Lookalike Hong Kong minibus in Singapore

I’ve written before about a Singaporean bus in Hong Kong, but how about a lookalike Hong Kong minibus in Singapore? Channel NewsAsia wrote about one back in 2022.

The Stories Behind: The self-professed ‘car idiot’ turning heads with her Hong Kong minibus lookalike
Daryl Choo
20 November 2022

From the elaborate modifications to turn her Suzuki van into a Hong Kong minibus lookalike, I had fully expected to be meeting up with a bona fide car geek when I got in touch with her for an interview.

As it turned out, Ms Irene Soh was far from one. A pageant queen and former flight attendant, the 42-year-old had only gotten her driving licence last year and is a self-described “car idiot”.

“There was one day I wanted to pump my tyres and obviously I didn’t know how to do it and the (driving) school only taught you how to do it and you just watched,” she said.

“So instead of pumping my tyres I deflated them and I was trying very hard to tell myself, ‘Irene, don’t panic don’t panic’.”

Yet, despite her cluelessness about cars, her modified van has turned heads and she has found herself invited to a car meet, albeit feeling extremely out of place among a sea of car enthusiasts.

On her TikTok page, clips of her modification process and adventures with her “minibus” garner tens of thousands of views each, with her top video closing in on 90,000 views.

“In Hong Kong, red tops tend to be privately owned. So they set their own routes and fares. But most importantly, their drivers are rude AF! Just like me,” she writes in one of them.

In an interview near her partner’s office at Pearl’s Hill Terrace in Chinatown last month, Ms Soh tells me she has never been into cars but wanted something unique for her first vehicle and settled on the design after she came across a small diecast model of a Hong Kong minibus.

“I love Hong Kong,” she said. “I speak Cantonese and when I was flying, Hong Kong used to be one of my favourite stations.”

The modifications cost about S$5,000 and took Ms Soh about two to three months to do because many parts had to be sourced herself or done on her own.

With a red painted top, pale yellow exterior and a signbox on the roof of the car to boot, her van looks just like a Hong Kong minibus from afar — barring the fact that her Suzuki Every is smaller than an average car while a minibus can seat up to 19 passengers.

Along with a short video about the minibus.

Further reading

A Singapore bus in Hong Kong, Hong Kong double decker buses in Australia, a Hong Kong taxi on the streets of Toronto, and a different Hong Kong taxi in Australia.

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Retracing the old Tung Chung Road

If you catch the bus out of Tung Chung towards Mui Wo, Tai O or Ngong Ping, you’ve got a scenic trip ahead of you as Tung Chung Road climbs over the middle of Lantau Island to reach the southern shores.

Passengers board a route 23 service operated by New Lantao Bus MY3726 at Ngong Ping bus interchange

Running through the hills.

Driving up the hill from Shek Pik Reservoir

And weaving past small villages.

Passing through the village of Tong Fuk

But the bus ride used to be a lot more hair raising, with the road once single lane, with buses required to pass at a handful of narrow overtaking locations.

Buses pass on the old single lane Tung Chung Road on Lantau Island

As this short film by Ng Ka Ho shows.

As does this video from onboard a bus completing the journey.

The reason for the change – the rebuilding of Tung Chung Road on a new alignment between Pak Kung Au and Cheung Sha, completed between 2004 and 2009.

Tung Chung Road (TCR) is the only vehicular access connecting North and South Lantau between Tung Chung and Cheung Sha. Before 2002, TCR was a single-lane road for two-way traffic with sharp bends and steep gradients. This traffic arrangement posed high safety risks and caused inconvenience to road users. From 2002 to 2009, the Government implemented the TCR Improvement Project to progressively upgrade TCR to a single two-lane road for two-way traffic with lower gradients.

In 1997, the Highways Department (HyD) found in a feasibility study that upgrading TCR along the existing alignment was not acceptable because of excessive gradients of some sections of the road. The HyD subsequently identified a new road option between Tai Ho Wan and Mui Wo (Tai Ho Wan Option) which would be shorter and have lower gradients than the TCR on-line option.

From 1998 to 2000, the HyD carried out environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for proposed works under the Tai Ho Wan Option. However, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) did not issue environmental permits for the works on the grounds that the EIA reports submitted by the HyD did not meet the EPD’s requirements.

In 2001, the HyD re-examined the feasibility of widening TCR along the existing alignment and decided to adopt a new scheme of widening a road section of TCR from Lung Tseng Tau to Pak Kung Au and constructing a new road section from Pak Kung Au to Cheung Sha Sheung Tsuen (Adopted Option).

With the completed road opened to the public from February 2009.

The improved Tung Chung Road section between Lung Tseng Tau and Cheung Sha near San Shek Wan on Lantau Island will be fully opened from 10am on February 6, the Transport Department says.

Following the opening, the existing road section between Pak Kung Au and Cheung Sha near Cheung Sha Bridge will be closed. Vehicles will be diverted to the new road section between Pak Kung Au and San Shek Wan.

The section between Shek Mun Kap and San Shek Wan will remain as a Lantau Closed Road and a daily prohibited zone for all goods vehicles with gross weight over 5.5 tonnes.

The speed limit on Tung Chung Road between Lung Tseng Tau and San Shek Wan will continue to be 30kph. Due to the natural geographical situations there, drivers should stay in low gear when driving downhill and pay attention to possible minor works along some pavement sections.

As for the old sections bypassed by the new road – they still exist, but not available to ordinary motorists.

With the full opening of the improved TCR, the two old road sections of TCR (the sections between Tai Tung Shan Reservoir and Pak Kung Au, and between Pak Kung Au and south Lantau Road) have lost their function as an access connection between south and north Lantau.

However, these road sections would be maintained as a service road for the Water Supplies Department, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and utility companies. They would also serve as diversion routes in case of any incidents when TCR has to be closed temporarily.

To ensure that these two old sections can serve the above purposes, they will be designated as prohibited zones. Prohibited zone permits will be issued to motor vehicles if justified by absolute operational need, such as for utility services and slope maintenance works.

Two sections of road were bypassed by the upgrade – the 1.2 kilometre long “Section A”.


Google Maps

Replaced by the new road of similar length to the east.


Google Maps

Running from Lung Tseng Tau.

To Pak Kung Au.

And the 2.4 kilometre long “Section B”.


Google Maps

Replaced by a similar length route to South Lantau Road.


Google Maps

The two routes parting ways at Pak Kung Au.


Google Street View

But the old route rejoining South Lantau Road at Cheung Sha.


Google Street View

Some sections of the old road are visible on Google Street View as ‘ghost roads’, intact right down to the road markings and road signs.


Google Street View

And still just visible through the trees from the new road.


Google Street View

But this isn’t enough to satisfy my interest in the abandoned road – so I’ll have to go for a wander along it there next time I visit Hong Kong.

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Speed cameras on the MTR Light Rail system

Out on the MTR Light Rail system you can find an interesting piece of trackside infrastructure – a speed camera! So why do they exist?

Speed camera at junction T21 in Yuen Long

The story starts in 2013, when a light rail vehicle derailed at the junction of Kiu Hung Road and the Ping Shan section of Castle Peak Road in Yuen Long, injuring 62 passengers.


Getty Images

The investigation found excessive speed was the cause of the crash, and blamed the driver.

MTRCL has completed inspection of the concerned LRV, including its braking system, to confirm its normal operation. MTRCL also inspected all LRVs which were manufactured during the same period. All were found to be in good condition.

A detailed inspection was carried out in the affected section to confirm its signalling system and the infrastructure equipment, including the track and overhead lines, were in normal working condition. In addition, no foreign object was found on site which might have affected safe Light Rail operations.

The on-board data recorder, also known as the “black box”, on the concerned LRV indicated that it was travelling at a speed of 40.9 kilometres per hour (kph) when it made a left-hand turn at the rail junction. The stipulated speed limit for all points of rail junctions in the Light Rail network is 15 kph. It is believed that three of the LRVs’ four sets of wheels came off the rails as a result of its travelling speed.

The concerned LRV captain will not be responsible for driving duties, until the Police have completed their investigation.

With the driver found guilty in 2015 of causing the crash.

A Light Rail driver failed to convince a magistrate on Friday that he had blacked out just before the train he was driving derailed in Yuen Long two years ago.

Fung Chung-man, 30, was found guilty of committing a negligent act that endangered the safety of his 82 passengers when the train derailed as he attempted to make a turn at the junction of Kiu Hung Road and the Ping Shan section of Castle Peak Road.

In Tuen Mun Court, Deputy Magistrate Michael Chan Pik-kiu noted that after the incident, Fung did not tell paramedics at the scene, or later doctors at the hospital, that he had passed out.

He said Fung’s version of the event was a “fabrication” before handing down a guilty verdict.

The court earlier heard that the route 761P train, which runs between Tin Shui Wai and Yuen Long, was travelling at 41km/h when it derailed on May 17, 2013 – more than double the 15km/h maximum speed for turning.

The MTR’s response to the crash – installing speed cameras on the approach to major Light Rail junctions.

Speed camera 50m ahead' sign at junction T21 in Yuen Long

First as a trial, then a larger rollout.

Last May, a light rail train turned left when passing the junction at Yuen Long, and derailed due to suspected excessive speed. MTR subsequently installed speed cameras at the scene of the incident and two other locations to conduct on-site testing of the speed detection effectiveness of the speed cameras. A MTR spokesperson said that the relevant tests were recently completed with ideal results, so plans are underway to install snapshot cameras at other suitable locations on the light rail network. The tender process will be launched in May this year, but the exact installation locations have not yet been announced.

It is understood that in addition to continuing to use the three installed speed cameras, MTR will purchase at least seven more speed cameras. They will be placed mainly at the location where a straight track leads into a junction, which is similar to the track layout where the derailment accident occurred. Because the train maintains a high speed on a straight road, if the conductor does not slow down and enter the switch, the train will easily derail. Therefore, a speed camera is installed to have a deterrent effect.

MTR also pointed out that in addition to installing speed cameras, the company also has measures to ensure effective monitoring of light rail speeds, including supervisory personnel patrolling at different times and on different routes, using portable speed laser guns to measure train speeds. Currently, there are 140 speed inspections per week, and it is known that an average of less than ten speeding cases are discovered each year. The police have not prosecuted any cases of speeding on the Light Rail in the past two years.

But they rejected the installation of any technical measures to prevent overspeeding in the first place.

Liang Zhigang, chairman of the Hong Kong Railway Staff Union, said that he had suggested that MTR install anti-collision devices on light rail trains. The principle is that when a train passes through the sensor at too high a speed, a warning signal can be sent to the train to remind the driver to slow down. If the train fails to slow down in the end, the system can bring the train to an emergency stop. “Anti-collision devices can prevent the conductor from fainting or sudden death, but he still held the control lever tightly and accelerated!” However, he said that MTR was concerned about cost and did not accept the suggestion.

However a few years later their opinion had changed, with work started on the development of the “Integrated Speed and Position Supervision System” (iSPS), with trials commencing in 2018.

An innovative “Integrated Speed and Position Supervision System” (iSPS) developed for Light Rail by MTR engineers has been put on trial on three Light Rail routes in Tin Shui Wai, enabling real-time speed monitoring of Light Rail vehicles (LRV) and including other advanced features to further enhance the operational safety and efficiency of Light Rail services.

MTR Corporation strives to provide a safe and reliable service to customers and always seeks continuous improvement. Through a rigorous process of research, design, production and testing, MTR engineers successfully combined the mature and widely-used technology of Global Positioning System (GPS) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to develop the award-winning iSPS. The system operates with in-train GPS receivers and RFID readers as well as RFID tags installed in track areas.

During operation, the speed data as well as the position of LRVs will be relayed back to the Light Rail Operations Control Centre via a mobile communications network for real-time monitoring. Train captains would receive an audio reminder from the system when the speed of the LRV is about to reach the limit of the section being traversed.

The system also has other useful features including reminders for train captains to perform platform duty, and alerts when passing through designated junctions and turnouts.

“As there is no commonly adopted solution for Light Rail speed monitoring in the market, our engineers had to innovate and develop one on our own. Our team had assured the stability of the system in GPS position accuracy, reception and RFID detection through rigorous tests and assessments before it was adopted for service. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department has also rendered great support to the Corporation on launching iSPS to enhance railway safety,” said Mr Lu Wong, General Manager – Rolling Stock Fleet.

The iSPS system has been put on trial in the Tin Shui Wai area (Route 705, 706 and 751P) with promising results. The Corporation targets to launch the system in the whole LR network progressively from Q2 2019.

The system consists of two parts – a small panel on the dashboard of each Light Rail Vehicle.

Driving controls in the cab of a Phase III LRV

And RFID tags installed on the tracks.

Sensors on the sleepers at Town Centre stop - possibly part of the "Integrated Speed and Position Supervision System" (iSPS)

The initial rollout of the system was completed in 2019, with an upgraded version providing additional safety features deployed in 2021.

Version 1.0 of iSPS developed by the MTR operations engineering team is patented in Hong Kong and has been adopted across the whole Light Rail network since 2019.

The team has been continuing developing an upgraded version 2.0 which provided additional functions of “Gap between trains” and “Alerts for the coming train” to ensure the safe distance between trains.

The new function of “Gap between trains” can monitor the position and speed of LRVs and calculate the distance between two LRVs, as well as remind train captain when necessary in order to avoid or reduce potential touch. The new function of “Alerts for the coming train” can prioritize LRVs sequence at the junction or turnout zone to ensure safety distance.

iSPS version 2.0 was launched in end 2021 and patent was also granted in Hong Kong.

In all an interesting system tailored for light rail systems with vehicles driven on sight, which cannot be fitted with the same kind of automatic train protection heavy rail systems use in conjunction with their failsafe signalling systems.

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Cathay Pacific returns to Kai Tak

On Sunday 30th March 2025 Cathay Pacific did something special to mark the debut of the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament at the new 50,000 seat Kai Tak Stadium – sending a Airbus A350-1000 past the former site of Kai Tak Airport.


Cathay Pacific photo

Descending to an altitude of 300 meters over Victoria Harbour.


Cathay Pacific photo

Flight CX8100 (named to honor Kai Tak’s 100th anniversary) took off from Hong Kong International Airport at around 4pm, flying past Central, Wan Chai, Kai Tak and North Point; before returning along Victoria Harbour.


Cathay Pacific photo

Preparations for the flypast commenced weeks before the event, with days of flight simulator training required for the pilots involved.

Along with the Cathay Pacific media team who wanted to make the most of the public attention.

To capture CX8100’s fly-past, Publicis Groupe Hong Kong recruited photographers whose images of Cathay Pacific’s remarkable landings at Kai Tak are still famous today. Their photographs and live-streamed footage of CX8100’s descent continue to be shared around the world and across Cathay’s social channels.

“Creating a live performance of an aircraft flying past Kai Tak seemed like an audacious feat. But together with the team at Cathay, we worked hard to plan an experience that everyone at this year’s Hong Kong Sevens final will remember. Hopefully for years to come,” says Christopher Lee, Chief Creative Officer at Publicis Groupe Hong Kong.

So why didn’t they fly the checkerboard?

You might be asking – why didn’t they fly the old “checkerboard approach” towards Kai Tak itself?

Final approach to Kai Tak, viewed from the lower slopes of 'Checkerboard Hill'

Well, the checkerboard atop the hill is still there.

Sporting ground at Kowloon Tsai Park

But the approach is very different, with Mong Kok full of tall buildings.

Tangle of new and old buildings in Hong Kong

As is the streets of Kowloon City.

New public housing tower takes shape above the streets of Kowloon City

New apartment towers popping up all around the former airport.

Kowloon City viewed from across the Kai Tak airport site

Including some lined right up with the approach to runway 13.

2010 view of the approach to runway 13 at Kai Tak

And that was just the situation in 2010, just over 10 years after Kai Tak Airport closed – the area today is even more built up.

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Reclaiming land for the Kai Tak Airport runway

My father grew up in the shadows of Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport, and one of his childhood memories was the procession of trucks used to transport the thousands of tonnes of rock required to extend the runway out into Victoria Harbour.

Final approach to Kai Tak, viewed from the lower slopes of 'Checkerboard Hill'

The early years

The story of Kai Tak started in 1912 when two businessmen, Ho Kai and Au Tak, formed the Kai Tak Investment Company to reclaim land in Kowloon for development. Unfortunately for them their company failed, but the government acquired the land for use as an airfield, with the first aircraft landing in 1925. In 1935 the first control tower and a hangar were built, with commercial flights commencing the next year.

The airport was then extended during the Second World War by the occupying Japanese, building two concrete runways – 13/31 and 07/25. Damaged by bombing, the end of hostilities saw the airport reopened, and by 1957 runway 13/31 had been extended to 1,664 metres (5,459 ft), while runway 7/25 remained 1,450 metres (4,760 ft).


1952 GovHK map via Gwulo.com

Land reclamation time

Planning to expand Kai Tak airport further commenced in 1952, with the decision made to relocate the airport facilities south and build a new 2,194 meter long runway on land reclaimed from Kowloon Bay.


Photo via Industrial History of Hong Kong Group

Thousands of tonnes of rock were needed to build the new runway.


Dragages Hong Kong photo

With one source being Sung Wong Toi – a hill located just north of the new runway.

The hill being razed to the ground, truckload by truckload.


Photo via Hong Kong Memory

And the other sources of fill were two hills further to the west – Kowloon Tsai Hill (九龍仔山) and Fung Mun Au (風門坳).


Photo via Hong Kong Memory

Located beneath the flight path of the new runway, Kowloon Tsai Hill was cut back to what is now known as ‘Checkerboard Hill’.

Sporting ground at Kowloon Tsai Park

While Fung Mun Au (風門坳) was razed to the ground, with Kowloon Tsai Park built on the resulting flat land.

Looking down on Kowloon Tsai Park from the checkerboard

But how to move all that rock?

With the busy streets of Kowloon City located between the quarry sites and the new runway, a dedicated transport route was needed between the two.

Neon signs above the streets of Kowloon City

And so public roads were taken over so a temporary haul road could be provided.

Excavation of the Kowloon Hills and Sung Wong Toi started on 26 December 1955, but full production was not achieved until 9 March 1956 when a dedicated fenced road corridor was completed through Kowloon. The corridor required the construction of two vehicular bridges and nine pedestrian footbridges allowing the movement of 2,000 trucks a day of granite from the hill removal. The granite boulders were either split to create pitch blocks, or broken up for inclusion in the runway foundation. By the end of March 1956, over 34,000 m3 of material was being placed each day.

The haul road commenced at Inverness Road in the west, and ran along Nga Tsin Wai Road.


Photo via Hong Kong Memory

The first footbridge being located at the Grampian Road intersection to allow pedestrians to cross the fenced off corridor.


Photo via Hong Kong Memory

Public road vehicles had to Hau Wong Road outside the Kowloon City Market to cross, where the haul road pass overhead on a bridge.


Photo via Hong Kong Memory

The haul road continued along Nga Tsin Wai Road, then turned into South Wall Road, continuing south to Prince Edward Road East, which it crossed over by bridge.


Photo via Hong Kong Memory

The haul road was around 800 metres long.


Google Maps

Truckload by truckload, the future runway was reclaimed from the sea.


Dragages Hong Kong photo

By the end of March 1957, over 50% of the reclamation was completed.


Dragages Hong Kong photo

With reclamation completed by the end of 1957.


Photo via Hong Kong Memory

The runway pavement was completed by July 1958, and it was opened to aircraft in September 1958.

Later years

In 1962 a modern passenger terminal building was completed, jetbridges were added in 1970, and and in 1974 the runway was extended to 3,390 meters to cater to the new generation of long haul jet aircraft. Further expansion of the passenger terminal, cargo terminals and aircraft parking areas continued throughout the 1980s.

However the constrained site saw the Hong Kong Government decided to build a new airport – with Chek Lap Kok taking over from Kai Tak on July 1998.

Overview of Hong Kong International Airport

Further reading

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