Light Rail (KCRC)

A Light Rail train made by Kawasaki in 1992. This design was the second generation of trains, which also included 10 trailers.

The Light Rail is one of the three lines of the KCRC network in Hong Kong.

It services the northwestern New Territories, especialy such locations as Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, and Tin Shui Wai.

History

When Tuen Mun was developed in the 1970s, the government had saved space for laying train tracks. There was uncertainty as to which company would be commissioned to built the train line, and in 1982 Hong Kong Tramways showed interest in building the system and running double-decker trams on it. After financial assessment, however, the company was forced to abandon the project. Later that year, the KCRC decided to build the system. After some research, construction commenced in 1985.

By that time Kowloon Motor Bus had developed its own network in Tuen Mun and Yuen Long, and there were about 10 routes confined in the district, most of them profitable. However, the government introduced the concept of the "Light Rail Service Area" in both districts, forcing the KMB to withdraw all internal bus services for the Light Rail. It also required the KMB have boarding and alighting restrictions for external routes. Services between big towns and settlements is provided directly by the Light Rail, while feeder buses operated by the KCRC connect remote sites to the network, replacing KMB equivalent services if necessary.

The system was completed and fully operational on 25 September 1988. It consisted of two big and three small loops serving most public housing estates in borthern Tuen Mun and three branches: One to the On Ting Estate in the southeast, one to the Tuen Mun ferry pier in the southwest, and another northern branch all the way into the town of Yuen Long, along Castle Peak Road.

The system is divided into five fare zones, making it the only public transportation system in Hong Kong with such zoning. The feeder buses have fares independent of these zones, but provide discounts when passengers interchange between these buses and Light Rail. 70 single-decker tram units were bought for the seven tram routes in the system. Three of the routes go to Yuen Long and the others are confined in Tuen Mun.

The system's first extension came for the southern and eastern parts of Tuen Mun. The eastern extension branched off the main line south of Siu Hong station and crosses the river that runs through Tuen Mun immediately with a flyover. The line then runs along Castle Peak Road to a road north of the town centre, where it climbs to another flyover and rejoins the main route. The northern end of this extension is still the only non-triangular junction in the entire system.

The southern extension mainly consists of a route linking On Ting and Ferry Pier, on the newly reclaimed land near the river mouth known as "Mouse Island" by local people. A short spur line is also built from the extension to another terminus at Sam Shing Estate, located near Castle Peak Bay. Three Light Rail routes were diverted, and one feeder bus route cancelled.

Tin Shui Wai was originally very bucolic, but was developed as a residential town in the early 1990s.

With the increase of internal commuter traffic, the Light Rail built a spur line north of Hung Shui Kiu station that opened in 1993, with four stations serving the initial housing areas of the town. The area was further developed in the next few years, and the spur line was extended by two stations: Chestwood and Tin Wing in 1995. Two Light Rail routes were established, one to Tuen Mun and one into Yuen Long.

The system remained essentially unchanged until the arrival of the West Rail in December of 2003. Many changes were made, mainly around the new railway stations. The KCRC designed most railway stations in the Light Rail area to interchange with the new line. Although this most recent extension is the largest ever, no new trams were purchased, and although rearrangements were made, some infrequent and unreliable services resulted, causing passengers to blame the lack of trams.

Stations

The current route map of Light Rail

The stations of this line are:

Tin Shui Wai Terminus, which is now Tin Wing Stop

Current service pattern

There are currently nine routes serving the Light Rail system:

• 505: Sam Shing to Siu Hong (via Leung King, Shan King, Kin On, and On Ting)
• 507: Tin King to Ferry Pier (via Tai Hing and On Ting)
• 610: Yuen Long to Ferry Pier (via Tai Hing and Tsing Shan Tsuen)
• 614: Yuen Long to Ferry Pier (via Fung Tei and On Ting)
• 615: Yuen Long to Ferry Pier (via Leung King, Ming Kum, and Tsing Shan Tsuen)
• 705: Around the Tin Shui Wai loop anticlockwise
• 706: Around the Tin Shui Wai loop clockwise
• 751: Tin Yat to Yau Oi (via Chestwood, Affluence, and Choy Yee Bridge)
• 761: Yuen Long to Tin Wing (via Wetland Park and Tin Shui)

Routes 614, 615 and 751 have short-distance services, numbered 614P, 615P, and 751P respectively. 614P and 615P run between Siu Hong and Ferry Pier stations, and 751P runs between Tin Yat and Tin Shui Wai stations.

Fares

The Light Rail is the only public transport system in Hong Kong to have fare zones. However, since the introduction of Octopus cards, there are now different faring systems for passengers using different kinds of tickets. All fares indicated below are for adults, while children and the elderly usually pay the concessionary fare, which is half the adult fare.

Single-Ride Tickets

There are six fare zones — 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 5A — for passengers purchasing single-ride tickets in tram stations. A trip between two zones costs HK$4, HK$4.70 for three zones, and journeys further than three zones costs HK$5.8. Zone 5A was introduced solely for the latest extension in Tin Shui Wai, and both zones 5 and 5A are only connected to Zone 4. Therefore travelling between zones 5 and 5A is considered as travelling through three zones.

Octopus Cards

Octopus Card

All stations have Octopus card machines at the ends of platforms. Passengers put their cards on the machines upon entry to the departure station as well as when exiting at the destination station.

The fare is calculated depending upon the number of stations travelled through to reach the destination station, based on the minimum possible number of stations travelled. There are seven different fare classes.

Fare Evasion

Since Light Rail do not have any gates, some passengers may evade fares by not showing their Octopus cards, or riding on a tram without buying tickets. The KCRC hired inspectors to catch evaders.

Hong Kong KCRC Lines
East Rail | West Rail | Light Rail | Ma On Shan Rail

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