TRANSPORT
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Public Transport
Hong Kong's public transport system is notable for its variety of systems and operators and its intensity of service. A network of rail, ferry, bus and other road services extends to almost every part of the territory.
Railways
There are five rail systems, including a heavily-utilised underground metro, a busy suburban railway, a modern light railway, a traditional street tramway and a newly- renovated mountainside funicular. The year saw a number of important improvements to these systems.
Mass Transit Railway
The Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC) operates a three-line metro system comprising 43 route-kilometres with 38 stations served by 671 cars formed into eight-car trains. Trains run at two-minute intervals in the morning peak period on the Tsuen Wan line and on the Kwun Tong line to the west of Kwun Tong. Headways in the evening peak are 2.5 minutes on these lines, while on the Island line 2.5 minute headways are maintained throughout the morning and evening peaks.
In early August the MTRC opened its Eastern Harbour Crossing extension between Kwun Tong and Quarry Bay, together with a new station at Lam Tin. This extension provides a second railway link beneath the harbour, and has brought much-needed relief to the Nathan Road rail corridor, which had previously been carrying up to 86 000 passengers an hour during the morning peak in the southbound direction between Yau Ma Tei and Jordan stations. Total patronage continued to increase, and by the end of the year the MTRC was carrying 1.97 million passengers a day. In relation to the length of the system this meant that it was the busiest underground railway in the world.
The success of the MTRC depends heavily on interchange arrangements between lines and connections with other modes. There are six stations which offer interchanges between lines, while 67 dedicated feeder bus and green minibus routes help to bring passengers to the railway. Multi-storey car parks are also provided adjacent to the stations at Kwai Fong, Tsuen Wan, Sheung Wan, Tin Hau and Central.
Kowloon-Canton Railway
The Kowloon-Canton Railway (British Section) was opened in 1910 and was double- tracked and electrified in the early 1980s. Formerly a government department, it was vested in the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) in February 1983.
Although the 34-kilometre railway caters for through freight trains to and from China and for four daily passenger trains each way between Kowloon and Guangzhou, it principally provides a suburban service to the new towns of the north-eastern New Territories. This traffic has grown substantially throughout the period since the first electric trains were introduced in 1982, and by the end of the year the KCRC was handling 500 000 passenger journeys daily. Peak period average headways range from five minutes at the northern end of the line to every three minutes south of Sha Tin. Passenger traffic is carried in a fleet of 85 three-car, multiple-unit trains which are now assembled in formations of up to 12 cars. A new station was opened at Tai Wo in May, bringing the number of stations to 13. To cope with rising passenger demand a programme of improvements to other stations continued during the year, providing for platform awning extensions, and additional automatic gates and money-changing machines.