TRANSPORT
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Railways
The five rail systems include a heavily-used mass transit system, a busy suburban railway, a modern light railway, a traditional street tramway and the Peak funicular railway. The first three rail systems are operated by public corporations, wholly- owned by the government. Private operators own the others.
Mass Transit Railway
The Mass Transit Railway Corporation operates a three-line metro system comprising 43.2 route-kilometres with 38 stations, served by a fleet of 759 cars operating in eight-car trains. The system was opened in stages between October 1979 and August 1989. By the year's end, the railway was carrying more than 2.38 million passengers on an average weekday. It is one of the busiest underground railways in the world. Single journey adult fares ranged from $4 to $13 per trip depending on distances travelled.
Construction of the Airport Railway is progressing and is scheduled for completion on June 21, 1998. It will have a dedicated express service linking the new airport at Chek Lap Kok and Central, with stations at Airport, Tsing Yi, Kowloon and Central (Hong Kong Station); and a domestic service between Lantau Island and Central, with stations at Tung Chung, Tsing Yi, Lai King, Tai Kok Tsui (Olympic Station), Kowloon and Central (Hong Kong Station). The domestic service will interchange with the Tsuen Wan Line of the existing Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system at Lai King Station and with the Island Line at Hong Kong Station, bringing relief to the MTR Nathan Road Corridor.
Kowloon-Canton Railway (East Rail)
The Kowloon-Canton Railway started operation 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 north-eastern New Territories, a freight service to and from China, and passenger services to and from Changping/Guangzhou and Foshan/Zhaoqing. The suburban service has grown substantially since electrification, and in 1997, the railway, with 13 stations, handled 716 000 passenger journeys daily. Passenger traffic was carried in a fleet of 351 cars, operated in train formations of 12 cars. Ordinary adult fares ranged from $3.50 to $9.
In 1997, the KCRC continued efforts to improve facilities by upgrading signal systems, renovating the Kowloon Station at Hung Hom, redeveloping workshops and depots and building noise barriers at selected locations along the railway.
West Rail
In December 1996, the government decided to proceed with the construction of Phase 1 of West Rail, which is a 31-kilometre domestic passenger line linking West Kowloon with Tuen Mun via Tsuen Wan, Kam Tin, Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wai. Phase 1 is expected to be completed to Yuen Long by the end of 2002 and to Tuen Mun the following year.
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