Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation
Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) (九廣鐵路公司) is wholly owned by the Hong Kong SAR government and based in Hong Kong. It is a public corporation charged with the task of operating and developing domestic, cross-boundary and intercity railway services in a prudent commercial manner.
Introduction
KCRC has three major domestic rail services:
- 'East Rail' (the original Kowloon-Canton Railway) from Hung Hom to Lo Wu at the border with Mainland China, through the eastern New Territories
- 'West Rail', which links the northwestern New Territories to Kowloon and the MTR
- the 'Light Rail' system, which links with West Rail in Tuen Mun, Tin Shui Wai, and Yuen Long and has several lines running around and between these three new towns.
KCR East Rail and Light Rail move more than one million people per day. The cross-boundary East Rail link has been KCRC's dominant revenue generator and key growth area. It is the only rail link to mainland China, capturing over 70% of all corss-border passenger traffic.
Commuters can buy tickets or use the Octopus card for fare payment. First Class compartments are available on East Rail trains.
Recently the company has introduced 20% discount for passengers using East Rail return on the same day. And the West Rail has offered a 10% discount for passengers riding on West Rail, while an extra 10% discount is offered to passengers who use the line to travel between the urban areas and New Territories.
West Rail has been opened on December 20, 2003. West Rail has been criticized by passengers with its relatively high fare, inconvenience location, and failing to connect the heart of the urban area. Due to its weak competitiveness against buses, the actual number of passengers taking West Rail is far less than expected, generating great loss to the company.
East Rail also operates intercity passenger services to Guangzhou on its own train and provides access for other intercity trains running to and from cities in the Mainland China including Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing. East Rail also carries freight, mainly to and from the Mainland. KCRC generates income from property management, development and other commercial activities as well.
The Hong Kong Railway Museum in Tai Po consists of a restored station and some old trains, plus information about the history of the railway. The museum itself was the former Tai Po Market Station.
Future developments
The KCRC is building a new line from Tai Wai (a suburb of Sha Tin) to Ma On Shan, extending the East Rail from Hung Hom to Tsim Sha Tsui, to eventually link up with West Rail, and building a new spur from Sheung Shui to the border crossing at Lok Ma Chau.
Talk of a merger between KCRC and the MTR to make the territory's transport system more efficient has been a heated topic since 2002. MTRC, which was listed in 2000 (with the government retaining a majority stake), backed a merger while government-owned KCRC opposed the plan. In March 2004, the Hong Kong government officially encouraged the two organizations to merge.
West Rail will eventually be extended to Hung Hom to link up with East Rail.
The government has also given the go-ahead for a HKD 31 billion rail project linking the suburban new town of Shatin to the Central business district. The massive expansion will more than double its network by around 2009/10.
East Rail
The stations of the East Rail are (from South to North):
- Hung Hom (紅磡)
- Mong Kok (旺角)
- Kowloon Tong (九龍塘)(Interchange station for the MTR Kwun Tong Line)
- Tai Wai (大圍)
- Sha Tin (沙田)
- Fo Tan (火炭)
- Racecourse (馬場)(Service on Shatin Racecourse Racing Days only)
- University (大學)
- Tai Po Market (大埔墟)
- Tai Wo (太和)
- Fanling (粉嶺)
- Sheung Shui (上水)
- Lo Wu (羅湖)(Connects with the Luohu Port of Shenzhen)(Restricted Area, for those who are going to Shenzhen, and passengers with special permission only)
West Rail
The stations of the West Rail are (south to north):
- Nam Cheong (南昌)(Interchange station for the MTR Tung Chung Line)
- Mei Foo (美孚)(Interchange station for the MTR Tsuen Wan Line)
- Tsuen Wan West (荃灣西)
- Kam Sheung Road (錦上路)
- Yuen Long (元朗)(Interchange station for the Light Rail)
- Long Ping (朗屏)
- Tin Shui Wai (天水圍)(Interchange station for the Light Rail)
- Siu Hong (兆康)(Interchange station for the Light Rail)
- Tuen Mun (屯門)(Interchange station for the Light Rail)
Light Rail
The Light Rail system was established in 1988 to provide local passenger transport within the Northwest New Territories with one million residents. During peak hours, service is as frequent as every 1.3 minutes at stops in the busiest section. As of 2003, the Light Rail network has a route length of 36.15 kilometres with 68 stops.
A total of 119 Light Rail Vehicles run along Light Rail, which operates for 19 hours each day. Each vechicle can accommodate more than 200 passengers. Due to an open fare system maintained by Light Rail, there are no gates or turnstiles at stops.
Light Rail has been transformed into a feeder for West Rail while continuing as the major mode of transport in the Northwest New Territories. Passengers interchanging between Light Rail and West Rail will enjoy free transfers on Light Rail.
See also:
- Transportation in Hong Kong
- List of Chinese companies
- List of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong