Yearly Archives: 2017

Rail milling machines on the MTR

To keep trains running smoothly on the MTR network a wide variety of special maintenance vehicles are used to keep the tracks in top condition. One of these is a rail milling machine.


Photo via the ‘MTR Service Update’ unofficial Facebook page. Continue reading

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Interchange stations on the Hong Kong MTR

One thing the Hong Kong MTR is known for is the ease of navigating the network, with well designed stations making it simple to change between different lines on your way across the city. Here is a summary of the […]

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Mileposts along the MTR East Rail Line

Something you don’t see on a modern rail systems are old fashioned concrete mileposts, but I stumbled upon one on the northbound platform at Mong Kok East station.

2.5 kilometre milepost at Mong Kok East station Continue reading

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Overtaking moves on the MTR East Rail Line

Two kinds of trains share the East Rail Line in Hong Kong – ordinary stopping-all-stations MTR trains that run every few minutes, and the ‘Intercity Through Train’ that runs express from Hung Hom into Mainland China. But how do fast and slow trains coexist on a 34 kilometre long route with only two tracks?

Southbound KTT passes through Mong Kong East station, 'white head' locomotive at the rear Continue reading

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Turning a MTR railcar around by crane

In normal service MTR trains are driven back and forth along the same line each day – only the driver changes cabs at the end of the line, with the carriages themselves always facing the same way. However the current remarshalling of the MTR SP1900/1950 EMU trains from a mix of 12, 7 and 4-car long trains into a uniform fleet of 8-car trains has seen the need to reverse some carriages. With no reversing loops, turntables or triangle junctions on the MTR system, this meant a heavy lift crane needed to be called in to pick up each carriage, turn it around, then place it back on the rails.

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