TRANSPORT
East Rail Extensions. The West Rail (Phase I) is on target to commence services in late 2003 while the construction of both the Ma On Shan Rail and the Tsim Sha Tsui Extension will be completed in 2004. The corporation has also started the detailed planning and design of the Lok Ma Chau to Sheung Shui Spur Line which is targeted for completion before mid-2007.
The KCRC also operates the Light Rail Transit (LRT), which started operation in the north-western New Territories in 1988. The system carried an average of 319 000 passengers daily in 2001. To enable the LRT to be effectively integrated with the West Rail (Phase I), three existing stops will be upgraded and a new one built to provide convenient interchange with the West Rail. An extension of the LRT to the newly developed Tin Shui Wai Reserve Zone will also be built. The Light Rail will also be grade-separated on Pui To Road to facilitate traffic flow.
The former Mass Transit Railway Corporation was established by statute in 1975 to operate the MTR. The first passenger train on the Kwun Tong Line of the MTR started operation in 1979. The MTR was subsequently expanded to include the Tsuen Wan Line (1982), the Island Line (1985), the Eastern Harbour Crossing rail tunnel connecting Kwun Tong Line to Quarry Bay (1989) and the Tung Chung Line (1998). To relieve the congestion at Quarry Bay Station, the Quarry Bay Congestion Relief Works project was completed on September 27, extending the Kwun Tong Line so that it terminated at the North Point Station. This makes the North Point Station an additional interchange between the Kwun Tong Line and the Island Line. The MTR carried a daily average of 2.2 million passengers in 2001. The company also operates the Airport Express, a dedicated rail link between the airport and the city centre. The Airport Express carried a daily average of 25 000 passengers in 2001.
In February 2000, the Legislative Council passed legislation to privatise a substantial minority of the Government's shareholding in the company and the privatised entity, MTR Corporation Limited, was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in October that year.
Tramway
Electric trams have been operating on Hong Kong Island since 1904. The Hong Kong Tramways Limited operates six routes on 13 kilometres of double track along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island between Kennedy Town and Shau Kei Wan, and about three kilometres of single track around Happy Valley.
The company's 164 trams, including two open-balcony trams for tourists and private hire and one special maintenance tram, make up the world's only fully double-decker tram fleet. The trams recorded an average of 240 000 passenger trips daily in 2001. Fares were $2 for adults and $1 for children under 12 and senior citizens aged 65 or above.
Peak Tram
Hong Kong's other tramway is a cable-hauled funicular railway operated by the Peak Tramways Company Limited from Central (Garden Road) to the Peak. The 1.4- kilometre tramway, which began operation in 1888, was modernised in 1989. The tramway served an average of 9 600 passengers a day in 2001, mostly tourists and local sightseers. One-way fares for adults, children under 12 and senior citizens aged 65 or above were $20, $6 and $7, respectively.
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