Delivering new trains to Hong Kong’s rail network

Hong Kong doesn’t build their own rail vehicles, so they need to be imported from overseas. But how do they arrive?

Tiny little fishing boat off Hung Hom

Off the boat

Trains for the pre-merger KCR network have historically been unloaded at the wharf at Hung Hom, which has a direct rail connection to their network.


Tai Wah Sea and Land Heavy Transportation photo

Both locomotives and EMUs being unloaded from cargo lighters by onboard cranes.


Tai Wah Sea and Land Heavy Transportation photo

But deliveries for the light rail network were more complicated – LRVs are delivered by sea to Tuen Mun, then moved by road to the light rail depot.


Tai Wah Sea and Land Heavy Transportation photo

Train deliveries for the MTR also require a short road journey, being unloaded from cargo lighters at Siu Ho Wan, next door to the MTR depot.


Tai Wah Sea and Land Heavy Transportation photo

And to the depot

From either Hung Hom or Siu Ho Wan hidden track connections allow trains to be taken anywhere on the MTR network.

Whampoa bound train passes over the scissors crossover at Ho Man Tin station

With the exception of the South Island Line, which requires trains to be trucked to Wong Chuk Hang Depot.


Tai Wah Sea and Land Heavy Transportation photo

Historical footnote

The KCR steam locomotive fleet was also unloaded from ships, such as this UNRRA 2-8-0 locomotive that arrived in 1947.

A note on track connections

As part of the initial construction of the MTR system, consideration was given to a track connection at Kowloon Tong Station for the delivery of MTR trains into the tunnel via the East Rail line. But that plan was abandoned, the tunnel never built, and trains delivered by road to the Kowloon Bay depot, until the opening of Siu Ho Wan depot as part of the Lantau Airport Railway project in the 1990s provided a more convenient wharf for deliveries.

Liked it? Take a second to support Marcus Wong on Patreon!
Become a patron at Patreon!
This entry was posted in Transport and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Delivering new trains to Hong Kong’s rail network

  1. 光復·香港 says:

    This is a good overview, though I think at least some West Rail Line train cars have been brought by truck to Kam Tin Depot. For example, there are SCL notices for the temporary partial closure of one direction of Kam Ho Road due to train deliveries (e.g. http://www.mtr-shatincentrallink.hk/en/construction/new-trains-popup/notice-20170215.html, more at http://www.mtr-shatincentrallink.hk/en/construction/new-trains.html). I think there might be YouTube videos of those. And of course there have been other delivery methods in the past but I think you’ve covered most of them in other posts.

    • I’d also forgotten that the first section of West Rail was an isolated network – so trucking in trains would have been required before completion of the Kowloon Southern Link.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *