ENG-2005 — Page 307

Transport | 261

Railways

Rail travel accounts for about 34 per cent of the total daily public transport volume. The railways in Hong Kong are built and operated by two railway corporations, the KCRC and MTRCL. The KCRC is wholly owned by the Government. The MTRCL was formerly wholly owned by the Government but was privatised in 2000 to become a listed company with the Government remaining as a major shareholder. Both corporations operate on prudent commercial principles providing efficient, reliable and safe passenger rail services to the public.

The Kowloon-Canton Railway was commissioned in 1910 and was formerly operated by the Government until the KCRC's establishment in 1982. The KCRC now runs East Rail (including Ma On Shan Rail), West Rail and Light Rail and provides feeder bus services and inter-city rail services.

East Rail, which was extended from Hung Hom to East Tsim Sha Tsui where a new southern terminal opened on October 24, 2004, has 14 stations along the 35-kilometre route from East Tsim Sha Tsui to Lo Wu at the boundary and the railway carries an average of about 900 000 domestic and cross-boundary passengers daily.

Ma On Shan Rail, which is part of the East Rail Extensions project, opened in December 2004 to serve the Ma On Shan and Sha Tin areas. There are nine stations along the 11.4-kilometre route which carries about 110 000 passengers daily.

West Rail runs from West Kowloon to Yuen Long and Tuen Mun. It started operation in December 2003. There are nine stations along the 30.5-kilometre route and the railway carries an average of more than 190 000 passengers daily.

Light Rail, which started operation in 1988, provides local public transport in the northwestern New Territories. Light Rail carries nearly 380 000 passengers daily. There are 68 Light Rail stops with a network of 36.15 kilometres in length. Passengers can interchange with West Rail at four Light Rail stops.

To allow rail passengers to enjoy better feeder service, the KCRC also runs a total of 21 bus routes providing services to East Rail, West Rail and Light Rail passengers.

The KCRC also provides inter-city through train services from Hong Kong to cities in Guangdong as well as to Shanghai and Beijing. Apart from passenger services, the KCRC provides rail freight services to the Mainland.

The former Mass Transit Railway Corporation was established by statute in 1975 to operate the MTR. In February 2000, the Legislative Council passed legislation to privatise a portion of the Government's shares in the company. The MTRCL was listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in October that year. The first passenger train service on the Kwun Tong Line of the MTR began in 1979. The MTR was subsequently expanded to include Tsuen Wan Line (1982); Island Line (1985); Eastern Harbour Crossing rail tunnel, which connects the Kwun Tong Line to Quarry Bay (1989); Tung Chung Line (1998); Tseung Kwan O Line (2002) and Disneyland Resort Line (2005). The MTR carries a weekday average of 2.45 million passengers. The company also operates the Airport Express Line (1998), a dedicated rail link between the airport and the city centre. The Airport Express Line, extended to a new station at