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TRANSPORT
Mass Transit Railway
The Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC) operates a three-line metro system, comprising 43 route-kilometres with 38 stations, served by a fleet of 671 cars operating in eight-car trains. The system was opened in stages between October 1979 and August 1989.
Patronage increased slightly during the year, and by the year's end, the railway was carrying 2.13 million passengers a day. It is one of the busiest underground railways in the world. Adult fares ranged from $3.50 to $9 per trip, according to distances travelled.
Plans for the construction and financing of the Airport Railway are in hand. The new railway, when built, will consist of two separate rail services: a dedicated express service linking the new airport at Chek Lap Kok to Central, with stations at the airport, Tsing Yi, West Kowloon and Central; and a domestic service between Tung Chung and Central, with stations at Tung Chung, Tsing Yi, Lai King, Tai Kok Tsui, West Kowloon and Central. The domestic service will interchange with the Tsuen Wan line of the existing MTR system at Lai King and with the Island Line at Central, bringing relief to the MTR Nathan Road corridor.
Kowloon-Canton Railway
The Kowloon-Canton Railway was opened in 1910 and was double-tracked and electrified in the early 1980s. Operation of the system, formerly run by a government department, was vested in the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) in 1982.
The 34-kilometre railway provides a suburban service to the new towns in the northeastern New Territories, a freight service to and from China, and passenger services to and from Guangzhou and Foshan. The suburban service has grown substantially since the introduction of electric trains, and in 1993, the railway handled 569 500 passenger journeys daily. Passenger traffic is carried in a fleet of 351 cars, operated in train formations of 12 cars. There are 13 stations along the railway. A major programme to replace old escalators and install additional ones began in 1991 and continued throughout the year. In the 10 years beginning late 1993, the KCRC plans to spend about $600 million to further reduce noise levels at major residential developments along the entire line, by constructing covered or semi-covered noise barriers at 18 locations.
Light Rail Transit
The KCRC also owns and operates the 31-kilometre Light Rail Transit (LRT) system, in the northwestern New Territories, which began operating in 1988. An extension was opened in January 1993, between Tin Shui Estate and Castle Peak Road at Tong Fong/Hung Shui Kiu. The extension increased to 55 the stops served by the system. Nine services are provided on the network by a fleet of 100 cars, which operate either singly or in pairs. At the end of the year, 291 942 boardings a day were handled on the LRT and its feeder bus services within the transit service area between Tuen Mun and Yuen Long. The LRT operates zonal fares and provides free transfers from one route to another within the zone and to and from feeder buses. Ordinary adult fares ranged from $3 to $4.30.
In June, the boarding and alighting restrictions on buses operated by the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited in the transit service area were lifted, to provide a greater choice to passengers travelling within the area.
A further extension of the LRT in Tin Shui Wai new town, from Tin Shui Estate to the Tin Shui Wai town centre, is expected to be completed in 1994. The system route length will then be increased to 31.8 kilometres, and the number of stops to 57.