Yearly Archives: 2013

Back from another visit to Hong Kong

It’s taken me three years, but I’ve finally made my way back to Hong Kong, having just returned from a two week visit. I also paid a visit to the mainland, visiting the cities of Shanghai, Beijing and Xian, and travelling between them by high speed train.

China Railways high speed train at Zhengzhou East Railway Station Continue reading

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Disabled access on the Hong Kong MTR

For a railway network built only a few decades ago, access for disabled people to Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway leaves something to be desired. With much of the original network only recently made accessible, why did stairs and escalators rule the system?

Escalators at Tai Wai station Continue reading

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Unionised labour and Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway

Where are the people who run Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway, and are they organised into trade unions? I came across an interesting answer to this question the other day…

Driver changing ends at Chai Wan station: about 5 minutes was allocated off-peak Continue reading

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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 I sent to a reader some time ago, detailing photography locations along the MTR East Rail Line.

Passing the lake at Tai Po Kau Continue reading

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More on the pre-electrification Kowloon Canton Railway

Another great find from YouTube – this time a 30 minute long film containing footage of the KCR during the 1960s and 1970s, in the lead up to the rebuilding and electrification of the line that came in the 1980s.

Continue reading

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