Tag Archives: Mass Transit Railway

Railfanning on the MTR East Rail line

After ‘What should I go and see in Hong Kong?‘ the most common question I am asked is ‘Where can I go to take photos of trains in Hong Kong?’. So here is a cleaned up version of an email …Continue reading

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Octopus cards of Hong Kong: bilingual?

On my last trip to Hong Kong I did the same thing as every local resident, and picked up an Octopus card so that I could travel around the city by public transport. What most people don’t know is that the cards come in two versions: English and Chinese.

Hong Kong's bilingual Octopus cards?Continue reading

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Maintenance trains on the MTR East Rail Line

Every railway needs a fleet of equipment to keep trains running smoothly, usually emerging at night-time after the normal revenue services have finished running. The MTR East Rail line is no different, but unlike the trains seen on the maintenance trains used on the MTR underground lines, the works trains for the East Rail line are a little bit more visible to railfans between jobs.

Ballast wagons at Fo Tan DepotContinue reading

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Underground Iron – Building the Hong Kong MTR

I’ve previously written a great deal about the MTR network of Hong Kong, but how was it built and constructed – the 1986 documentary titled Underground Iron – The Building of a Railway tells the entire story. Originally produced by the Mass Transit Railway Corporation, you can find the complete 30 minute film on YouTube – here is a synopsis of it.Continue reading

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Public safety advertisements and the KCR Light Rail

Hong Kong’s MTR Light Rail system is something I have written about previously, due to it being one of the more interesting places for a railfan to explore. Located in the north-western portion of the New Territories, the Light Rail forms an important part of the local transport network, running through the New Towns of Tuen Mun and Yuen Long to the ferry pier and railway stations that connect them to the rest of Hong Kong.

A unique feature of the Light Rail is the numerous level crossings, which unlike the slower moving Hong Kong Tramways, require motorists and pedestrians to share the road with fast moving light rail vehicles. For these reasons when the Light Rail system commenced operations in 1988, a series of public safety advertisements aired on Hong Kong television to raise awareness of the safe way to behave around the new mode of transport.Continue reading

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