TRANSPORT
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Although the 34-kilometre railway caters for freight trains to and from China and for four daily passenger through 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 1991 the railway handled about 537 000 passenger journeys daily. Peak period average headways range from five minutes at the northern end of the line to every 3.3 minutes between Sha Tin and Kowloon. Passenger traffic is carried in a fleet of 351 cars which are operated in units of 12. There are 13 stations along the railway. During the year, work began on the provision of new and replacement escalators at the Kowloon terminus.
Freight is handled by about 12 trains each way daily, which hauled 3.21 million revenue tonnes of inbound freight and 1.06 million tonnes of outbound freight in 1991. There are five goods yards at Hung Hom, Ho Man Tin, Mong Kok, Sha Tin and Fo Tan, and a marshalling yard at Lo Wu. Freight trains are hauled by a fleet of 12 diesel locomotives.
Light Rail Transit
In addition to its main line, the KCRC owns and operates the 28-kilometre Light Rail Transit (LRT) system in the north-western New Territories which commenced operation in September 1988. An extension was opened on November 3, 1991, between Tuen Mun Ferry and Yau Oi Estate and this increased the number of stops served by the system to 45. Six services are provided on the network by a fleet of 70 cars which operate either singly or in pairs. By the end of the year, 268 000 boardings a day were handled on the LRT and on its feeder bus services, which are also operated by the KCRC within the Transit Service Area extending from Tuen Mun to Yuen Long. Unique to Hong Kong, an 'open' fare system is employed on the LRT, with zonal fares providing free transfers from one route to another within the zone and to and from feeder buses. Ordinary adult fares range from $2.4 to $3.5.
Two more extensions are under construction in Tuen Mun and will be opened by February 1992, while a branch line to the new town of Tin Shui Wai is expected to open early in 1993. An additional 30 cars have been ordered for delivery commencing in the autumn of 1992. When the additional network extensions are finished the system's route length will be 30.4 kilometres.
Tramways
Electric trams have operated on Hong Kong Island since 1904. Today, Hong Kong Tramways operates six overlapping services over 13 kilometres of double track between Kennedy Town and Shau Kei Wan and along nearly three kilometres of single line around Happy Valley. The 163 trams comprise the only all-double-deck tram fleet in the world.
During 1991, the refurbishment of the tram fleet continued. By the end of the all the trams had been rebodied.
year,
Compared with recent years, tramway patronage steadied during 1991, with an average of 337 660 boardings daily. Fares remained at $1 for adults and $0.5 for children.
Funicular
Hong Kong's other 'tramway' is actually a cable-hauled funicular railway operated by the Peak Tramways Company from Garden Road in Central to Victoria Gap. The