island line, South Island line, and Kwun Tong line extension) | 1500 V DC | overhead cable | Urban Lines: SACEM and SACEM-SICAS for TKL, all lines to be upgraded to SelTrac in the 2020s Alstom Urbalis 400 | 1100 mm (43.3 in) | 3118 | 3250 (with fixed platform gap filler) 3312 (without gap filler) 3940 (without platform) [25] | 3700 (MTR Metro Cammell EMU (DC) without pantograph) 3910 (MTR Metro Cammell EMU (DC) with pantograph folded) | 3755 mm (without pantograph) [25] 4100 mm (with pantograph folded) (~4904 mm with pantograph folded in depots) | 4200 mm (nominal and min., as built to same standards as Tung Chung line and Airport Express); (~5029 mm in depots) | |
MTR Tung Chung line, Airport Express (collectively known as Airport Railway) | 1,432 mm (4 ft 8+3⁄8 in) (almost standard gauge) | 1500 V DC (nominal) ; 1520 ± 20 V DC (in practice) [26] | overhead cable | SACEM, all lines to be upgraded to SelTrac in the 2020s | 1250 mm (49.2 in) [25] | 3118 (MTR Rotem EMU) | 3250 (with fixed platform gap filler) 3312 (without gap filler) 3940 (without platform) [25] | 3700 (MTR Adtranz–CAF EMU without pantograph) | 3755 mm (without pantograph) [25] 4100 mm (with pantograph folded) (~4904 mm with pantograph folded in depots) | 4200 mm (nominal and min.); 4224.78 mm (mean); 4230 mm (max. on running lines) [26] (~5029 mm in depot) | |
MTR Disneyland Resort line | 1,432 mm (4 ft 8+3⁄8 in) (almost standard gauge) | 1500 V DC | overhead cable | SelTrac CBTC/R UTO | 1100 mm (43.3 in) | 3096 | 3250 (with fixed platform gap filler) 3312 (without gap filler) 3940 (without platform) [25] | 3700 (without pantograph) 3910 (with pantograph folded) | 3755 mm (without pantograph) [25] 4100 mm (with pantograph folded) (~4904 mm with pantograph folded in depots) | 4200 mm (nominal and min., as built to same standards as Tung Chung line and Airport Express); (~5029 mm in depot) (note: depot shared with Airport Railway) | |
MTR East Rail line, Tuen Ma line (formerly operated by KCR/KCRC) | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (Standard gauge) | 25 kV AC | overhead cable | electrical supply same standard as railways in mainland China | East Rail line: Siemens Trainguard MT CBTC Tuen Ma line: SelTrac CBTC DTO | 3 ft 6 in (1066.8mm) [27] | 3220 (MTR Hyundai Rotem EMU)[ clarification needed ] | 3250 (with fixed platform gap filler) 3300 (without gap filler) ~3900 (without platform) | 4600 (Ktt Kinki Sharyo coach) [28] | 16 ft 6 in (5029.2 mm) (with pantograph folded) | 17 ft 4 in (5283.2 mm) [27] (nominal and minimum) |
MTR Light Rail (formerly operated by KCR/KCRC) | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (Standard gauge) | 750 V DC | overhead cable | Siemens Trainguard IMU 100 | 910 mm (35.8 in) | 2650 | 2670 | 5250 mm (with pantograph folded) | 5300 mm (nominal and minimum) | ||
Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link Hong Kong section | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (Standard gauge) | 25 kV AC | overhead cable | everything[ clarification needed ] same standard as railways in mainland China | 1250 mm (49.2 in) | 3380 | 3400 | 5250 mm (with pantograph folded) | 5300 mm [29] (nominal and minimum) | ||
Peak Tram | 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) (Russian gauge) | N/A | N/A | Funicular | |||||||
Hong Kong Tramways | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | 550 V DC | overhead cable | N/A | 20 ft 8 in (6299.2 mm) (with trolley pole folded) (estimated) | 21 ft (6400.8 mm) (estimated) | |||||
Hong Kong International Airport Automated People Mover | N/A (Automated guideway transit) | 3-phase 600 V AC | Third Rail | SelTrac | |||||||
Hong Kong Disneyland Railroad | 3 ft (914 mm) | N/A | N/A | powered by three steam-shaped diesel locomotives | |||||||
Ocean Park Ocean Express | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (Standard gauge) | N/A | N/A | Funicular |
The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is a major public transport network serving Hong Kong. Operated by the MTR Corporation (MTRCL), it consists of heavy rail, light rail, and feeder bus services, centred around a 10-line rapid transit network, serving the urbanised areas of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories. The system encompasses 245.3 km (152.4 mi) of railways, as of December 2022, with 179 stations—including 99 heavy rail stations, 68 light rail stops and 1 high-speed rail terminus.
The Kowloon–Canton Railway was a railway network in Hong Kong. It was owned and operated by the Kowloon–Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) until 2007. Rapid transit services, a light rail system, feeder bus routes within Hong Kong, and intercity passenger and freight train services to China on the KCR network, have been operated by the MTR Corporation since 2007.
The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation is a Hong Kong wholly government-owned railway and land asset manager. It was established in 1982 under the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation Ordinance for the purposes of operating the Kowloon–Canton Railway (KCR), and to construct and operate other new railways. On 2 December 2007, the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), another railway operator in Hong Kong, took over the operations of the KCR network under a 50-year service concession agreement, which can be extended. Under the service concession, KCRC retains ownership of the KCR network with the MTRCL making annual payments to KCRC for the right to operate the network. The KCRC's activities are governed by the KCRC Ordinance as amended in 2007 by the Rail Merger Ordinance to enable the service concession agreement to be entered into with the MTR Corporation Limited.
The Kwun Tong line is a rapid transit line of the MTR network in Hong Kong, coloured green on the MTR map. Starting at Whampoa in Hung Hom and ending at Tiu Keng Leng in Tseung Kwan O, Sai Kung, the route has 17 stations and takes 35 minutes to complete. The Kwun Tong line is one of the busiest railway lines on the network connecting the central and the eastern portions of Kowloon via Wong Tai Sin. The line is mostly underground, but includes a lengthy elevated section, and runs generally in an east-west direction. During the morning rush hour, the Kwun Tong line utilises 33 trains running at 29tph to achieve a route capacity of 85,000 pphpd.
The West Rail line was a commuter rail / rapid transit line that formed part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong until 27 June 2021. Coloured magenta on the MTR map, the line ran from Tuen Mun to Hung Hom, with a total length of 35.7 kilometres (22.2 mi), in 37 minutes. The railway connected the urban area of Kowloon and the new towns of Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai and Tuen Mun in the northwestern New Territories.
The East Rail line is one of the ten lines that form MTR, the mass transit system in Hong Kong. The railway line starts at Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau, both of which are boundary crossing points into Shenzhen and joins in the north at Sheung Shui and ends at Admiralty station on Hong Kong Island. At approximately 46 km (29 mi), the line is the second longest line within the network, behind the Tuen Ma line. The line's colour is light blue, formerly navy blue before the KCR/MTR merger.
MTR Corporation Limited is a majority government-owned public transport operator and property developer in Hong Kong which operates the Mass Transit Railway, the most popular public transport network in Hong Kong. It is listed on the Hong Kong Exchange and is a component of the Hang Seng Index. The MTR additionally invests in railways across different parts of the world, including franchised contracts to operate rapid transit systems in London, Stockholm, Beijing, Hangzhou, Macao, Shenzhen, Sydney, and a suburban rail system in Melbourne.
Hung Hom is a passenger railway station in Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is an interchange station between the East Rail line and the Tuen Ma line domestic services of the MTR network. This station serves the southern terminus of the East Rail Line in early morning before the first northbound train from Admiralty arrives. As the station is located next to the Cross-Harbour Tunnel's northern portal, it is also served by many cross-harbour bus routes.
The Kowloon Southern link is a section of the MTR East Rail and Tuen Ma line linking Nam Cheong station and Hung Hom station. The rail link is fully underground, lies along the south-west coastline of Kowloon Peninsula, east of rail tracks of the Tung Chung line and Airport Express. Kowloon Southern Link has one underground intermediate station called Austin station. It is located adjacent to the Canton Road Government Offices, close to Kowloon station of Tung Chung line and Airport Express. However, the structures do not provide a direct transfer between the two stations.
MTR Bus is a public non-franchised bus service in Hong Kong operated by the MTR Corporation, serving the northwestern part of the New Territories. It comprises a network of 22 feeder bus routes for the convenience of passengers using the MTR rapid transit network, providing access to and between many MTR stations on the Tuen Ma line and Light Rail.
The Sha Tin to Central Link was an expansion project of the MTR public transport network in Hong Kong. It was divided into two sections and expanded the network’s heavy rail lines.
The SP1900 EMU / SP1950 EMU or IKK Train is a model of train that runs on Hong Kong's Tuen Ma line. It was the second model of electric multiple unit rolling stock of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC), though they have been operated by MTR Corporation (MTRC) after it merged with KCRC in 2007.
The Guangzhou–Kowloon through train was an inter-city railway service between Hong Kong and Guangzhou jointly operated by the MTR Corporation of Hong Kong and the Guangzhou Railway Group of mainland China. Services operate along the East Rail line within Hong Kong territory, crossing the Hong Kong–Chinese border at Lo Wu, and continuing along the Guangmao Railway and Guangshen Railway in Guangdong province.
The Tuen Ma line is a commuter rail / rapid transit line that forms part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong. Coloured brown on the map, the Tuen Ma line is 56.2 kilometres (34.9 mi) in length, making it the longest line of the MTR network. It has a total of 27 stations, more than any other in the MTR system.
The Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link is a 26 km (16 mi) long stretch of high-speed rail that runs along a dedicated underground rail corridor linking Hong Kong to mainland China. It is one of the most expensive infrastructure undertakings in Hong Kong's history. The line connects Kowloon with the high-speed rail network of China at Futian station in the technology hub of Shenzhen, then running north towards the commercial/ political hub of Guangzhou. As of August 2024 the line has an average ridership of 88,800 passengers a day.
Hong Kong West Kowloon station is the southern terminus of and the only station on the Hong Kong section of the Guangshengang XRL. The station connects to China's high-speed rail (HSR) network across the border through dedicated tunnels and includes a Mainland Port Area where the laws of (Mainland) China are enforced. It was constructed by the MTR Corporation Limited as the project manager commissioned by the Hong Kong Government, through subcontractors.
Tin Wing is an MTR Light Rail stop. It is located at ground level beside Tin Shing Road in Tin Shui Wai Town Centre, Yuen Long District. It began service on 26 March 1995 and belongs to Zone 4.
The Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL), also known as the Guangshengang XRL, is a high-speed railway line that connects Guangzhou and Hong Kong (Kowloon) via Shenzhen.
Vibrant Express, also known as MTR CRH380A or MTR380A is a high-speed train operated by Hong Kong government-owned public transport operator MTR. It was manufactured by Chinese state-owned manufacturer CSR Qingdao Sifang based on the CRH380A Hexie EMUs developed for China Railway. Nine 8-car trainsets were ordered by the Hong Kong government through the MTR Corporation and delivered between 2016 and 2017. It is the first high-speed train produced by CRRC not operated by China Railway.
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