Yearly Archives: 2021

Powering the MTR Light Rail network

Posted on April 14, 2021 by Marcus Wong

The MTR Light Rail system in Hong Kong comprises of 68 stations on 36.2 km of route, served by 150 light rail vehicles. But how are they all powered? How it works The system is electrified using 750V DC overhead […]

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Driverless baggage tractors at Hong Kong International Airport

Posted on March 31, 2021 by Marcus Wong

December 2019 saw a new kind of vehicle enter service at Hong Kong International Airport – an “Autonomous Electric Tractor”. Airport Authority Hong Kong photo The tractor was developed by Beijing-based autonomous driving technology startup Uisee Technology, and is used […]

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The evolution of MTR network maps over time

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Marcus Wong

Recently I got an interesting question from a reader – “do you have a photo that shows the MTR network map on a station concourse during the mid-late 1980s”. Unfortunately I didn’t have one on hand, but it led me […]

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Shrinking East Rail line trains from 12 to 9 cars

Posted on March 3, 2021 by Marcus Wong

Hong Kong’s rail network is being transformed by the Shatin to Central Link project, with the final change to train fleet having just kicked off – cutting back the length of East Rail line trains from 12 cars to 9. […]

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Extending the MTR using a tunnel *dismantling* machine

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Marcus Wong

Normally when building a new underground railway, a tunnel boring machine will be used to excavate the subterranean path for trains to run along. But in the case of the MTR West Island Line project, they needed to do the […]

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