Hong Kong is a busy city and any issue with the rail network that serves it causes massive delays. For this reason heaving well trained staff is critical, but there is one problem – it can’t be safely carried out when trains are running. For this reason a number of short pieces of dummy railway track and overhead have been built across Hong Kong, allow this training to be carried out without danger.
Kowloon Bay depot
At the MTR Kowloon Bay depot I found this short piece of track.
It consists of a short piece of disconnected track, a set of points, and dummy overhead wiring erected lower than normal to allow for easy access by staff.
East Rail at Tai Wai
I found another length of disconnected track and overhead parallel to the East Rail line north of Tai Wai station, just off Man Lai Road.
Again, overhead wires have been strung above the tracks.
Along with a set of dummy traction power feeders and circuit breakers.
And an emergency overhead support post, used to hold up the overhead wires following any damage to the lineside posts.
East Rail at Ma Liu Shui
Another training facility on the East Rail line, this time north of University station. It consists of two short parallel tracks, linked by two sets of points and a catchpoint, but with no overhead wires.
Apparently both these training facilities on the East Rail line are out of use – replaced by trackage more conveniently located elsewhere at Ho Tung Lau Depot.
Light Rail at On Ting
I spotted a curious German language note on this 1996 diagram of the MTR Light Rail network, near the loop marked ‘Yau Oi’:
das gleis stuck in der schleife dient zur schulung bei der oberleitungsmontage. die hohe der oberleitung liegt hier bei etwa 1.5 meter
Which translates to:
The track within in the loop is used for training in the catenary mounting. The high of the catenary here is approximately 1.5 meter
Today the reversing loop and overhead poles is still in place, as is a rectifier station that powers the light rail network, but the wiring itself has been removed.
Further reading
- More on the training facility at Tai Wai (Chinese language)
- Photos of the training facility near University (Chinese language)
And some Google Maps links:
The dummy tracks outside Ma Liu Shui (and very likely the Tai Wai one as well) are actually preserved bits from the pre-electrification era.
Training tracks that pre-dated electrification, or old stations of mainline that were replaced by the current tracks?
Hmm, at the Tai Wai facility am I looking at Minecraft-style minecarts on the rails? 🙂
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