Everything about Kowloon-canton Railway totally explained
The
Kowloon-Canton Railway (
KCR;
Traditional Chinese: 九廣鐵路) refers to a
railway network in
Hong Kong, comprising
rapid transit services, a
light rail system and feeder bus routes within Hong Kong, and
intercity passenger and freight train services to the rest of China. Since
2 December 2007, the network has been operated by the
MTR Corporation Limited under a 50-year lease. Ownership has continued to be held by its previous operator, the
government-owned
Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation.
Before the rebranding in 1996, "Kowloon-Canton Railway" or "KCR" referred to the railway that runs between
Kowloon in
Hong Kong and the city of Canton (now
Guangzhou) in
mainland China. When Hong Kong was under
British rule, the section of this railway that lies within the territory of Hong Kong was known as the "British Section", which largely corresponded to the present-day
East Rail Line. The Chinese Section of the original Kowloon-Canton Railway in mainland China is called the
Guangshen Railway.
In
2006, the local KCR passenger train network (for example intercity services excluded) recorded an annual ridership of 544 million. On
2 December 2007, it was taken over by
MTR Corporation Limited.
History
The original Kowloon-Canton Railway was opened in 1911 as a rail link between
Kowloon in Hong Kong, then a British crown colony, and the Chinese city of Canton (now
Guangzhou). The founding member of the former KCR network, the British Section of the Kowloon-Canton Railway, was opened in 1910. Trains were
steam-hauled. From the one line railroad, the KCR network was expanded to 3 railway lines and a light railway system, with 32
railway stations and 68 light rail stations.
In the past few years the subject of invasive
marketing has arisen with the advent of
television screens on carriages. The first few weeks saw several hundred
complaints as the
volume level was turned up to maximum in order to help generate revenue from marketing. After several weeks of complaints the company eventually backed down and introduced two 'quiet cars' to the rolling stock offering a peaceful respite for
passengers. Other complaints included
window advertising which blocked the views outside and made some passengers travel sick. Although windows continue to be obscured making viewing of the exterior difficult and travel less comfortable for passengers, the company has responded to complaints by reducing the size of the
advertisements.
Service commenced
The British Section of the original Kowloon-Canton Railway (roughly corresponds to the present-day
East Rail Line) was opened in 1910. With the Chinese section opened in 1911, through-trains ran from the
southern terminus in
Tsim Sha Tsui across the border to the southern Chinese city of
Canton (now Guangzhou).
Opened as a single-track system, trains on the British Section travelled from Yau Ma Tei Station (now
Mong Kok East Station) through eastern
New Territories, up to the border with China at
Lo Wu. The southern terminus,
Kowloon Station in
Tsim Sha Tsui, opened slightly later.
It was originally a
narrow gauge railway but was changed to
standard gauge before its opening. The narrow gauge materials were later used to build the now-defunct
Sha Tau Kok Railway. After the
communist takeover in
mainland China in
1949, through-trains were no longer able to cross the border until the service was resumed in 1979.
An expanding network
The British Section of the original Kowloon-Canton Railway was originally operated by a department within the
Hong Kong Government. Following the government's plan to corporatise the operation of the railway, the
Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) was established in December 1982, with the government remains as the sole shareholder.
With the development and urbanisation of the
New Territories, the British Section has become an important corridor to connect the new towns in eastern New Territories with urban Kowloon. Electrification and conversion to a dual-track system was completed in 1984. Since then, the
suburban rail has become much more
metro-like. Frequent service is provided, and in the 1990s trains were refurbished to provide less seats and more standing places.
In 1984, the KCRC accepted the government's invitation to build and operate a light rail system in northwestern New Territories. The Light Rail Transit (known later as the KCR Light Rail, and now simply the
Light Rail) was opened in 1988.
The KCRC won a bid in 1996 to build a "Western Corridor Railway", later branded as the KCR West Rail and opened in 2003. The British Section of the original Kowloon-Canton Railway was renamed KCR East Rail, and the LRT became KCR Light Rail. The names "Kowloon-Canton Railway" or "KCR" has become to refer to the network operated by the KCRC. The
KCR Ma On Shan Rail was opened in 2004 as a branch line to the KCR East Rail.
Takeover by MTRCL
Various proposals to merge the KCRC and the other railway operater in the territory, the
MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) has been on government's agenda since the 2000s. In 2006, the government, as the sole shareholder of the KCRC, has decided to lease the KCR network to the MTRCL to operate, with an initial period of 50 years. The decision was passed by the
Executive Council on
11 April 2006, and was later approved by the
Legislative Council and the minority shareholders of the MTRCL (the government, which had a 75% stake in the MTRCL, didn't vote).
It was later decided that the takeover would happen on December 2, 2007. Since then the KCRC has become a holding company. The MTRCL pays the KCRC a fixed annual sum, and share parts of its profits from the KCR network with the KCRC.
As part of the merger, the
KCR East Rail,
KCR West Rail and
KCR Ma On Shan Rail were renamed East Rail Line, West Rail Line and Ma On Shan Line. The
KCR Light Rail is known simply as the Light Rail.
Mong Kok Station on the East Rail was renamed Mong Kok East Station.
Express Rail Link proposal
On
2 August 2007, Chief Executive
Donald Tsang announced that, considering the technical requirements, passenger forecast, Hong Kong's future economic development and the closer trade ties between Hong Kong and Guangdong, the new
Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link will adopt the dedicated-corridor option after the 10th Plenary of the Hong Kong/Guangdong Co-operation Joint Conference. The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation has submitted a detailed project proposal to the government.
(External Link
) Because of the merger, however, it's unlikely the Rail Link will be built and operated by the KCRC.
Rolling stocks
Locomotives
| Manufacturer |
Model |
Type |
Numbers |
Year |
| General Motors (Australia) |
G26 CU diesel loco |
3 |
diesel locomotives |
(1974-1977) |
| Siemens (Germany) |
ER20 locomotive |
5 |
diesel locomotives |
2002 |
| Adtranz-SLM |
Lok 2000 locomotive |
2 |
electric locomotives |
1997 |
Passenger train coaches
| Manufacturer |
Model |
Numbers |
Year enter service |
Notes |
| Metro-Cammell |
EMU England |
348 out of 351 cars (all underwent mid-life refurbishment between 1996 - 1999) |
1983 |
|
| Kinki Sharyo |
EMU SP1900 |
96 cars |
2001 |
East Rail service |
| Itochu/Kinki Sharyo/Kawasaki Heavy Industries consortium |
EMU SP1900 |
154 cars (2001) |
2003 |
West Rail service |
| Kinki Sharyo |
EMU SP1950 |
72 cars (same model as SP1900) |
2004 |
Ma On Shan Rail |
| Kinki Sharyo |
KTT passenger coaches |
12 |
1998 |
for service between Guangzhou and Kowloon)4 |
Light Rail
Buses
| Manufacturer/Model |
Numbers |
Year enter service |
Notes |
| Leyland Olympian (UK) |
24 |
1987-1988 |
feeder bus |
| Volvo B10M (Sweden) |
15 |
1995 |
feeder bus |
| Dennis Dart (UK) |
3 |
1955 |
feeder bus |
| Dennis Trident (UK) |
22 |
1999 |
feeder bus |
| Mitsubishi MK117 Fuso (Japan) |
11 |
1991 |
feeder bus |
| Dennis Alexander Enviro500 |
9 |
2007 |
|
| Dennis Alexander Enviro200D |
11 |
2007 |
|
| Volvo Olympian |
15 |
1997-1998 |
|
| MCW Metrobus Mk. II |
39 |
1989-1990 |
|
Service Vehicles
| Manufacturer |
Model |
Numbers |
Year enter service |
Notes |
|
small crane car |
|
|
|
|
flatcars |
|
|
|
|
25t crane |
|
|
|
|
crane with services wagon |
|
|
|
|
services Wagon |
|
|
|
| Plasser and Theurer |
track machine |
|
|
|
|
maintenance wagon |
|
|
|
|
Overhead cable inspection vehicle |
|
|
|
| Plasser & Theurer. Bauart 08-275 |
Unimat 3S |
|
|
|
|
Railbus |
|
|
|
|
JMY450B diesel loco |
|
|
|
²This steam engine was once used on the Sha Tau Kok Branch Line, but since its closing in 1924, the engine has been displayed in the Tai Po Railway Museum. It has been the only steam engine in Hong Kong for over 40 years (since the KCR last used a steam engine).
³Unit E44 (cars 144-244-444) didn't undergo refurbishment, and #144 is now kept at the Tai Po Railway Museum for display.
4All Kinki Sharyo stock are purchased and imported from Japan.
Historic
Some of these are located at the Hong Kong Railway Museum in Tai Po, but most were scrapped when the KCR changed to modern rolling stock in the 1970s:
Facilities
Shatin Freight Yard
Hung Hom Freight Freight Terminus/Yard
Kowloon Freight Yard
Mongkok Freight Yard
Lo Wu Freight and Marshalling Yard
Ho Man Tin Freight Terminal
Sheung Shui Slaughter House
Pat Heung Depot
Tai Wai Maintenance Centre
Ho Tung Lau Depot
Fo Tan Goodsyard
Tunnels
The KCR line runs under two tunnels:
Beacon Hill Tunnel - East Rail Line
Tai Lam Tunnel - West Rail LineFurther Information
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