Since operations began in 1979, the MTR Railway has become one of the most important elements of Hong Kong's transportation network.

With a railway network of 87.7 kilometres route with 50 stations, the MTR carries over 2.3 million passengers a day - one of the most intensively utilized systems in the world.

To meet escalating passenger demands, the Corporation expanded its train fleet from 140 cars in 1979 to 1,050 cars in 2002 (including 88 cars for the Airport Express), 86% of which are in service to meet the daily morning peak demand.

Significant progress has been made with the construction of new lines and associated property developments. The Tseung Kwan O Extension is the newest line to be completed and commenced service in August 2002. Earlier in July 2002, the MTR was awarded both the Penny's Bay Rail Link and the Tung Chung Cable Car projects. Consultation is now in progress on the proposed South Island Line and West Island Line as a railway alternative to the transport needs of the west and south sides of Hong Kong Island.

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Tseung Kwan O Extension Project
Tseung Kwan O Extension (TKE) is the 6th operational line of the MTR Corporation, which serves Tseung Kwan O new town and Yau Tong. The TKE project features 33 major contracts, 13 for the civil works and 20 for the electrical and mechanical works. All construction works have been completed. The line was opened to the public on 18 August 2002 including five stations, namely Yau Tong, Tiu Keng Leng, Tseung Kwan O, Hang Hau and Po Lam as well as the depot in Area 86 together with the improved Quarry Bay and North Point Stations. A further station will be added to the Line at Tseung Kwan O South. Trains operate at the same speed and frequency as the other MTR urban lines (80 km/hr and ultimately 105 seconds headways)

http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/extensions/images/tke_map_tkos.gif

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PA (public address): (real player is required)

Please stand back from the doors. (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2003/URL-DPA.rm)

Next station: Yau Tong. Interchange station for the Tseung Kwan O line towards North Point. (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2004/KTL-YAT-UP-K.rm)

Next station: Wan Chai. Door will open on the left. (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2003/ISL-WAC-DN.rm)

what is the ridership per day

Cool Network.

I looks like a clean version of the NYC MTA subway...specially the trains and the line descriptions like in this one...

http://img36.exs.cx/img36/5006/cause03.jpg

what is the ridership per day

2.3 million

2.3 million

1/4 of total population???

1/4 of total population???

Too low or too high?

if a person goes to work and goes back home use MTR in both directions, does it count as one or two in the ridership??

I :dunno:
If figure is :yes: to be amazing :cheers1:

if a person goes to work and goes back home use MTR in both directions, does it count as one or two in the ridership??

It should count as two rides. The number of people who use it shows something, but the ridership numbers are more accurate as to how much it is being used as some people only use it once, or others may use it several times.

Tuesday August 3, 4:46 PM
HK's MTR profits surge ten-fold on property sales

HONG KONG, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Hong Kong subway operator MTR Corp said on Tuesday its first-half earnings rose ten-fold, helped by a surge in property sales but a merger with its cross-town counterpart is clouding the outlook.

MTR, which typically derives the bulk of its earnings by developing properties around and above its stations, is merging with suburban rail operator Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp. (KCRC). Both firms are controlled by the cash-strapped Hong Kong government, which wants to cut costs by combining the firms.

"We saw a steady recovery in the Hong Kong economy after SARS. A surge in tourism, improvement in the property market and consumer sentiment all impacted positively on MTR's performance," CK Chow, the firm's chief executive, said in a statement.

"Looking into the second half of 2004, we anticipate steady progress in our rail, station and property investment businesses," he added.

MTR made a net profit of HK$1.18 billion (US$151.3 million) in the first six months of 2004 compared with HK$113 million in the first half of 2003, when SARS devastated an already weak economy.

The results topped a forecast of HK$773 million, according to the average four analysts polled by Reuters, due to higher than expected revenue from the firm's property developments.

The firm's earnings from property totalled HK$1.15 billion, a 70 percent jump, largely due to proceeds from developments on the Tung Chung line, which runs from Hong Kong's central business district to the outlying island of Lantau.

In the first half, the number of passengers travelling on the firm's five subway lines rose 12 percent and travellers on the express line to the city's airport rose 32.5 percent from the first half of 2003.

For the full year, analysts expect the firm to make a net profit of HK$3.5 billion, less than 2003's HK$4.45 billion.

The firm proposed a divided of HK$0.14 a share -- the same amount paid in the first half of 2003.

MERGER LOOMS

The cash-strapped Hong Kong government has given the territory's two railway operators until the end of August to come up with a merger plan intended to remove duplication and bolster efficiency.

The rail firms together have assets worth more than US$24 billion. No financial terms have been disclosed but MTR said it will work towards a solution that would win support of its minority shareholders.

KCRC focuses largely on the lower-return railway business and could be saddled with heavy capital demands due to new projects.

"The possible merger with KCRC remains the main risk factor -- we continue to believe a viable option would be for KCRC to be injected into MTRC in stages," J.P Morgan wrote in a client note.

MTR said it is on track to submit the proposal to the government on August 31.

While the merger with KCRC will keep MTR's focus at home, the firm is expanding overseas. That potential growth driver has helped its stock price rise 15 percent in 2004.

The stock is the fifth best performing Hong Kong blue-chip so far this year, beating a two percent slide on the benchmark Hang Seng .

In April, MTR said it had agreed to form a joint venture to build and operate a city railway line in Beijing worth 16 billion yuan (US$1.93 billion). The firm has also won a contract to build and operate a subway line in nearby Shenzhen, China.

(US$=8.28 yuan)

http://img37.exs.cx/img37/7267/URaT_MTR2018.jpg

Nice future HK system map.

does that image of hk's future system map come in a bigger size? It'd be nice to read the names of the different lines with clarity...

xx

PA (public address): (real player is required)

Please stand back from the doors. (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2003/URL-DPA.rm)

Next station: Yau Tong. Interchange station for the Tseung Kwan O line towards North Point. (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2004/KTL-YAT-UP-K.rm)

Next station: Wan Chai. Door will open on the left. (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2003/ISL-WAC-DN.rm)

Oh I love these. They remind me of how much I miss Hong Kong. Where did you get them? Are there any more?

Click Here For More MTR Sound Clips (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/)

Whoever painstakingly recorded these audio clips from the MTR and uploaded them online for all to hear, THANK YOU! This has got to be the most awesome site that I have ever been to on the MTR. In fact, I think its the only one of its kind in the world! Its cool to finally be able to hear how these MTR announcements sound like, having not been to Hong Kong yet. I have been hearing so many comments on how great these announcements sound. The english announcements have a rather strong Hong Kong accent though. But it just adds to the distinct character of the MTR.

The automated announcements heard on the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) & Light Rapid Transit (LRT) Stations & Trains in Singapore are generally very short and simple with a few rare exceptions. Some examples are given below.

North East Line (The Newest MRT Line, Completed In 2003)

1. ''Next Station, HarbourFront Terminal. All Passengers Please Alight At This Station. Please Mind The Gap. Thank You For Travelling With SBS Transit'' (This is the longest one that I have heard so far)

2. ''Next Station, Dhoby Ghaut Interchange. Passengers May Alight & Change To The North South Line'' (Another long one)

3. ''Doors Closing'' (The shortest one)

4. ''Chinatown Station'' (Another short one)

North South Line & East West Line (The Older MRT Lines, In Operation Since The Late 1980s)

1. ''Next Stop, Orchard''

2. ''Next Stop, Dhoby Ghaut Interchange. Passengers Going Towards HarbourFront or Punggol, Please Alight At The Next Stop''

The automated announcements heard in the trains and stations in Singapore are short and simple, but sometimes too short and simple. At some interchange stations, they don't even tell you which lines interchange at the station (There once did, but after a while they removed it, thinking we have all gotten used to changing lines at the station that we do not need it anymore). And also, they don't even tell you which on which side of the train car do the doors open. And everything is in english only because the authorities think that if the messages were broadcast in too many languages it would sound messy to us. (I guess Hong Kong's MTR proved our authorities wrong, that having the announcements in 3 languages/dialects don't mess things up). But apart from all these, the announcements are I guess in perfect english so it makes the entire train system feel that much more modern.

I give the MTR announcements:
5 out of 5 stars for practicality (They have announcements for everything)
5 out of 5 stars for being user friendly (They have announcements in so many dialects and languages, no language barrier here)
4.5 out of 5 stars for how it sounds (Some of the english used sounds wrong)
5 out of 5 stars for how it sounds

Ignoramus, you are a star. Thankyou!

[


I give the MTR announcements:
5 out of 5 stars for practicality (They have announcements for everything)
5 out of 5 stars for being user friendly (They have announcements in so many dialects and languages, no language barrier here)
4.5 out of 5 stars for how it sounds (Some of the english used sounds wrong)
5 out of 5 stars for how it sounds

Ignoramus, I'm British and I found the English announcements when I visted (last Christmas) quite accurate. The accent for English announcements appeared to be more UK than HK. Maybe you're used to American accents. :)

where is those motion video advertising inside the subway cab??

Hong Kong schools teach the British standard of English. Some senior government officials today even speak English with a British accent, and their kids get an allowance to study in the UK.

Some subtle differences from (British / American)
- queue up / line up
- lorry / truck
- alight / get off
- chop / stamp (the marking you make for an endorsement)

Motion Advertising
There are screens inside the train that show the name of the next stop. However, the MTR doesn't have televisions on board as I recall. I know the KCR has them :
http://img53.exs.cx/img53/9951/RIMG3941.th.jpg (http://img53.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img53&image=RIMG3941.jpg)

The english announcements have a rather strong Hong Kong accent though. But it just adds to the distinct character of the MTR.

Actually, she has a very beautiful and accurate British accent. Notice how she pronounces the "o" in "open".

Also notice how she pronounces "Admiralty" (a station name) the British way.

Next station: Admiralty. Interchange station for the Tsuen Wan Line. (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2004/ISL-ADM-DN.rm)

The longest announcement on Vancouver's Skytrain:

"The next station is Waterfront. Terminus station."


MTR's announcements used to be longer but they have been shortened and simplified twice in the last 6 years. The current set of announcements is the third generation. (that lovely lady's voice was used in all 3 generations)

Example of how they shortened the announcements:

1st gen 1995-1998(Cantonese + English):

The next station is Mong Kok. Passengers for stations from Jordan to Central and all stations on the Island Line, please proceed to the opposite platform number 2.

2nd gen 1998-2003(Cantonese + English):

Next station: Mong Kok. Please Change to platform 2 for the Tsuen Wan Line towards Central. (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR/KTL-MOK-DN.rm)

3rd gen 2003-?(Cantonese + Madarin + English):

Next station: Mong Kok. Interchange station for the Tsuen Wan Line towards Central. (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2004/KTL-MOK-DN-K.rm)

I like the 2nd generation the most. 1st is too long, and 3rd is too short.
But..... for the same amount of time, you need to repeat the same announcements 3 times in 3 different spoken languages; you can't really do anything except shortening the announcements as short as possible.

Gareth: Good point. Maybe I am just too used to the American accent in the way words are pronounced. Keeping the fact that a British accent rather than an American accent is used in the pronounciation of words in the MTR's announcements, everything sounds way okay now. BUT, I still have to insist that there is a slight Hong Kong accent evident in the announcements, though not as evident as I had thought of earlier. The British accent in them is still more than the Hong Kong accent.

On the other hand, I noticed that announcements on the KCR are done by another lady. And that lady sounds perfectly British I would say so I can detect no Hong Kong accent in her pronounciation of words.

Both ladies have excellent voices and well ''hot'' voices I might say. Could just imagine how they would look like in person based on their voices. haha.

Singapore has those LCD Screens in its newer trains on the older North South Line & East West Line. These display next station name, end of line station names and advertisements. On the newest North East Line however, there are LCD Screens in all the trains. These display platform and train safety videos, inspirational quotes, advertisements, next station name, end of line station name and perhaps even more that I didn't take notice of.

The difference between those LCD Screens on the KCR and Singapore's MRT is that while those on the KCR are placed with the screens facing the width of the train, the ones in Singapore are parallel to the seats (facing the length of the train car). Those facing the width of the train car in Singapore's MRT are LED Panels, which display date, time, next station name and current station name.

There are Plasma Screens for each platform too (2 per platform for the newest line and 1 per platform for the older lines). They display train arrival times, direction of travel, end station name, safety messages and advertisements.

By the way, what's the difference between the KCR and the MTR other than them being 2 different companies. Is it that the KCR serves the outlying areas whereas the MTR serves the highly built up areas?

And what do you refer to the MTR/KCR train services as a whole. Do you call them the subway or something? I noticed people refer to the train system by the company running the line concerned rather than using a general term.

Hong Kong should have an integrated transport map like Singapore though. For quite a number of years I didn't even know that there was KCR and Light Rail. I thought MTR was everything. The MTR map only shows MTR Lines.
Singapore's MRT/LRT map is found at this address. This is a slightly different map for it shows also lines under construction, usually it doesn't.
Click Here (http://www.lta.gov.sg/projects/index_proj_maprail.htm)

On the other hand, I noticed that announcements on the KCR are done by another lady. And that lady sounds perfectly British I would say so I can detect no Hong Kong accent in her pronounciation of words.


No. Both KCR East + West Rails uses American English in their announcements.
Notice how "form" in "platform" is pronounced. The American pronounce the "r" differently.

I just love the way Hong Kong does stuff, especially in the field of rail transportation.

It was the first in Asia I think, to implement the contactless smart card system? (I got a shock when I heard that South Korea has such a system in place since the early 1990s, is it true?)

And the Octopus Card is really useful. It can be used for so many non transit related purposes. (The ezlink Card has been in use in Singapore since 2002 but its use beyond public transportation is still very limited. I like how the Octopus Card has a membership system that rewards you for using it.)

And I think it was the first in Asia or even the world to have televisions on board its buses? (Singapore claims that title as well. But technically I think Hong Kong is first for having a television on board. Singapore is first for having LIVE Digital Televisions on board).

And there are automated announcements on buses? WHAT A SHOCK! Didn't know they could do that.

And trains at interchanges wait for each other right. Nice touch. Think they have this box or some panel that tells the driver to wait if there is another train arriving at the opposite platform.

But I heard complaints that public transportation in Hong Kong is just way to expensive. Like how they might be deciding to switch from some method of charging passengers to using a distance based system instead.

Its fun comparing the MTR, KCR and the MRT. The systems are quite similar so its easy to compare and yet distinctly different. In being different, I can just see what I am missing out on.

ailiton: You get what I mean. The main point is that KCR announcements don't contain any Hong Kong accent in them. And, I don't really take the time to bother between what is British and American. It is only when there is a conflict between the two then I realize ''Oh, that sounds different''.

I just love the way Hong Kong does stuff, especially in the field of rail transportation.

It was the first in Asia I think, to implement the contactless smart card system? (I got a shock when I heard that South Korea has such a system in place since the early 1990s, is it true?)

And the Octopus Card is really useful. It can be used for so many non transit related purposes. (The ezlink Card has been in use in Singapore since 2002 but its use beyond public transportation is still very limited. I like how the Octopus Card has a membership system that rewards you for using it.)

And I think it was the first in Asia or even the world to have televisions on board its buses? (Singapore claims that title as well. But technically I think Hong Kong is first for having a television on board. Singapore is first for having LIVE Digital Televisions on board).

And there are automated announcements on buses? WHAT A SHOCK! Didn't know they could do that.

And trains at interchanges wait for each other right. Nice touch. Think they have this box or some panel that tells the driver to wait if there is another train arriving at the opposite platform.

But I heard complaints that public transportation in Hong Kong is just way to expensive. Like how they might be deciding to switch from some method of charging passengers to using a distance based system instead.

Its fun comparing the MTR, KCR and the MRT. The systems are quite similar so its easy to compare and yet distinctly different. In being different, I can just see what I am missing out on.


I was in Korea last month and I don't think they have the smart card system.
I believe HK is the first to implement the smart card system (1997).

Where did you find out those info about MTR?

And yes, I think MTR is very similar to MRT. They are two of the very best in the world (in terms of quality).

I've seen the MTR lady. She is very pretty indeed!

Her English really doesn't contain any HK accent. I know both the British and American accents quite well and I can say that her English is more British than a typical British's.

Which words do you think are containing HK accent?

Personally, I hate the East Rail announcements coz that lady (English) has a low voice.

Subway = MTR

I'll leave the bus thing to hkskyline.

ailiton: Really? I distinctly remember watching a South Korean television drama episode where the actor, who has no money, pretends to tap his wallet on the reader but is found out by the bus driver that he has no contactless smart card on him. I think you could really try to search on the internet for information on South Korea's smart card system. I think it's a really old system so I guess Hong Kong is technically first in terms of implementing an all new smart card system? All this are guesses. I don't know. haha.

What info on the MTR are you referring to. I get most of my info from friends and the good old World Wide Web.

So far, my impression of the Hong Kong MTR has been great. Being in operation since 1979, they have a lot of experience in everything.

Oh never mind let's just forget that accent issue thingy. Maybe its just me... haha.

Sometimes they don't use prerecorded announcements so the announcements are by the drivers. They DEFINITELY HAVE THAT HONG KONG ACCENT. And sometimes they rush through the words and mispronounce.

Are you talking about Seoul's system? Their fare gates only take paper tickets. And their system look surprisingly Japanese.

How is the transfering procedure done in MRT? (never been there before)

Where are the plasmas on the platforms placed?

Oh never mind let's just forget that accent issue thingy. Maybe its just me... haha.

Sometimes they don't use prerecorded announcements so the announcements are by the drivers. They DEFINITELY HAVE THAT HONG KONG ACCENT. And sometimes they rush through the words and mispronounce.

Yes. The drivers' English suck. Some of them don't even know the English names of stations (like Prince Edward and Admiralty).

Weird. When I was listening to the MTR recordings last night, I could distinctly remember hearing a Hong Kong accent in them. Then again, it could just be me being too overly critical. After all, yesterday was the first time I heard these announcements and I guess I found them weird as I was expecting something different. Never mind. They sound British to me now. hehe. Weird.

What transferring procedure?
There is an actual procedure involved when transferring? Singapore MRT & LRT Lines are run by two companies, that being ''SBS Transit'' and ''SMRT'', with SBS Transit running the newest fully automated driverless subway line. When transferring between the North East Line (SBS Transit) and the North South Line (SMRT) at the Dhoby Ghaut Interchange Station, I just transfer. No tapping of contactless smart card involved. Because its an old station integrating with a new station, there is a long walk involved (There's a travellator though) BUT other than that you just walk to your other line within the paid premises in the underground station.

How about City Hall and Raffles Place?

Where can I find new photos of the MRT?

The Plasma Screens are located where your LED Screens in Hong Kong are. Its just that on the newer lines, somehow the company is richer as to provide for two Plasma screens on Each Platform, so passengers can always see what's on the screens at both ends of the platform. They are spread out evenly and nicely.

But on the older lines, only 1 per platform is provided. Weird. Though in some stations the screen are in the middle of the platform and you can see the screens fairly clearly, in some stations the screens are too far to the left or to the right. The passenger who is furtherest from the screen can't see much at all.
An illustration:
==== denotes the platform.
P denotes the Plasma Screen.

============================P======================== (Some stations)

==============P=====================================
(Some weird stations)

On the newest line however.
=================P====================P==============

At City Hall & Raffles Place Stations, you just have to cross the platform because the lines were meant to integrate right from the start as they were constructed together. At Dhoby Ghaut, the North East Line was a new line and as such as to be fitted weirdly into the existing station.

Government Website: LTA (http://www.lta.gov.sg)
Company Website: SBS Transit (http://www.sbstransit.com.sg)
SMRT (http://www.smrt.com.sg)
Subway Fan's Website: UrbanRail (http://www.urbanrail.net/as/sing/singapore.htm) (The information is a little inaccurate)

Seoul Smart Card (http://www.semiconductors.philips.com/news/content/file_194.html)

Oh, the smart cards are for use on the bus only since 1996. Hong Kong is technically the first to use smart cards on the subway though the application of smart card technology on public transportation was done first by Seoul a year earlier.

By the way, what's the difference between the KCR and the MTR other than them being 2 different companies. Is it that the KCR serves the outlying areas whereas the MTR serves the highly built up areas?

MTR serves the urban part of HK, two newtowns (Tung Chung and Tseung Kwan O), and the airport. KCR mainly serves the suburbs (other newtowns).

The suburbs in Singapore are primarily residential estates whereas the ''city'' is just the southern region of the island which so far has little housing as compared to the massive residential estates elsewhere. So does this principle apply to Hong Kong too? If so, it means the MTR is primarily a Downtown Line?

Seoul Smart Card (http://www.semiconductors.philips.com/news/content/file_194.html)

Oh, the smart cards are for use on the bus only since 1996. Hong Kong is technically the first to use smart cards on the subway though the application of smart card technology on public transportation was done first by Seoul a year earlier.

Strange. The interiors of the buses look quite outdated to be honest. It's funny that those smart cards can't be used in the subway.

Yes, they integrate EVERYTHING BUT the subway. Guess many countries face this problem where you have to buy different tickets for different lines run by different companies and between different modes of transport.

Once again, only Singapore and Hong Kong and more recently Taipei has managed to overcome this problem.

Yes the interiors I saw on that South Korean drama are old too. So its weird that something old is put together with something high tech.

Are you a Hong Konger? But you live in Vancouver?

The suburbs in Singapore are primarily residential estates whereas the ''city'' is just the southern region of the island which so far has little housing as compared to the massive residential estates elsewhere. So does this principle apply to Hong Kong too? If so, it means the MTR is primarily a Downtown Line?

This principle doesn't apply to HK I guess.

Suburbs (or newtowns) in HK are basically equivalent to Satellite towns in other parts of the world. In other words, newtowns in HK are residential areas that are separated from the main part of the city (Kowloon and northern HK Island) by mountains or waters. The newtowns are not the only place where residential towers are situated in. Kowloon, where 4 MTR lines run thru (Tung Chung Line, Tsuen Wan Line, Kwun Tong Line, Tseung Kwan O Line), is consisted of mainly residential towers. Also, the east part of the Island Line (Tin Hau - Chai Wan) is mainly residential.

Sheung Wan-Central-Admiralty MTR stations are situated at the heart of the city. I believe Wan Chai-Causeway Bay- Tsim Sha Tsui are on the outer edge of the downtown.

Are you a Hong Konger? But you live in Vancouver?

Correct.

Now thats real confusing. But in simple terms, MTR = Centre Of HK. KCR = Everything else...almost...

What's a Hong Konger doing in Vancouver? Are you on permenent residency in Vancouver, business, or university education...

I so want to visit Hong Kong now... GOSH THAT AWESOME LOOKING IFC 2. Hope to do so by the end of the year...perhaps even on one of those budget airlines...very very cheap. But there's this very strong language barrier. A friend returning from Hong Kong said that people there understand mostly only Cantonese, a dialect which I do not speak.

The suburbs in Singapore are primarily residential estates whereas the ''city'' is just the southern region of the island which so far has little housing as compared to the massive residential estates elsewhere. So does this principle apply to Hong Kong too? If so, it means the MTR is primarily a Downtown Line?

Actually, I might have answered your question incorrectly. It really depends on how you define the word "downtown".

Central + Admiralty + Sheung Wan is the CBD of HK. Is that what you mean by "downtown"?

Nevertheless, the MTR mainly runs in the main part of the city. But there are two exceptions:

Tung Chung Line between Tung Chung and Tsing Yi Stations.
Tseung Kwan O Line between Po Lam and Yau Tong.

All other stations (including Tsing Yi and Yau Tong) are in the main part of the city.

Yes Downtown = CBD. But anyways I get the idea Thanks.

I like HK MTR names, very funky (Esp. Tsim Sha Tsui & Central. Its fun pronoucing them hehe)

Now thats real confusing. But in simple terms, MTR = Centre Of HK. KCR = Everything else...almost...

What's a Hong Konger doing in Vancouver? Are you on permenent residency in Vancouver, business, or university education...

I so want to visit Hong Kong now... GOSH THAT AWESOME LOOKING IFC 2. Hope to do so by the end of the year...perhaps even on one of those budget airlines...very very cheap. But there's this very strong language barrier. A friend returning from Hong Kong said that people there understand mostly only Cantonese, a dialect which I do not speak.

I guess you've got the concept.
I'll try to make it easy for you...

MTR mainly runs in the urban part of the city while the KCR connects the suburbs with the urban part of the city.

You'll be able to survive in HK if you can read English and Chinese. It is quite easy to navigate in HK and I don't think you'll need to ask anyone for direction.

I can't say I'll live in Vancouver for the rest of my life. I'm currently studying in a university but may consider to move to HK after I graduate.

Thanks for the Singapore railway links!

Ailiton: Here are some pictures I took earlier this year. Yes I know, wrong thread to put them in.

HarbourFront MRT Station On The North East MRT Line In Singapore
http://img43.exs.cx/img43/9445/117225793LEiVsC_ph.jpg

http://img69.exs.cx/img69/2476/117225801LqefSy_ph2.jpg

Thank you! This station looks very beautiful.

About the "new towns" in Hong Kong, the idea of setting this towns in the 1970s and 80s was set up regions where people can live, work and entertain without leaving the area. For example, if you are living in Tuen Mun in western New Territories. You don't need to go to even Kowloon for living at all time. But as time passed by, the idea is not working very well. Many people moved to this new town but remain working at the same job. So people have to travel across Hong Kong to go to work.

In an American definition of "downtown," which means the most busiest and number of commercial area within a town. If you put this idea in Hong Kong, you can find a lot of this "downtown" within different districts. Sometimes, it is quite hard to define a "downtown" in Hong Kong, just because people and business are everywhwere within the urban area.

But if you only consider the most busiest and number of commercial within the entire city as "downtown," which identical to "CBD," then Central, Admiralty, Causeway Bay, and Tsim Sha Tsui would be the core CBD.

And there are automated announcements on buses? WHAT A SHOCK! Didn't know they could do that.


About the "automated announcements," it is not really "automated."

The most common system is being used on board is opertaed manually.
The bus driver has to push a button to switch the display and play the announcement from a pre-recorded message. Even though it is not hi-tect at all, but it is the most accurate one, except sometimes the bus driver could forget to press the button.

There are two other kind of systems has been used in Hong Kong. These are totally automated with no manual control.

First one is by "milage." Announcements will be played and display will be changed as the bus has traveled a certain distance from starting point. The disadvantage of this kind is it can never be accurate. The traveled distance can be changed due to simply changing lanes. A few time of changing might not make a different; but if the bus keeps changing lanes, it could make a big error on the meter and play the wrong announcemnt at a wrong time and wrong place. I don't think this kind of method is still being used in Hong Kong.

Second, and last, is the most technically advanced. GPS is used to determine the bus location in order to switch the display and play the announcement. KMB, the largest bus company in Hong Kong, has been testing using GPS on Rt. 1A, which runs between Shau Mau Ping and Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry, for more accurate real-time information including provides expected waiting time, location of the nearest bus etc. at the bus stops along the route. However, due to the skycrapers density in Hong Kong, GPS singal is often blocked or making a time-delay problem. Consequently, real-time information cannot be provided accurately.


But I heard complaints that public transportation in Hong Kong is just way to expensive. Like how they might be deciding to switch from some method of charging passengers to using a distance based system instead.


that's true many people are complaining for the fares. but the system is being used in Hong Kong is "distance based." A longer distance, a higher price.
For bus, the fare is determined by the distance between two bus terminals.
For example, if it were a Eastbound bus, the fare would dropped as it were getting closer to the bus terminal on west side. But if you got on the bus at the bus terminal and planed to get off two stops later, you still had to pay the full fare. On the other hands, if you get on the bus two stops before it reached the bus terminal, the fare would have dropped by a certain amount.
There is no standard guidline in Hong Kong about the relationship between distance and fare. The two factors are not in a linear or any kind of math'ical relationship.

but usually, there are many different buses you can pick. if you are going for a short distance, you can ride bus with a cheaper fare instead of ride a bus with more expensive fare which runs on the same road.

the government is trying to come up a guideline on setting up fare. it has been a few years after the gov. told the public about the project; but nothing has been changed at all.

with the octupus system, some bus routes, usually are less popular or in touring line, have set up a system you can pay for the distance you have riden instead of the whole fare.

for MTR, KCR west and east rail, fares are calculated by distance and districts. a one stop travel between tsim sha tsui and admiralty is more expensive than a one stop travel between tsim sha tsui and jordan; just because it crosses the harbor.

for LRT which servers Tuen Mun, Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wai, fare are charged by zoning. fare is based on how many zones are you going across.

for tram, which is the cheapest transportation in hong kong island. one fare, you can ride as long as you want between terminals for HK$2.00 (US$0.25) for adult.

Comparing to big city like New York or London. For a ride, New York City is a standard US$2 and London is 1.5 pounds. No matter how far you go, you are still paying the same fare. Hong Kong transportation system at least is a "distance based." It is cheaper to travel in short distance; but could be more expensive if you are traveling in long distance. However, the most expensive bus fares in Hong Kong, excluding airport shuttles, doesn't even go over HK$30 (US$3.85). These buses run between Northern Hong Kong Island ("CBD") and northern New Territories with a riding time more than an hour. The cheapest is HK$1.2 (US$0.15) runs within Taipo.

I think the question on "expensive and chear" is really a relative thing.

EricIsHim: Okay I still don't really get how they charge passengers on the bus. Why do you have to pay the full fare from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 if you only ride from Terminal 1 to Bus Stop 2. And Why do you pay less from Bus Stop 2 to Bus Stop 4 even though it is the same distance? This is distance based?

For Singapore, fares are charged on the bus and the MRT & LRT based on how far you travel a.k.a. distance based. As in, every route that a bus takes is broken up into maybe 30 or more fare stages. Each stage that you travel through costs a certain amount. So if you travel from stage 11 to stage 28, you will be charged the amount from stage 11 to 28.

All buses in HK have that announcement and display thinggy? That's pretty neat.

HK Bus fares at US$3.85 max... that's pretty expensive. That's about S$6.50. What route does that bus serve? Never heard of any bus charging that amount here in Singapore, not at least the basic bus services.

But the HK tram is way cheap though. About S$0.42. Thats as cheap as the fare students on concession in Singapore pay. (S$0.40). But the trams look very old.

Fares on the MRT/LRT/Buses in Singapore typically cost anywhere from S$0.63 to S$2++++++. That is if you are using the smart card. Paying by cash is slightly for expensive.

Hong Kong bus fares are formulated by distance. Sectional fares are available for individual routes. For example, a crossharbour bus to the New Territories will be the most expensive when I board in the New Territories. It'll be cheaper at the harbour tunnel entrance, and even cheaper after the tunnel.

However, there is a caveat. Here is a sequence of stops :
Terminal North - southbound $5
Bus Stop 1 - southbound $5, northbound $3
Bus Stop 2 - southbound $5, northbound $3
Bus Stop 3 - southbound $3, northbound $5
Terminal South - northbound $5

Notice that there are sectional fares. I am travelling between stops 1 and 2. If I board at stop 1 southbound, I'll pay an expensive fare because the sectional fare assumes I'm going to Terminal South. However, when I go northbound, I'll pay a cheaper fare because the route is already progressed far from the south terminal.

The only way to charge by exact distance is by forcing passengers to swipe their smart cards upon exit, which is quite cumbersone and hard to enforce on a bus. The MTR and KCR have such a system already, so they can charge exact fares based on distance. However, for the bus case, one expensive trip is compensated by a cheaper return.

Okay I pretty much got the idea. THANKS!

The tapping of the smart card upon exiting a bus is the only way to go in Singapore. Like Hong Kong, once you tap you card at the entry point, you are charged all the way to the terminal bus stop. BUT, the difference between the HK and Singapore systems is that once you tap your card on the exit card reader you are refunded the amount that you have not travelled. So it's really truly distance based but the hassle of tapping your card upon exit is a common complaint among bus passengers. But after a while, everyone has gotten used to it. There are signs reminding passengers to tap when exiting, and the card readers are pretty much very prominent so when you are waiting for the bus to stop to alight, the readers grab your attention and you are reminded to tap.

The official website of Hong Kong's Octopus Card
http://www.octopus.com.hk/eng

What's a Hong Konger doing in Vancouver? Are you on permenent residency in Vancouver, business, or university education...

.

Hong Kongers are very common in Vancouver. I see more Cantonese there than whites. Take Richmond for example its basically a haven for Chinese. I was at this mall a few years back in Richmond and everybody was Chinese I went up to the Dairy Queen to buy a drink and I ordered in Cantonese, it was so cool felt like in HK.

"The Octopus card can be widely used in over 253 different organisations covering public transport, parking, retail, self services outlets, conferences and exhibitions, recreational facilities, school campuses and access control."

Dang. Its like a card for everything. I thought its mainly for mass transportation and some vending machines.

A question about the Octopus watch.

I thought they don't make those anymore until I visited the website. Anyways is the octopus watch the same as the card? Can I keep adding value into it, or is it a one time thing only?

EricIsHim: Okay I still don't really get how they charge passengers on the bus. Why do you have to pay the full fare from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 if you only ride from Terminal 1 to Bus Stop 2. And Why do you pay less from Bus Stop 2 to Bus Stop 4 even though it is the same distance? This is distance based?

For Singapore, fares are charged on the bus and the MRT & LRT based on how far you travel a.k.a. distance based. As in, every route that a bus takes is broken up into maybe 30 or more fare stages. Each stage that you travel through costs a certain amount. So if you travel from stage 11 to stage 28, you will be charged the amount from stage 11 to 28.

All buses in HK have that announcement and display thinggy? That's pretty neat.

I did a really bad job on the explanation..... hahahah
I was falling in sleep when I was typing the thing.
Thanks for hkskyline to clear everything up. :hammer:

BTW, not all buses in HK had the stop announcement system.
I would say the majority don't. You can find it more often in Kowloon / The New Territories than in Hong Kong Island; because KMB has been more concerned about this kind of improvement than NWFB or Citybus. But all airport shuttles are installed with the stop announciement system for tourists.

But for on board LCD TV, most of the buses have been installed. These TV play more commercial than information. Bus companies make money out for them. That's why installing TV has been more active.

A question about the Octopus watch.

I thought they don't make those anymore until I visited the website. Anyways is the octopus watch the same as the card? Can I keep adding value into it, or is it a one time thing only?

These watches work like cards. They can be refilled at anytime.
Unlike Octopus cards, Octopus cannot be refilled at vending machine by yourself.

The Octopus watch works the same way as a regular card. The chip is embeded inside and it can be reloaded. There are even Octopus phone covers now. Check out the website :
http://www.octopuscards.com/eng/whatis/other.jsp

thank u guys for posting those sound fragments, so strange to hear those again :( :'(

i wanna go baaack! :'(

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid136/pff1cfaba7a985346cf8f45c52ec835e1/f7601d7c.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid136/p3f738bcc9569086cd08a75add626f3b2/f7601d8b.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid136/p4c2f18def19b588823597e72a2af9396/f7601d9e.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid136/p18ed91d0fcd9743e93a06c0821e05730/f7601e58.jpg


Kowloon Station

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid136/p3c6915be72adbdd4265b923b1944d7fb/f7601ddd.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid136/p9ad834870d8c9671f490245b441d86cc/f7601df5.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid136/pa78a10952b4eda93e98462c8f110e183/f7601dc8.jpg

The Octopus watch works the same way as a regular card. The chip is embeded inside and it can be reloaded. There are even Octopus phone covers now. Check out the website :
http://www.octopuscards.com/eng/whatis/other.jsp


Its good to know they make octopus on phone covers too, but I doubt anyone would want to buy those covers now. Those Nokia phones are quite dated already, I doubt anyone in HK would still buy those. They should sell the chip itself so we can put it into the phone ourselves, thin enough to fit in most covers.

anyone knows where i can find more sounds?

Kwun Tong Line (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2003/KTL.htm)

Tsuen Wan Line (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2003/TWL.htm)

Island Line (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2003/ISL.htm)

Tung Chung Line (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2004/TCL.htm)

Tseung Kwan O Line (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2003/TKE.htm)

Airport Express (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/index16.php)

The MTR has got to be one of the world's cleanest subway systems. Stations like Sham Shui Po sometimes get a little foul smell (I guess it's sewege), but otherwise everything is top of its class.

I was shocked when I moved to Toronto, that the subways were falling apart, & fares were still collected by the booth.

Ever since moving to Toronto, I have to drive 10x more per week than in HK. :sleepy:

yeah HK transport is very clean and efficent, esp because of the SARS virus in 2003 everything was cleaner to prevent further spread of virus!

-also HK don't rely on cars as much because of effficent bus system , in western countries like USA, UK and australia car ownership and mileage is much higher than HK. hehe.. sydney's train system is worse than toronto's believe me.

@ailiton

Thanx! :)

"The Octopus card can be widely used in over 253 different organisations covering public transport, parking, retail, self services outlets, conferences and exhibitions, recreational facilities, school campuses and access control."

Dang. Its like a card for everything. I thought its mainly for mass transportation and some vending machines.

another advantage of Octopus card is that you can add values to the card in basically ANYWHERE. For example, if you are ordering stuff from McDonnalds, after u pay for the food (using Octopus or cash), you can just ask the cashier to add the values that you want to the Octopus card (you got to give cashier the money of course). You can do the same thing in some of the other large-chain fast food restaurants also. The same can be done in shops like 7-11, OK......and apparently you can do it in MTR stations. These "add-value locations" form a VERY VERY extensive network all around HK.

they use octopus card to take attendence in school too.

From EricIsHim:
"Second, and last, is the most technically advanced. GPS is used to determine the bus location in order to switch the display and play the announcement. KMB, the largest bus company in Hong Kong, has been testing using GPS on Rt. 1A, which runs between Shau Mau Ping and Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry, for more accurate real-time information including provides expected waiting time, location of the nearest bus etc. at the bus stops along the route. However, due to the skycrapers density in Hong Kong, GPS singal is often blocked or making a time-delay problem. Consequently, real-time information cannot be provided accurately."


i heard about this plan for so long already. So are they going to expand the system to other bus line too?? or is the difficulties faced make the plan dead already??

Express buses in nyc is US$4 i believe. But it is only express in the highway portion. Not really an "express". So i don't think the HK fare is expensive.


Dennis, i read a news saying Octopus HK Ltd. is helping out Netherland to do the same thing there (a team of staff has been sent there). So you will be able to use hk technology in your home soon.
not sure how much Octopus HK will be paid?



Octopus card can be a funny scene in subway stations around HK, because i have seen tourists using the magnetic fare card to sweep through the Octopus card sensor (the yellow box) on the turnstiles, and of course that doesn't work. They keep trying when they see everybody just do the same thing to get through. I don't know why they did finally though.


and does anyone know what other cities other than Seoul, hk, singapore, taipei are using the octopus technology in transportation system?
and are hk and singapore the only cities in the world that has lcd on buses?

Express buses in nyc is US$4 i believe. But it is only express in the highway portion. Not really an "express". So i don't think the HK fare is expensive.


Dennis, i read a news saying Octopus HK Ltd. is helping out Netherland to do the same thing there (a team of staff has been sent there). So you will be able to use hk technology in your home soon.
not sure how much Octopus HK will be paid?



Octopus card can be a funny scene in subway stations around HK, because i have seen tourists using the magnetic fare card to sweep through the Octopus card sensor (the yellow box) on the turnstiles, and of course that doesn't work. They keep trying when they see everybody just do the same thing to get through. I don't know why they did finally though.


and does anyone know what other cities other than Seoul, hk, singapore, taipei are using the octopus technology in transportation system?
and are hk and singapore the only cities in the world that has lcd on buses?

The recently completed Delhi Metro Rail in New Delhi, India also uses the contactless smart card technology in its rail operations. However,
- A contactless smart card is used for multiple rides. The card is tapped on the reader@the fare gate when entering or leaving the system. Whereas,
- A contactless smart token is used for single trips. The token is tapped on the reader@the fare gate when entering but must be deposited into a slot@at the fare gate when leaving the system.

Singapore's MRT & LRT network is completely dependent on the contactless smart card technology for both single trip and multiple ride tickets.

Hong Kong's MTR & KCR network is dependent on the contactless smart card technology for multiple ride tickets but is reliant on magnetic tickets for single trips.

Not sure if only Singapore's MRT, LRT & bus network and Hong Kong's KCR & bus network have LCD Screens in them.

But the LCD Screens in Hong Kong's KCR trains, buses and Singapore's MRT & LRT display only recorded commercials. The LCD Screens that have been installed on Singapore's buses however broadcast both Live & Digital News, Entertainment, Sports programmes and others. This is known in Singapore as ''TVmobile''.

Oh I almost forgot...

The contactless smart card technology is also being used in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This card is known as ''Touch N Go''.

However, it is used primarily for Toll Charges on the nation's highways. Recently, they installed Touch N Go readers at 3 stations in KL's StarLine LRT system & in all stations in KL's PutraLine LRT system. The other stations in the StarLine LRT system as well as the stations in the KL Monorail network do not have the readers installed though as this is only a trial. Thus, if you enter the LRT system from a Touch N Go enabled station and if you plan to exit the system at a NON TOUCH N GO Station, you CANT!

Anyways this mode of payment is only on a trial basis and is NOT the main mode of payment on KL's public transportation network unlike in Taipei, Hong Kong and Singapore. They still use magnetic tickets, one type each for each of the 3 LRT/Monorail systems in KL.

And everything is in english only because the authorities think that if the messages were broadcast in too many languages it would sound messy to us. (I guess Hong Kong's MTR proved our authorities wrong, that having the announcements in 3 languages/dialects don't mess things up). But apart from all these, the announcements are I guess in perfect english so it makes the entire train system feel that much more modern.
Maybe you are too young to know, but when the MRT started running here years ago, the announcements were made in all four official languages! :D In fact I think they stopped doing it since slightly over 5 years ago? You should have remembered heard it, didnt you?

Maybe you are too young to know, but when the MRT started running here years ago, the announcements were made in all four official languages! :D In fact I think they stopped doing it since slightly over 5 years ago? You should have remembered heard it, didnt you?

Erhem! I am NOT that young... haha. Yes I did hear them before. In fact I could almost remember all the english and chinese words in them... Ya what I was talking about was that they shouldn't have removed them, even if they did, they should have retained at least the one in english... By removing even that they assume everyone knows what lines cross at that station.

However, I think I still hear it occasionally but I don't think its played everytime the train arrives at City Hall Station...that's what's so weird...They removed it...and yet...in a sense...they didn't...

Erhem! I am NOT that young... haha. Yes I did hear them before. In fact I could almost remember all the english and chinese words in them... Ya what I was talking about was that they shouldn't have removed them, even if they did, they should have retained at least the one in english... By removing even that they assume everyone knows what lines cross at that station.

However, I think I still hear it occasionally but I don't think its played everytime the train arrives at City Hall Station...that's what's so weird...They removed it...and yet...in a sense...they didn't...
Haha.....alright alright...good that you remember! ;)

I remember they used to have long messages about train transfers at City Hall and Raffles Place, but it seems like they are of not much use since they were barely audible over the screaching sounds as the train rumbled on?

Btw, when will the rail lines go to the south of Hong Kong Island? Are there any reasons why that area is still not served by rail, other then geographical factors? Low demand?

I think most of the announcements in the underground sections are barely audible. They should seriously consider a major overhaul of the trains like what they did in HK. Did they really expect that trains could last 30 or even 50 years? Sure if you were operating a railway line in India, but to maintain a world class system, you simply have to ''renovate'' your trains every 15 years or so a.k.a. when the train reaches the midpoint of its lifespan.

Yah I always wondered why the south of Hong Kong Island was not served by the MTR. It seemed as though all the lines try desperately to avoid it. What's the terrain like there?

Er...overhaul the trains just because of the announcements??

Well they are in the process of changing the trains on the older NS and EW lines right? NEL's trains have relatively audible announcements, but then again, that is probably because the trip seems relatively quieter. I dont know, but I get that impression riding in these trains almost everyday.

Btw, I find that discussion about "downtowns" and "new towns" quite intriguing...did you guys ever realise just how similarly configured the two cities are, despite the terrain?

All I know about the south of Hong Kong Island is that it is freaking hilly....but dont the Stanley folks need some quicker transport?

There are plans to build 2 new lines to the south side of Hong Kong Island. Ocean Park has been pushing for a direct transit link especially since Disneyland will have one when they open next year. Plans are under discussion but it seems like it won't be a heavy rail line.

Website : http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/extensions/sil-introduction.htm

http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/extensions/images/Option_ABC.jpg

Oh I almost forgot...

The contactless smart card technology is also being used in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This card is known as ''Touch N Go''.


Taipei Mass Transit had already been implied for using of Smart Card system as resemble as Hong Kong


Anyways this mode of payment is only on a trial basis and is NOT the main mode of payment on KL's public transportation network unlike in Taipei, Hong Kong and Singapore. They still use magnetic tickets, one type each for each of the 3 LRT/Monorail systems in KL.

Yes, In Taiwan toll fee highway are now using both of electronic money system and voucher pre-paid ticket instead of in used of magnetic one and paid exact fee for single journey is also welcome


But the LCD Screens in Hong Kong's KCR trains, buses and Singapore's MRT & LRT display only recorded commercials. The LCD Screens that have been installed on Singapore's buses however broadcast both Live & Digital News, Entertainment, Sports programmes and others. This is known in Singapore as ''TVmobile''

Recently in Taipei Metro Bus has just finished of placed 2 flat LCD monitor for each all route but only for recorded program brodcasting in the very begaining stage and not yet to know LIVE will go soon?

And also all long-route in-land transporation coach had already been installed personal LCD TV on each seat based

"The Octopus card can be widely used in over 253 different organisations covering public transport, parking, retail, self services outlets, conferences and exhibitions, recreational facilities, school campuses and access control."

Dang. Its like a card for everything. I thought its mainly for mass transportation and some vending machines.

now you can even use your octopus card to purchase fresh food items from some of the wet markets in hong kong. :)

And also all long-route in-land transporation coach had already been installed personal LCD TV on each seat based

yeah. i saw that when i was in taipei last month. they look really cool!

Er...overhaul the trains just because of the announcements??

Well they are in the process of changing the trains on the older NS and EW lines right? NEL's trains have relatively audible announcements, but then again, that is probably because the trip seems relatively quieter. I dont know, but I get that impression riding in these trains almost everyday.

Btw, I find that discussion about "downtowns" and "new towns" quite intriguing...did you guys ever realise just how similarly configured the two cities are, despite the terrain?

All I know about the south of Hong Kong Island is that it is freaking hilly....but dont the Stanley folks need some quicker transport?

Oh I wasn't implying that there was a need to overhaul the trains just because of the announcements, that would be too silly... But just overall the older trains need a facelift and they need to incorporate the newer features that the new trains have to keep in touch with time, both for the safety and comfort of the passenger...

NEL Trains are definitely quieter and the journeys on it are smoother...I noticed they turn up the volume of the announcements to make it easier for passengers to hear them too.

I don't think SMRT plans to change the trains...as with what someone else said, they are only about 15 or so years old...that would not be worth it...and if HK's MTR just retrofitted their trains even though they are quite old, it wouldn't seem practical for us to change our trains all together. I don't think even in their financial statements they intended to upgrade the trains, they just stated high maintanence costs.

Hong Kong trains were about 20 years old when they were refurbished. They also purchased some new rolling stock for the Tseung Kwan O line. The Airport Express and Tung Chung line run their own unique trains.

when octopus in hk first came out in 1997, I remember some smart kid in university can somehow add values to the card for free.
not sure if the problems is solved?


hkskyline, did you read my private message btw?

Hong Kong trains were about 20 years old when they were refurbished. They also purchased some new rolling stock for the Tseung Kwan O line. The Airport Express and Tung Chung line run their own unique trains.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid136/p153eece87967c5f651b2f70d5eec7b0f/f7601db3.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid136/p18ed91d0fcd9743e93a06c0821e05730/f7601e58.jpg

http://de.geocities.com/m_hong_kong/hk112.JPG

http://de.geocities.com/m_hong_kong/MTRC-depot1.jpg

Awesome pictures...

The ends and the sides of the train carriages plying the Tung Chung Line & the Airport Express Line are very sleek a.k.a. modern. Especially in the case of the trains on the AEL, the blue carriages adds a touch of class and modernity to the trains. Very nice touch. Despite looking much better after the retrofit, the older MTR trains still looks kind of ''scary'' in a sense... They don't give you a pleasant feeling. But who could blame it, trains then as with the ones everywhere else were designed to transport people efficiently only, who cares whether they are pleasing to the eye or not.

But the overhead pantographs really spoil the view a lot... Why didn't HK use third rail 750V to power the trains instead? Can it be because the trains in HK need to travel real fast (that's what I have heard, trains in HK travel way fast. Is that true?) so the 750V supplied through third rail isn't sufficient and thus needs the 1500V overhead power supply instead?

But the way anyone knows what's the maximum speed and average operating speeds on the Tung Chung Line, Airport Express Line and the older MTR Lines?

And how many MTR & KCR heavy rail/subway/metro stations are there in Hong Kong? A.k.a. similar to that of Singapore's MRT stations or Seoul's subway stations.

Awesome pictures...
But the way anyone knows what's the maximum speed and average operating speeds on the Tung Chung Line, Airport Express Line and the older MTR Lines?


Not really fast...

I guess the Airport Express + Tung Chung line about 80 km/h

The Airport Express travels at over 130 km/h. The Tung Chung line feels faster than the other lines because the stations are further apart - probably around 100km/h.

That's VERY fast in my opinion. What about the older MTR Lines?

Does anyone have any pictures of elevated MTR stations in HK? Havent seen any pictures of them yet though I know they exist. Do they have a unique architecture or are they just elevated concrete boxes?

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid136/p65b2ae744bcc742c7b0db212c27b13e9/f7601e11.jpg

:D :D

3rd gen 2003-?(Cantonese + Madarin + English):

Next station: Mong Kok. Interchange station for the Tsuen Wan Line towards Central. (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2004/KTL-MOK-DN-K.rm)

The woman's accent on the English version of this announcement reminds me of the woman's accent that does the announcements on the Northern and Jubilee lines of the London Underground, except with a slight Chinese accent added on to the English accent.

Well besides Hong Kong,Taipei,KL, and Singpore, Shanghai also has a similar system like the Octopus and could be used in Buses, and metros and some other transportation.

yeah HK transport is very clean and efficent, esp because of the SARS virus in 2003 everything was cleaner to prevent further spread of virus!

-also HK don't rely on cars as much because of effficent bus system , in western countries like USA, UK and australia car ownership and mileage is much higher than HK. hehe.. sydney's train system is worse than toronto's believe me.

My building in HK, there are a lot of Mercedes parked there, but hardly any leave the garage.

I didn't notice much change in transport after SARS, MTR continued its excellent service, KCRC offered OK service....Food handling definitely improved though.. especially at the markets. Parkn'shop & Wellcome improved too.

Sydney was definitely a hard city to drive around, easily with all the messy roads... but I really liked Melbourne's LRT system. I found it quite enjoyable to get around.

The Airport Express travels at over 130 km/h. The Tung Chung line feels faster than the other lines because the stations are further apart - probably around 100km/h.

I don't think it reaches 100km/h, at least not from Hong Kong station to Lai King, or even at Tsing Yi Island. However, it might speed up for the final stretch on Tsing Ma Bridge to Tung Chung. Quite efficient though..never encountered a delay at Olympic station. But the detour to Lai King to Tsuen Wan line gets kind of annoying. Minibus/KMB to Mongkok/Yau Ma Tei seems to be the faster alternative.

I was quite suprised that Olympic to Lai King costs more than Olympic to Mongkok. I know Mongkok is closer, but Lai King is only 2 stations away, & Mongkok is many stations away.

I don't think it reaches 100km/h, at least not from Hong Kong station to Lai King, or even at Tsing Yi Island. However, it might speed up for the final stretch on Tsing Ma Bridge to Tung Chung. Quite efficient though..never encountered a delay at Olympic station. But the detour to Lai King to Tsuen Wan line gets kind of annoying. Minibus/KMB to Mongkok/Yau Ma Tei seems to be the faster alternative.

I was quite suprised that Olympic to Lai King costs more than Olympic to Mongkok. I know Mongkok is closer, but Lai King is only 2 stations away, & Mongkok is many stations away.

Tung Chung Line trains sometimes do reach 135km/h between Lai King and Nam Cheong.

Tung Chung Line trains sometimes do reach 135km/h between Lai King and Nam Cheong.

Wow, never knew that, it just doesn't look this fast while inside the train.

In Toronto, nothing ever goes over 135km/h. We're lucky if the subway is going 70km/h.

anyone know the speed of KCR, west rail, and regular mtr?

MTR urban line: 80km/h
MTR Tung Chung Line + Airport Express: 130km/h
KCR East Rail: 120km/h
KCR West Rail: 130km/h

ailiton: are those average operating speeds or maximum designed train speeds?

VAN-TO: Nothing ever travels that fast in Singapore either... The newest Alstom Metropolis trainsets serving the North East Line in Singapore are designed only to travel at a maximum of 90km/h while the older trains on the other lines are only designed to travel at a maximum of 80km/h. Both types of trains travel at an average of perhaps 10km/h slower than the speeds that they are designed for...

Why do the trains travel faster on the Tung Chung/KCR Lines than on any other line? And service standards differ between the MTR and KCR?

VAN-TO: Nothing ever travels that fast in Singapore either... The newest Alstom Metropolis trainsets serving the North East Line in Singapore are designed only to travel at a maximum of 90km/h while the older trains on the other lines are only designed to travel at a maximum of 80km/h. Both types of trains travel at an average of perhaps 10km/h slower than the speeds that they are designed for...


Actually the alstom train can reach 100km/h max.....it's fixed at 90km/h max due to the distance between the stops......You can feel the max speed when the train travel from Harbourfront to Outram Park cos the distance is further......:yes:

ailiton: are those average operating speeds or maximum designed train speeds?

Why do the trains travel faster on the Tung Chung/KCR Lines than on any other line?

1. the speeds are average... and you can feel the max speed between Tai Wai and Kowloong Tong
2. between the stations, there's a long way to travel, mostly few kilometres long

http://de.geocities.com/m_hong_kong/hk111.JPG

http://de.geocities.com/m_hong_kong/hk52.jpg

http://de.geocities.com/m_hong_kong/hk85.JPG

http://de.geocities.com/m_hong_kong/hk53.jpg

http://de.geocities.com/m_hong_kong/hk86.JPG

http://de.geocities.com/m_hong_kong/hk49.jpg

http://de.geocities.com/m_hong_kong/hk109.JPG

Did they install any glass doors on the elevated MTR stations?

Did they install any glass doors on the elevated MTR stations?

Yeah, on every MTR stations were install glass doors/walls, except outdoor stations...

What do you mean by outdoor stations? So Chai Wan,Diamond Hill are installed?

What do you mean by outdoor stations? So Chai Wan,Diamond Hill are installed?

I mean stations like this one ^^
http://de.geocities.com/m_hong_kong/hk53.jpg

Did they install any glass doors on the elevated MTR stations?

Not on elevated station. Platform gates could be a possibility in the future.

Platform gates as in ''fences?''

Wouldn't the cost of installing them be high too...though its indeed cheaper than installing platform screens... MTR is willing to foot the cost? Or will it result in higher fares?

are those average operating speeds or maximum designed train speeds?

These speeds are maximum designed train speeds. The trains run at these speed at some sections. For average speeds:
MTR urban lines: ~60 km/h
MTR Tung Chung Line and Airport Express: ~100 km/h
KCR East Rail: ~90 km/h
KCR West Rail: ~100 km/h
The trains run at different speeds in different sections, so it is difficult to calculate the exact average speed.

Why do the trains travel faster on the Tung Chung/KCR Lines than on any other line?

Simply because the distances between the stations of these lines are longer.

And service standards differ between the MTR and KCR?

What do you mean about service standards?

These "add-value locations" form a VERY VERY extensive network all around HK.

In addition, some of the banks in Hong Kong offer octopus automatic add-value service. You can register your card number to the banks and after that, in case the amount of your card drop to negative, it will be automatically refilled by HK$250 and this is paid by your credit card account.

MTR urban line: 80km/h
MTR Tung Chung Line + Airport Express: 130km/h
KCR East Rail: 120km/h
KCR West Rail: 130km/h

For MTR Tung Chung Line and Airport Express, the speeds should be 135km/h.

Platform gates as in ''fences?''

Wouldn't the cost of installing them be high too...though its indeed cheaper than installing platform screens... MTR is willing to foot the cost? Or will it result in higher fares?


I think he meant glass screens

http://img37.exs.cx/img37/7267/URaT_MTR2018.jpg

Uff... :omg:
I've never seen this map before

cool!
how many "outdoor stations" (mtr) does hk have?

Oh I almost forgot...

The contactless smart card technology is also being used in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This card is known as ''Touch N Go''.

However, it is used primarily for Toll Charges on the nation's highways. Recently, they installed Touch N Go readers at 3 stations in KL's StarLine LRT system & in all stations in KL's PutraLine LRT system. The other stations in the StarLine LRT system as well as the stations in the KL Monorail network do not have the readers installed though as this is only a trial. Thus, if you enter the LRT system from a Touch N Go enabled station and if you plan to exit the system at a NON TOUCH N GO Station, you CANT!

Anyways this mode of payment is only on a trial basis and is NOT the main mode of payment on KL's public transportation network unlike in Taipei, Hong Kong and Singapore. They still use magnetic tickets, one type each for each of the 3 LRT/Monorail systems in KL.


WOW! You've got quite an extensive knowledge on the 'Touch N Go' system for a non-Malaysian! :eek:

Anyway I believe TnG is the oldest contactless smartcard system in Asia. It started back in 1993/95. Since July last year, all toll booths in Malaysia had accepted TnG. TnG are also gaining popularity for carparks.

Actually the only trial TnG had is for Starline (3 stations).

The entire Putraline had been using TnG since its inception in 1998 and so does its feeder bus service. Apart from that, a major bus company called CityLiner uses it on all its busses too (there are 3 bus companies in KL).

I saw contactless card readers at KL Monorail stations which I believe it should be TnG. I've asked a staff of the KL Monorail and he said that negotiations with TnG is currently taking place. I also believe that KTM Komuter is tinkering with the idea as well. ;)

TnG chips are embedded into the Malaysian Identification Card which everyone must carry. So in the future, TnG would be extremely popular as everyone would have one :D.

One of the reason for the slow take-off of the card system (despite it being the oldest) is that often negotiations failed between the TnG company and these services company. With the recent call for an integrated contactless smartcard system, the Malaysian govt stepped into the picture and had requested all these companies to cooperate. First to be done are the toll concessionaires. The next target should be public transportation :D

cool!
how many "outdoor stations" (mtr) does hk have?

6 altogether - kowloon bay, ngau tau kok, kwun tong, kwai hing*, kwai fong* and tsuen wan*.

i think the last 3 stations have air-conditioning.. not too sure

Also Heng Fa Chuen and Chai Wan. None of them are air-conditioned.

I think he meant glass screens

No I mean platform gates.

As in the platform gates you see at Japanese monorail stations...Sort of like railings along the platform edge...

WOW! You've got quite an extensive knowledge on the 'Touch N Go' system for a non-Malaysian! :eek:

Anyway I believe TnG is the oldest contactless smartcard system in Asia. It started back in 1993/95. Since July last year, all toll booths in Malaysia had accepted TnG. TnG are also gaining popularity for carparks.

Actually the only trial TnG had is for Starline (3 stations).

The entire Putraline had been using TnG since its inception in 1998 and so does its feeder bus service. Apart from that, a major bus company called CityLiner uses it on all its busses too (there are 3 bus companies in KL).

I saw contactless card readers at KL Monorail stations which I believe it should be TnG. I've asked a staff of the KL Monorail and he said that negotiations with TnG is currently taking place. I also believe that KTM Komuter is tinkering with the idea as well. ;)

TnG chips are embedded into the Malaysian Identification Card which everyone must carry. So in the future, TnG would be extremely popular as everyone would have one :D.

One of the reason for the slow take-off of the card system (despite it being the oldest) is that often negotiations failed between the TnG company and these services company. With the recent call for an integrated contactless smartcard system, the Malaysian govt stepped into the picture and had requested all these companies to cooperate. First to be done are the toll concessionaires. The next target should be public transportation :D

Oh I have a feeling I know all that because I went into the Malaysian forums... Perhaps its even an entry made by you...

But anyways I get most of the information from the net... Literally a RAIL Fanatic...

Oh I have a feeling I know all that because I went into the Malaysian forums... Perhaps its even an entry made by you...

But anyways I get most of the information from the net... Literally a RAIL Fanatic...
Hiak hiak...I almost tot you went there yourself to investigate! :D Sze brought me on a tour on their "LRT" (yeah right...I have always contended that the name is highly misleading! ;) ), so I had the chance to try out the sometimes convenient, and sometimes not so convenient modes of payment and transfer.

For eg, the TNG card also required quite a substaintial initial deposit, which is why he ends up lending me his card. Its not exactly tourist friendly, so they might want to look into that.

Not like the system in Singapore is excellent either. Lots of tourists cant be bothered about getting back their $1 deposit in their single-trip tickets, and the special tourist card is a little too "commercialised"? (you pay +++ just for some "package" which comes with the card, when all you might really need is to just get on that bus or train!)

What are the options available in Hong Kong for tourists?

Hiak hiak...I almost tot you went there yourself to investigate! :D Sze brought me on a tour on their "LRT" (yeah right...I have always contended that the name is highly misleading! ;) ), so I had the chance to try out the sometimes convenient, and sometimes not so convenient modes of payment and transfer.

For eg, the TNG card also required quite a substaintial initial deposit, which is why he ends up lending me his card. Its not exactly tourist friendly, so they might want to look into that.

Not like the system in Singapore is excellent either. Lots of tourists cant be bothered about getting back their $1 deposit in their single-trip tickets, and the special tourist card is a little too "commercialised"? (you pay +++ just for some "package" which comes with the card, when all you might really need is to just get on that bus or train!)

What are the options available in Hong Kong for tourists?

Oh.....I did enquire about the tourist passes but I remember it ain't that convenient so I took the 'ordinary' Octopus instead. The deposit is fully refundable upon returning and it is HKD $50. The min reload amount is HKD $100.

As for TnG.....the deposit now is RM15 (used to be RM50 and that is what I paid many years ago!). The deposit is fully refundable upon returning it at any TnG counters.

I believe EZLink losses a lot of money for those Single-trip tickets as those cards are definitely gonna cost more than SGD$1.........I think many losses or wanna keep those cards.......

Oh.....and did you guys know that ya'll can now reload your Touch ‘n Go card at Maybank ATMs in Singapore before your trip to Malaysia?

Oh I have a feeling I know all that because I went into the Malaysian forums... Perhaps its even an entry made by you...

But anyways I get most of the information from the net... Literally a RAIL Fanatic...

haha.....I had a feeling you got the info about the TnG test from a posting by Baqthier a while ago complaining bout it....apparently he din see the signage saying that TnG is on trial at 3 stations so he just jolly used it and then discovered he couldn't exit from his destination exit! :lol:

Tourists just have a thing against stored value cards. Just as tourists to Singapore don't purchase the ezlink card nor the Visitor's Card but instead purchase the Standard Ticket, a friend of mine who visited HK recently didn't purchase the tourist card there too but instead purchased the magnetic single trip one and kept one for me as a cheap but nice gift.

The main reason: Too big an initial investment of sorts... They assume that they don't commute around that much by train and bus. After all if taxi fares are cheap, why bother taking the train...

Anyways the card brings back memories of our magnetic card days...used to have nice pictures on them...Now on the standard tickets its just ''Standard Ticket'' written in large fonts on a green card. How can HK manage a multi operator and extensive system and still rely on magnetic. That was the reason that the Singapore operators decided to cancel out magnetic..

Hope that Singapore has a ezlink rewards system too...HK Has it... I think Taipei has it...

Even Mcdonalds has it...

haha.....I had a feeling you got the info about the TnG test from a posting by Baqthier a while ago complaining bout it....apparently he din see the signage saying that TnG is on trial at 3 stations so he just jolly used it and then discovered he couldn't exit from his destination exit! :lol:

I MEAN IT IS DAMN WEIRD... How can they put something on trial...and test the system's competancy when not all stations have it... At least when they tried out in Singapore all stations had at least a reader installed...

Why do they name it LRT... very irritating... I almost tot it was really a LRT initially until I realized that STAR trains are so long......................

I like the way the various modes of transport in Singapore are differentiated by type rather than company name...LRT/MRT/Bus/Taxi

Because they keep referring to the trains in HK as MTR, I almost tot that was all there was to it...Until I realized quite some time later that there is KCR...and then I realized there was KCR East Rail, West Rail, Light Rail...So confusing...

Come to think of it...HK's network is damn long............What's the total system length for all subway lines...not light rail...

I MEAN IT IS DAMN WEIRD... How can they put something on trial...and test the system's competancy when not all stations have it... At least when they tried out in Singapore all stations had at least a reader installed...

Why do they name it LRT... very irritating... I almost tot it was really a LRT initially until I realized that STAR trains are so long......................


That I have no idea why Starline had 3 stations on trial while Putraline, all our tolls, Cityliner buses, themeparks and carparks all had a full system (all entrances and exits) when they adopted TnG. ;)

Even KL Monorail had contactless card readers at all its stations at the moment but there isn't any indication of TnG (which is worrying!) :D

Tourists just have a thing against stored value cards. Just as tourists to Singapore don't purchase the ezlink card nor the Visitor's Card but instead purchase the Standard Ticket, a friend of mine who visited HK recently didn't purchase the tourist card there too but instead purchased the magnetic single trip one and kept one for me as a cheap but nice gift.

The main reason: Too big an initial investment of sorts... They assume that they don't commute around that much by train and bus. After all if taxi fares are cheap, why bother taking the train...



I as a tourist like stored valued cards. I like it (esp Bangkok's BTS) where one could keep the card as well as some brochures and a nice packaging that comes with the pack and it doesn't cost too much - 300 Baht! :okay:

Initially I wanted to keep an Octopus card but I figured it was too expensive. I did have an EZLink with me ( there's still SGD $12 in it :D ) and I find it convenient that once I reach Singapore, all I've gotta do is to use it without to worry about getting another stored value card.

I use these cards a lot as I find taxis in Singapore and HK (to an extent - Bangkok!) expensive. Yea.....KL's taxis are the cheapest. HK's taxis are freakingly expensive.......Singapore's second and lastly Bangkok's. :D

And I tend to stay near train stations ;)

I think public transport operators there should ''wake up''. I mean they build lines without physical integration (Heard that KL Monorail is not integrated with KL Sentral even though it has a station there), no fare integration (3 different cards, 3 different lines, reminds me of Manila's MRT/LRT system...) etc. They think too much of their own companies, thinking that is best... The ironic thing is that they have a nice nice map saying ''Integrated transit system of Kuala Lumpur''. Sometimes I wonder what are they doing........

Wow so basically Malaysia has all along had a ''SECRET CARD''... Only Malaysians knew about the card.........until now...........

I as a tourist like stored valued cards. I like it (esp Bangkok's BTS) where one could keep the card as well as some brochures and a nice packaging that comes with the pack and it doesn't cost too much - 300 Baht! :okay:

Initially I wanted to keep an Octopus card but I figured it was too expensive. I did have an EZLink with me ( there's still SGD $12 in it :D ) and I find it convenient that once I reach Singapore, all I've gotta do is to use it without to worry about getting another stored value card.

I use these cards a lot as I find taxis in Singapore and HK (to an extent - Bangkok!) expensive. Yea.....KL's taxis are the cheapest. HK's taxis are freakingly expensive.......Singapore's second and lastly Bangkok's. :D

And I tend to stay near train stations ;)

Its weird but I until recently started collecting train tickets....not much of a collection....but its something...
1. HK MTR Adult Single Journey Ticket (Wanted to get the Octopus but friend said it was VERY EXPENSIVE)
2. Taipei EasyCard
3. Some rubbish London Underground ticketS...Looks flimsy, doesn't look like it has any technological value in it...

Maps:
1. London Underground
2. Taipei Metro
3. Bangkok BTS
4. HK MTR

I think public transport operators there should ''wake up''. I mean they build lines without physical integration (Heard that KL Monorail is not integrated with KL Sentral even though it has a station there), no fare integration (3 different cards, 3 different lines, reminds me of Manila's MRT/LRT system...) etc. They think too much of their own companies, thinking that is best... The ironic thing is that they have a nice nice map saying ''Integrated transit system of Kuala Lumpur''. Sometimes I wonder what are they doing........

Wow so basically Malaysia has all along had a ''SECRET CARD''... Only Malaysians knew about the card.........until now...........

Yea....they just awaken from their long slumber 2 years ago when they realised that their selfishness isn't doing anything good.

Then came the govt......The first to 'kena' is the toll operators as we used to have 4 contactless systems ....so since June last year - all toll operators had to have a TnG counter and 2 months back......all other contactless systems (with the exception of SmartTag - which uses TnG card) were decommissioned.

Now it is KL's transit system I believe. As for as KL Sentral and KL Monorail is concerned....well.....you could say that its due to political and businesss rivalry. Its been solved since early last year but the physical connectivity still had to wait as there is gonna be a mall in between the current KL Sentral station with the monorail station. So once the mall is completed....there's gonna be the monorail station in it. ;) ....and the mall developement is KL Sentral's so it would be seemlessly connected to the station-proper. :)

Both Starline and Putraline (and so is the 2 major bus companies - CityLiner and Intrakota) are now under Syarikat Prasarana Berhad or commonly known as SPB (a govt-owned company) so integration woud be much easier. Initially there's bitter rivalry between Starline and Putraline so as expected - no integration of sorts :(

And the "Integrated Transit System Of Kuala Lumpur" map is an initiative of KL's City Hall of better things to come :D ....yea.... they even standardised all signage leading to the stations! :D :D :D

Heard that they planned to have KL Monorail and possibly KTM Komuter into SPB as well....I am crossing my fingers! :D

Wow so basically Malaysia has all along had a ''SECRET CARD''... Only Malaysians knew about the card.........until now...........

haha.....its not that secret actually.....cos the TnG logo is on the IC! :D ....haha....unless no one actually shown you his or her IC before :D

Anyway only IC cards issued after August 2002 had TnG (and host of other features as well as it is a 64K card).....so technically not all had em ( mine doesn't as mine are done in June 2002! :rant: )

Yea....they just awaken from their long slumber 2 years ago when they realised that their selfishness isn't doing anything good.

Then came the govt......The first to 'kena' is the toll operators as we used to have 4 contactless systems ....so since June last year - all toll operators had to have a TnG counter and 2 months back......all other contactless systems (with the exception of SmartTag - which uses TnG card) were decommissioned.

Now it is KL's transit system I believe. As for as KL Sentral and KL Monorail is concerned....well.....you could say that its due to political and businesss rivalry. Its been solved since early last year but the physical connectivity still had to wait as there is gonna be a mall in between the current KL Sentral station with the monorail station. So once the mall is completed....there's gonna be the monorail station in it. ;) ....and the mall developement is KL Sentral's so it would be seemlessly connected to the station-proper. :)

Both Starline and Putraline (and so is the 2 major bus companies - CityLiner and Intrakota) are now under Syarikat Prasarana Berhad or commonly known as SPB (a govt-owned company) so integration woud be much easier. Initially there's bitter rivalry between Starline and Putraline so as expected - no integration of sorts :(

And the "Integrated Transit System Of Kuala Lumpur" map is an initiative of KL's City Hall of better things to come :D ....yea.... they even standardised all signage leading to the stations! :D :D :D

Heard that they planned to have KL Monorail and possibly KTM Komuter into SPB as well....I am crossing my fingers! :D

Okay I have a feeling this should be discussed about in the Malaysian forums...But no general rail thread there...

How does the Touch N Go logo look like? How does the standardised signages look like? Why would there be bitter rivalry if they serve different areas...Like KCR and MTR in HK and SBS Transit & SMRT in Singapore... Not much rivalry...

Its interesting what the authorities are finally doing... Soon KL will be in the league of ''smart'' cities (HK, Taipei, Singapore).

No offence...STARLINE trains look ugly... They look like LEGO Trains...those you buy in a box to build yourself using lego blocks...

I dream of the day where you can take a shuttle train (Something similar to Sentosa Express) from Singapore to Johor, like what they do from some KCR station??? in HK to Shenzhen...Cross border train...cool... Avoid that horrible jam at the causeway...even in an air conditioned bus, it isn't all that comfortable and the jam pisses me off...

If there is one in the future, its everyday shopping in Johor for chewing gum............hehe........

I believe EZLink losses a lot of money for those Single-trip tickets as those cards are definitely gonna cost more than SGD$1.........I think many losses or wanna keep those cards.......
I am not too sure about the single-trip tickets, but it is confirmed that they are seemingly lossing money due to lots of people buying more then one stored-value cards! So much so that a few months ago, they implimented a non-refundable deposit of $5 per card....grrrr.....:rant:

Just found out also that besides Macdonalds, the card is on trail at some school canteens, public libraries, a cinema, and a food outlet?

A possibility of the card not going into wide use all over here like the Octopus card might be because there are just too many conflicting systems? So many folks already use Credit/Debit cards. Even a non-earner like me have 2. There is the Cash Card, which is much more entrenched and is already in use relatatively widely. Having yet another cash-less means of payment would entail us having to carry at least 3 cards all the time?

Two cards that I need in Singapore
- ezlink card (Public transportation)
- Debit/NETS ATM Card (Purchases)

A card that I don't need in Singapore
- CashCard (Carparking & ERP & minor purchases)

Eventually I hope to only need 2
- ezlink card (minor purchases/expenditure a.k.a. transport)
- Debit card (Major purchases)

If they integrated the functions of the cashcard into the ezlink card, you will no longer have to carry useless cards in your wallet.

Tourists just have a thing against stored value cards. Just as tourists to Singapore don't purchase the ezlink card nor the Visitor's Card but instead purchase the Standard Ticket, a friend of mine who visited HK recently didn't purchase the tourist card there too but instead purchased the magnetic single trip one and kept one for me as a cheap but nice gift.

The main reason: Too big an initial investment of sorts... They assume that they don't commute around that much by train and bus. After all if taxi fares are cheap, why bother taking the train...

Anyways the card brings back memories of our magnetic card days...used to have nice pictures on them...Now on the standard tickets its just ''Standard Ticket'' written in large fonts on a green card. How can HK manage a multi operator and extensive system and still rely on magnetic. That was the reason that the Singapore operators decided to cancel out magnetic..

Hope that Singapore has a ezlink rewards system too...HK Has it... I think Taipei has it...

Even Mcdonalds has it...
Its kinda odd. I would have expected stored value cards to offer a slight discount, thereby enticing tourists to buy them. It offers them an added convenience, so they need not worry about transport options until they are ready to depart and get their refund of the deposit.

Anyway, they isnt really anything wrong with using magnetic cards for extensive and multiple operator rail/bus systems. Singapore has been managing it for quite a long time now, and frankly, most of us are simply not happy with the change. It was a tried and tested system, and an almost flawless one.

The change to contactless is touted as a means of speeding up passenger movement through the fare gates and up buses. But the biggest thing I have against this new system is the lack of self-control in my payment options, and difficulties in tracking them. While previously, we choose the fare ourselves and the machine automatically churns out a paper receipt together with our card, making it easy to track our expenses, this new system does it all for us, and leaves us with no physical records of transactions unless one have to go to a station and either view the last few transactions or print them out (for a fee).

This complete reliance on automation leaves us in their mercy. Why was there an uproar when people complain about being under or over charged by these "machines"....when in actual fact, it was a problem of the driver not manually updating the fare stages correctly? Finally, now they are going to roll our GPS tracking to allow for automatic fare stage updates. Just hope the trails will be smooth?

Sometimes I think public companies push for this change to contactless so that we can no longer cheat in our bus fare selections. Yeah, so much for trying to squeeze every cent out of us which they think is rightfully theirs, so when they overcharge us, what rights do we have to demand our few cents back?

Come to think of it, do Hong Kong bus commuters have to tap their cards when alighting from buses?

Its kinda odd. I would have expected stored value cards to offer a slight discount, thereby enticing tourists to buy them. It offers them an added convenience, so they need not worry about transport options until they are ready to depart and get their refund of the deposit.

Anyway, they isnt really anything wrong with using magnetic cards for extensive and multiple operator rail/bus systems. Singapore has been managing it for quite a long time now, and frankly, most of us are simply not happy with the change. It was a tried and tested system, and an almost flawless one.

The change to contactless is touted as a means of speeding up passenger movement through the fare gates and up buses. But the biggest thing I have against this new system is the lack of self-control in my payment options, and difficulties in tracking them. While previously, we choose the fare ourselves and the machine automatically churns out a paper receipt together with our card, making it easy to track our expenses, this new system does it all for us, and leaves us with no physical records of transactions unless one have to go to a station and either view the last few transactions or print them out (for a fee).

This complete reliance on automation leaves us in their mercy. Why was there an uproar when people complain about being under or over charged by these "machines"....when in actual fact, it was a problem of the driver not manually updating the fare stages correctly? Finally, now they are going to roll our GPS tracking to allow for automatic fare stage updates. Just hope the trails will be smooth?

Sometimes I think public companies push for this change to contactless so that we can no longer cheat in our bus fare selections. Yeah, so much for trying to squeeze every cent out of us which they think is rightfully theirs, so when they overcharge us, what rights do we have to demand our few cents back?

Come to think of it, do Hong Kong bus commuters have to tap their cards when alighting from buses?

I have a feeling they don't need to.

As mentioned earlier in the initial entries here, they start charging from where you board the bus until the end of the line... Its basically the same as Singapore's except in Singapore you tap upon exiting to get your refund of the distance you did not travel. In HK, they do not get a refund...

Anyways what do you mean by paper recepits, the General Ticketing Machine at MRT/LRT Stations have receipts...The only ugly ticketing machines do not... You still choose the fare in the new machines by means of pressing on the the desired station logo on the touch screen.

GPS will eliminate the problem, good...

Not really that efficient that old magnetic system, takes forever to board buses as the older people have to ask drivers the fare to press when boarding, delaying boarding time...And even for the younger commuters we do not know the fare when we board a bus service we have never been on before. Though tapping upon exiting is a hassle, at least we board faster and we don't have to memorise the fare table... AND MY CARD KEEPS GETTING STUCK IN THE TICKET VALIDATOR MACHINE IN THE BUSES...I have to use my nails to grab the edge of the magnetic ticket and pull the ticket out together with the recepit. And the buses become real dirty...

Oh ya did you know the ezlink web site lets you view your past transactions online.....................excluding the current day.....but from yesterday backwards........

Oh ya did you know the ezlink web site lets you view your past transactions online.....................excluding the current day.....but from yesterday backwards........


Touch N Go too had such system called E-Statement.......my friend informed me about EZLink's online thingy last month ;)

Come to think of it...HK's network is damn long............What's the total system length for all subway lines...not light rail...
If I were to refer to info from Urbanrail:

Hong Kong:

Kwun Tong Ling: 12.5 km
Tsuen Wan Line: 16 km
Island Line: 14.7 km
Tung Chung Line: 30.8 km
Tseung Kwan O Line: 12.5 km
Total: 87.7 km (including Airport line), 50 stations.

Not sure if it was completely accurate or updated thou...it says the info was for 2002.

If you go by those stats Singapore's MRT system is longer at 51 Stations...But don't forget they have the KCR and it is not included in the stats............................ and even it it was since its 2002 it doesn't include the new KCR Station Nam Cheong...

Saw this comment made by EricIsHim in another thread.......he said somethign like the HK system map looks funny...I agree...a big hole in the middle of HK island etc....For a person like me who doesn't know the geography it is funny, like almost as if that area is jinxed...

I have a feeling they don't need to.

As mentioned earlier in the initial entries here, they start charging from where you board the bus until the end of the line... Its basically the same as Singapore's except in Singapore you tap upon exiting to get your refund of the distance you did not travel. In HK, they do not get a refund...






Yup.....in HK its different bus different fare.......they do not charge like in Singapore and KL where the fares are based on distances. I personally had no problem touching out upon exit ......although it is slightly less hassle not to touch at all :D :D :D

Seriously.....I like to use contactless cards for buses as it is convenient and more hygenic. It is also faster. As a tourist I struggled digging out coins for the buses on the first day and it is so much better with Octopus! :okay: .......likewise in KL and in Singapore! ;)

I like the names for HK's MTR and KCR stations, very funky....Cantonese is a funky dialect........eg ''Kowloon, Tsim Cha Tsui is my favourite, Tung Chung, Central is very nice too''. I don't like ''Lai King though''. No offence to these names, just a general impression.... Sounds like a mix of chinese and english...

The new names on Punggol LRT in Singapore are horrible....and we thought the names on Bukit Panjang LRT & Sengkang LRT are horrible enough....

Anyways what do you mean by paper recepits, the General Ticketing Machine at MRT/LRT Stations have receipts...The only ugly ticketing machines do not... You still choose the fare in the new machines by means of pressing on the the desired station logo on the touch screen.

GPS will eliminate the problem, good...

Not really that efficient that old magnetic system, takes forever to board buses as the older people have to ask drivers the fare to press when boarding, delaying boarding time...And even for the younger commuters we do not know the fare when we board a bus service we have never been on before. Though tapping upon exiting is a hassle, at least we board faster and we don't have to memorise the fare table... AND MY CARD KEEPS GETTING STUCK IN THE TICKET VALIDATOR MACHINE IN THE BUSES...I have to use my nails to grab the edge of the magnetic ticket and pull the ticket out together with the recepit. And the buses become real dirty...
I am refering to stored value tickets. Magnetic cards gives u a paper receipt for each bus trip you take. Do ezlink cards give you that option?

And I am not so sure about you experiencing long delays when boarding buses due to the magnetic card. I have not seen a very huge difference comparing the recent travel and waiting times compared to what I have seen for over a decade via the magnetic card. If anything, it only delays the alighting time a little.

If you dont know the fare, press the cheapest fare! :D

And in all my years of using the magnetic card, I experience far less instances of stuck cards then havin error messages using the ezlink card in such a relatively brief period!

I like the names for HK's MTR and KCR stations, very funky....Cantonese is a funky dialect........eg ''Kowloon, Tsim Cha Tsui is my favourite, Tung Chung, Central is very nice too''. I don't like ''Lai King though''. No offence to these names, just a general impression.... Sounds like a mix of chinese and english...

The new names on Punggol LRT in Singapore are horrible....and we thought the names on Bukit Panjang LRT & Sengkang LRT are horrible enough....

I'm quite puzzled....whats so horrible about the LRT station's name??

I dun have a problem with the magnetic card......seems quite smooth for me also........:yes:

If you go by those stats Singapore's MRT system is longer at 51 Stations...But don't forget they have the KCR and it is not included in the stats............................ and even it it was since its 2002 it doesn't include the new KCR Station Nam Cheong...

Saw this comment made by EricIsHim in another thread.......he said somethign like the HK system map looks funny...I agree...a big hole in the middle of HK island etc....For a person like me who doesn't know the geography it is funny, like almost as if that area is jinxed...
You dont judge distances by counting stations. The 30.8km Tung Chung Line has just 7 stations, for example....not to mention the Airport line.

If you really want to compare:

Singapore:

Noth-South Line: 44 km
East-West Line: 45.4 km
Northeast Line: 20 km
Total: 109.4 km, 65 stations.

I have not included the LRT systems in the figures yet.

Finally, whats so wierd about that big hole in the middle? Isnt the hole in Singapore much more obvious and seemingly odd, except that Singaporeans obviously know why it is configured that way? ;) Just go pick up a topographical and landuse map of Hong Kong and the same reasons will suffice!

I am refering to stored value tickets. Magnetic cards gives u a paper receipt for each bus trip you take. Do ezlink cards give you that option?

And I am not so sure about you experiencing long delays when boarding buses due to the magnetic card. I have not seen a very huge difference comparing the recent travel and waiting times compared to what I have seen for over a decade via the magnetic card. If anything, it only delays the alighting time a little.

If you dont know the fare, press the cheapest fare! :D

And in all my years of using the magnetic card, I experience far less instances of stuck cards then havin error messages using the ezlink card in such a relatively brief period!

I encountered perhaps 1 or 2 errors including times when the reader doesn't detect my card. But for the magnetic card, when it comes back out of the machine, on numeorous occasions it gives me a 0.5 cm area of the card to grab hole of and pull it out...And I don't bother about the receipt then as I know how much I spend (Its student fare).

Boarding is quicker IMO. You tap and you are in the bus....I remember in the past people kept asking for the fare..........very slow...especially when its raining and you need to hop in the bus quickly... Alighting it doesn't really delay if its only you and a few others cause on your way out you just tap. But if its a huge group of people, you will be delayed slightly...But definitely less than the delay experienced when boarding using magnetic tickets...

Yah I felt very guilty when I saw my mom pressing the correct fare...Like wasting money since you could have always pressed the cheapest one...but then again conductors kept checking tickets every now and then...

You dont judge distances by counting stations. The 30.8km Tung Chung Line has just 7 stations, for example....not to mention the Airport line.



yea....some of their lines have stations very far apart just like KL's ERL (KLIA Transit). And the trains travels at higher speed at these lines too ;)

I'm quite puzzled....whats so horrible about the LRT station's name??

I dun have a problem with the magnetic card......seems quite smooth for me also........:yes:

Okay I was mostly referring to the station names of:
PW7 - Soo Teck
PW1 - Sam Kee

It just sounds weird cause it seems to be the name of someone rather than location, and Singapore's MRT/LRT stations are usually named after locations... but anyways thats just a personal opinion, needs some getting used to.

You dont judge distances by counting stations. The 30.8km Tung Chung Line has just 7 stations, for example....not to mention the Airport line.

If you really want to compare:

Singapore:

Noth-South Line: 44 km
East-West Line: 45.4 km
Northeast Line: 20 km
Total: 109.4 km, 65 stations.

I have not included the LRT systems in the figures yet.

Finally, whats so wierd about that big hole in the middle? Isnt the hole in Singapore much more obvious and seemingly odd, except that Singaporeans obviously know why it is configured that way? ;) Just go pick up a topographical and landuse map of Hong Kong and the same reasons will suffice!

Counting by stations is easier IMO, more of a rough guide to know how accessible the network is, but I did not mean that is the actual way of measuring how extensive a network is....

With inclusion of the KCR East & West lines, HK's is more extensive...

Yah, that's why for a person who does not know anything about the topography its indeed a weird shape...but once you know it obviously it makes sense...

Okay I was mostly referring to the station names of:
PW7 - Soo Teck
PW1 - Sam Kee

It just sounds weird cause it seems to be the name of someone rather than location, and Singapore's MRT/LRT stations are usually named after locations... but anyways thats just a personal opinion, needs some getting used to.

Haha....I suppose you find Yishun weird also cause thats someone's name too??? :lol: :jk:

If you go by those stats Singapore's MRT system is longer at 51 Stations...But don't forget they have the KCR and it is not included in the stats............................ and even it it was since its 2002 it doesn't include the new KCR Station Nam Cheong...

Saw this comment made by EricIsHim in another thread.......he said somethign like the HK system map looks funny...I agree...a big hole in the middle of HK island etc....For a person like me who doesn't know the geography it is funny, like almost as if that area is jinxed...


Theres a hole because Hong Kong is very mountainous. That area are all mountains. Just look at the skyline photographs of HK and you will know.

I like the names for HK's MTR and KCR stations, very funky....Cantonese is a funky dialect........eg ''Kowloon, Tsim Cha Tsui is my favourite, Tung Chung, Central is very nice too''. I don't like ''Lai King though''. No offence to these names, just a general impression.... Sounds like a mix of chinese and english...

The new names on Punggol LRT in Singapore are horrible....and we thought the names on Bukit Panjang LRT & Sengkang LRT are horrible enough....


I like the HK MTR's following station names:

Admiralty
Central
Tai Koo
Prince Edward
Diamond Hill
Fortress Hill
Sheung Wan
Wan Chai
Causeway Bay
Chai Wan
Olympic
Jordan
Tsing Yi
Tsuen Wan
Quarry Bay
Kowloon Bay

Haha....I suppose you find Yishun weird also cause thats someone's name too??? :lol: :jk:

Actually the name of the person is Nee Soon. But anyways like I said you just need to get used to the name....and it also depends on how the automated announcements sound like when they prounounce the station...since i don't know how its like now the pronounciation in my head sounds bad....

And in all my years of using the magnetic card, I experience far less instances of stuck cards then havin error messages using the ezlink card in such a relatively brief period!


yup.....magnetic cards rarely have errors but when it does....its kinda troublesome. For contactless cards....its simple - just tap it again! :D

I had the privilege to have seated next to the entrance of the bus on a long journey by bus at HK where almost everyone uses Octopus. I noticed that even on Octupus.....it frequently have errors (mine didn't luckily). But these people are so used to it that they just retapped it almost subconciously! :D

One very good senario that Ignoramous had pointed out - rain! :D I wouldn't wanna get wet while boarding the bus (esp our tropical torrential rain which could get thru the narrowest gaps)

Out of your list I likeAdmiralty
Central ##################################
Tai Koo
Prince Edward #
Diamond Hill #
Fortress Hill #
Sheung Wan
Wan Chai #
Causeway Bay #
Chai Wan #
Olympic #
Jordan #
Tsing Yi #
Tsuen Wan #
Quarry Bay #
Kowloon Bay #

actually i like them all....tai koo is nice but because it reminds me of something else it spoils the name...but it sounds unique.....

Actually the name of the person is Nee Soon. But anyways like I said you just need to get used to the name....and it also depends on how the automated announcements sound like when they prounounce the station...since i don't know how its like now the pronounciation in my head sounds bad....

Emm.....Yishun is the chinese pronouciation while Nee Soon is in dialect.....so both should be correct....:yes:

Theres a hole because Hong Kong is very mountainous. That area are all mountains. Just look at the skyline photographs of HK and you will know.

I always thought the mountains/Central were on the mainland.....that's why I thought why would there be a hold on the Island... misconception...

I am refering to stored value tickets. Magnetic cards gives u a paper receipt for each bus trip you take. Do ezlink cards give you that option?



I dunno about EZLink but Touch N Go's E-Statement allows you to print your past transactions ( useful for those who wants to do claims :D ).

yup.....magnetic cards rarely have errors but when it does....its kinda troublesome. For contactless cards....its simple - just tap it again! :D

I had the privilege to have seated next to the entrance of the bus on a long journey by bus at HK where almost everyone uses Octopus. I noticed that even on Octupus.....it frequently have errors (mine didn't luckily). But these people are so used to it that they just retapped it almost subconciously! :D

One very good senario that Ignoramous had pointed out - rain! :D I wouldn't wanna get wet while boarding the bus (esp our tropical torrential rain which could get thru the narrowest gaps)

Magnetic cards don't have errors when you use it. The only error comes when the machine itself with moving parts break down...

Yah that rain thing is true....
this is totally non ezlink related but its like when you want to board a bus in thh rain and the person in front of you stands at the entrance to the bus closing the umbrella and you are stuck in the rain because you can't move back as people are rushing to get on the bus...and you can't move in front either...

Out of your list I likeAdmiralty
Central ##################################
Tai Koo
Prince Edward #
Diamond Hill #
Fortress Hill #
Sheung Wan
Wan Chai #
Causeway Bay #
Chai Wan #
Olympic #
Jordan #
Tsing Yi #
Tsuen Wan #
Quarry Bay #
Kowloon Bay #

actually i like them all....tai koo is nice but because it reminds me of something else it spoils the name...but it sounds unique.....


I dunno but as a native Cantonese speaker.....all station names sounds much nicer to me....yea.....most can be pretty crappy in English :D

I find a lot of MRT and LRT station names - esp those translated ones weird. Even Ang Mo Kio sounds weird. :dunno:

Counting by stations is easier IMO, more of a rough guide to know how accessible the network is, but I did not mean that is the actual way of measuring how extensive a network is....

With inclusion of the KCR East & West lines, HK's is more extensive...

Yah, that's why for a person who does not know anything about the topography its indeed a weird shape...but once you know it obviously it makes sense...
Easier perhaps, but certainly relatively ambigious. I wont use the number of stations as a measure of extensiveness in rail tansportation. Rather, I prefer to take into account the catchment sizes per station, including by population sizes as well as surface area. It is much more complicated then counting stations alone.

Even if we do really want to count stations alone (interchange stations counted as one)...

Hong Kong
MTR: 51 Stations (plus airport)
KCR: 21 stations
Total: 72 Stations

Singapore
MRT: 65 Stations
LRT: 18 Stations
Total: 83 Stations

For Singapore's figures, I am excluding 2 MRT and 22 LRT stations which have been completed and are scheduled for opening pending development in surrounding areas.

I dunno but as a native Cantonese speaker.....all station names sounds much nicer to me....yea.....most can be pretty crappy in English :D

I find a lot of MRT and LRT station names - esp those translated ones weird. Even Ang Mo Kio sounds weird. :dunno:

CANTONESE SOUNDS GREAT IN WHATEVER WAY..I like it, too bad I don't speak it...

I really like the cantonese announcements on MTR....I am starting to like the english ones too...

I dont like the chinese ones. reminds me of the voice of the audio tape that is played during my chinese language listening comprehension paper.

I dunno about EZLink but Touch N Go's E-Statement allows you to print your past transactions ( useful for those who wants to do claims :D ).
Yeah...I mentioned we can..but we have to pay for the printing. What the fish! Since when are consumers made to pay for proof of transactions! :bash: :D

Easier perhaps, but certainly relatively ambigious. I wont use the number of stations as a measure of extensiveness in rail tansportation. Rather, I prefer to take into account the catchment sizes per station, including by population sizes as well as surface area. It is much more complicated then counting stations alone.

Even if we do really want to count stations alone (interchange stations counted as one)...

Hong Kong
MTR: 51 Stations (plus airport)
KCR: 21 stations
Total: 72 Stations

Singapore
MRT: 65 Stations
LRT: 18 Stations
Total: 83 Stations

For Singapore's figures, I am excluding 2 MRT and 22 LRT stations which have been completed and are scheduled for opening pending development in surrounding areas.

Yah, no of stations are just a rough guide....I don't expect to depend on it otherwise...

KCR also has light rail. I have an impression that there are perhaps more than 30 stations in HK. could be wrong...

Actually the name of the person is Nee Soon. But anyways like I said you just need to get used to the name....and it also depends on how the automated announcements sound like when they prounounce the station...since i don't know how its like now the pronounciation in my head sounds bad....
Nee Soon is his Hokkien name. Yishun is the Mandarin one. What is the difference? It is still the name of a person!

And this isnt the only case too. Aljunied and Eunos are also the names of families, for instance....and how about Raffles Place? :D

Yeah...I mentioned we can..but we have to pay for the printing. What the fish! Since when are consumers made to pay for proof of transactions! :bash: :D

Use the printer to print the info online at the ezlink site.......Though its brief, it at least allows you to know how much you spent...

I dunno but as a native Cantonese speaker.....all station names sounds much nicer to me....yea.....most can be pretty crappy in English :D

I find a lot of MRT and LRT station names - esp those translated ones weird. Even Ang Mo Kio sounds weird. :dunno:
Hmm...what exactly you mean by "translated" station names?

Anyway, given Singapore's multi-ethnic configuration, and the fact that there are stil more Hokkien then Cantonese speakers here, it is no surprise that most Chinese place names are also in Hokkien or Mandarin in a few cases. Maybe Hokkian names just sound wierder? :D

Examples of Mandarin names:
Bishan
Hougang
Yishun

Examples of Hokkien names:
Ang Mo Kio
Boon Lay
Seng Kang
Toa Payoh

Examples of Malay names:
Bukit Merah
Eunos
Pasir Ris
Potong Pasir

Examples of English names:
Admiralty
Commonwealth
Queenstown
Woodlands

Hmm....not sure if there are any Indian names....is Sembawang qualified?

Hmm...what exactly you mean by "translated" station names?

Anyway, given Singapore's multi-ethnic configuration, and the fact that there are stil more Hokkien then Cantonese speakers here, it is no surprise that most Chinese place names are also in Hokkien or Mandarin in a few cases. Maybe Hokkian names just sound wierder? :D

Examples of Mandarin names:
Bishan
Hougang
Yishun

Examples of Hokkien names:
Ang Mo Kio
Boon Lay
Seng Kang
Toa Payoh

Examples of Malay names:
Bukit Merah
Eunos
Pasir Ris
Potong Pasir

Examples of English names:
Admiralty
Commonwealth
Queenstown
Woodlands

Hmm....not sure if there are any Indian names....is Sembawang qualified?

The only indian name I know in the MRT/LRT system is Thanggam. Or perhaps thats the name of a tree. I don't know...

We should shift this discussion to the Singapore MRT/LRT Thread in case we annoy people who wish to talk about the HK MTR.

Use the printer to print the info online at the ezlink site.......Though its brief, it at least allows you to know how much you spent...
Well...actually I didnt even know that there is an online option to check my transactions now. At least I learn something new from you today. Thanks! :D

CANTONESE SOUNDS GREAT IN WHATEVER WAY..I like it, too bad I don't speak it...

I really like the cantonese announcements on MTR....I am starting to like the english ones too...

I dont like the chinese ones. reminds me of the voice of the audio tape that is played during my chinese language listening comprehension paper.


Actually Mandarin is not bad, it sounds more smooth than Cantonese. Did you know that besides English and Cantonese MTR also announces in Mandarin?

Actually Mandarin is not bad, it sounds more smooth than Cantonese. Did you know that besides English and Cantonese MTR also announces in Mandarin?
Think I saw that being discussed early on in this thread? Heard the audio clip too. :D

Actually Mandarin is not bad, it sounds more smooth than Cantonese. Did you know that besides English and Cantonese MTR also announces in Mandarin?

I don't like Mandarin... it's sounds so weird -.-

I don't like Mandarin... it's sounds so weird -.-


Its sounds classy :lol:

I always thought only cantonese sounds classy out of all the chinese dialects...

Its sounds classy :lol:
Agreed...provided you dont speak it with that "slurry" tone so common amongst some speakers! :D

I liked the Mandarin pronounciation in the MTR trains....the way Mandarin should sound like? ;) Ironically, I find the Taiwanese have the most pleasant sounding accent for Mandarin!

Agree...T

I always thought only cantonese sounds classy out of all the chinese dialects...
I am probably anti non-Mandarin dialects, so maybe that is why I find all of them not up to mark compared to Mandarin, including my own native Hokkien? ;)

Its all about individual tastes, obviously.

Agree...The Shanghaiese (how do you spell it) too...

Beijing people have a very different accent...totally different from that used in Singapore, Taiwan etc so its hard to understand it if you are from these places....

I always thought only cantonese sounds classy out of all the chinese dialects...


Well I've asked my white friends here in the States about which sounds better Cantonese, or Mandarin. They told me that Cantonese sounds like someone is arguing and its quite harsh and that Cantonese speakers always prolong the last sounds like Aiyaaaaa or Aiyooooo, Neee, laaaaaa, or loooohhh. They said Mandarin sounds very comfortable and pleasing to the ears and sounds polite.

Agree...The Shanghaiese (how do you spell it) too...

Beijing people have a very different accent...totally different from that used in Singapore, Taiwan etc so its hard to understand it if you are from these places....


On the contrary I like Shanghainese. Its sounds great, I don't understand any of it but to me it sounds awesome very cheery and joyful dialect.

They said Mandarin sounds very comfortable and pleasing to the ears and sounds polite.

:laugh:
are they from HK or from Mainland?

:laugh:
are they from HK or from Mainland?


They are white, so they are Americans :hahaha:

Just curious, why is an American like yourself visiting the Asian forums so often...

So you're from LA? Where's Guam anyways...

LA's a FUNKY FUNKY PLACE...

Just curious, why is an American like yourself visiting the Asian forums so often...

My parents are from Hong Kong, and I was born in Guam and currently living in Los Angeles. Guam is a territory of the USA its located near the Northern Mariana Islands its in the Pacific. Guam is 2.5 hrs away from Philipines and two hrs south of Taiwan and 4hrs from Hong Kong and Japan. Between the Island of Guam and Saipan theres an island called Tinian and that is where the US loads its atomic bomb from to bomb Nagasaki and Hiroshima. :)

Well I've asked my white friends here in the States about which sounds better Cantonese, or Mandarin. They told me that Cantonese sounds like someone is arguing and its quite harsh and that Cantonese speakers always prolong the last sounds like Aiyaaaaa or Aiyooooo, Neee, laaaaaa, or loooohhh. They said Mandarin sounds very comfortable and pleasing to the ears and sounds polite.


hmmm......yea...Cantonese can sound harsh but wait till you hear Hokkien or Hainanese! :D

Anyway the last sound thingy which are prolonged are the trademark of Hong Kongers. Yea......I could safely said that as I've known non-Cantonese speakers and they too noticed that. I am a Malaysian Cantonese and I noticed that mainland Cantonese too do not prolonged the last sound like HKers does ;)

Mandarin sounds polite to English speakers as Mandarin have similar tones to English and has only 4 - same as English while Cantonese had 9! :D

Kwun Tong Line (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2003/KTL.htm)

Tsuen Wan Line (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2003/TWL.htm)

Island Line (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2003/ISL.htm)

Tung Chung Line (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2004/TCL.htm)

Tseung Kwan O Line (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/MTR2003/TKE.htm)

Airport Express (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/index16.php)


hey do you have announces from KCR trains too?

KCR West Rail (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/WR/WR01.htm)

KCR East Rail (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/index07.php)

KCR Light Rail (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/index17.php)

MTR Airport Express (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/index16.php)

MTR Platform Announcements (http://www.ushb.net/broadcast/index02.php)

Airport Exhibition Centre Station
Project Description
An international exhibition centre called AsiaWorld-Expo will be built near the Hong Kong International Airport to host large-scale trade fairs and exhibitions. To better serve the needs of the exhibitors and visitors, the Airport Express Line (AEL) will be extended to AsiaWorld-Expo by the time of its opening in 2005. A new station integrated with AsiaWorld-Expo will be located at the end of the extended AEL. The extension will provide convenient access to the exhibition centre for visitors from the central business district and the stations of MTR network.

http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/extensions/images/AEC.jpg

West Island Line & South Island Line
Introduction
The Hong Kong Government invited the Corporation in early 2003 to undertake further studies on the South Island Line and West Island Line Phase 1 to :

a. examine modifications to its preliminary proposal on South Island Line with a view to arriving at a more cost-effective option, in particular options in railway technology;

b. proceed with further planning on the West Island Line from Sheung Wan to Belcher including a possible link with the South Island Line.

The Corporation agrees with Government that there are substantial benefits in linking the two lines and submitted a project proposal for the West Island Line and South Island Line to the Government at the end of March 2004.

http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/extensions/images/Option_ABC.jpg

huawei: there are 50+ Light rail station in hk and 50+ tram station ...
there are currently around 70 MTR+KCR heavy rail station
and there will be 80+ heavy rail station by the end of this year ...

Airport Exhibition Centre Station
Project Description
An international exhibition centre called AsiaWorld-Expo will be built near the Hong Kong International Airport to host large-scale trade fairs and exhibitions. To better serve the needs of the exhibitors and visitors, the Airport Express Line (AEL) will be extended to AsiaWorld-Expo by the time of its opening in 2005. A new station integrated with AsiaWorld-Expo will be located at the end of the extended AEL. The extension will provide convenient access to the exhibition centre for visitors from the central business district and the stations of MTR network.

http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/extensions/images/AEC.jpg

I read a news article a few weeks ago about the fare between AsiaWorld-Expo and Hong Kong Station, Central will be cheaper than between Airport and HK Station (It's way cheaper). I forgot the exact amount, something less than $30 (one-way between Central and Airport is $100). The question is how MTR is gonna distingush people going to Airport or AisaWorld-Expo. The fare is at least HK$70 differnet per person.

BTW, the travel time is 25 minutes from Hong Kong Station to AsiaWrold-Expo, 2 minutes from Airport Statoin.

If you can't see the photos, visit :
http://www.busforum.net/~hkbf/viewtopic.php?t=230004

Inside a subway train :

http://busforum.net/~hkbf/album_pic.php?pic_id=73846

http://busforum.net/~hkbf/album_pic.php?pic_id=73847

http://busforum.net/~hkbf/album_pic.php?pic_id=73848

http://busforum.net/~hkbf/album_pic.php?pic_id=73849

http://busforum.net/~hkbf/album_pic.php?pic_id=73850

http://busforum.net/~hkbf/album_pic.php?pic_id=73851

http://busforum.net/~hkbf/album_pic.php?pic_id=73853

http://busforum.net/~hkbf/album_pic.php?pic_id=73854

http://busforum.net/~hkbf/album_pic.php?pic_id=73855

http://busforum.net/~hkbf/album_pic.php?pic_id=73856

I read a news article a few weeks ago about the fare between AsiaWorld-Expo and Hong Kong Station, Central will be cheaper than between Airport and HK Station (It's way cheaper). I forgot the exact amount, something less than $30 (one-way between Central and Airport is $100). The question is how MTR is gonna distingush people going to Airport or AisaWorld-Expo. The fare is at least HK$70 differnet per person.

BTW, the travel time is 25 minutes from Hong Kong Station to AsiaWrold-Expo, 2 minutes from Airport Statoin.
as MTR will use Tung Chung line trains to run between HK station and AsiaWrold-Expo, so this could distingush :)

Agreed...provided you dont speak it with that "slurry" tone so common amongst some speakers! :D

I liked the Mandarin pronounciation in the MTR trains....the way Mandarin should sound like? ;) Ironically, I find the Taiwanese have the most pleasant sounding accent for Mandarin!

hahah i find malaysian, singaporean and especially taiwanese manderin really easy on the ear to listen to. maybe coz most of my my maderin i learned from my malaysian friends. I met some mainland chinses... whom i tried to speak my... embarassing manderin to.. i was lagging so much when they spoke, their manderin had so much "r" sound ....
yeh and i learned alot of my manderin from jay chou, david tai and wong lee hom, apparently my chinese friend said jay chou's manderin is not good for me to learn.

funny thing... any of u guys heard Jay's new album? his 1st track named "my territory" he deliberatly improvise the mainland manderin sound "r"

btw... a forumer said he saw the MTR lady, and said she was pretty... do any of u guys have a picture?? hahahahah

i love that british english on MTR trains! especially the "please mind the gap"

i love that british english on MTR trains! especially the "please mind the gap"

I like the "Please mind the platform gap when alighting" much more on KCR-East rail and the Mandarin version "乘客落車時，請小心月台與車廂之間的空隙" (translated: Please mind the platform gap when alighting) sounds really funny, no idea why :D

i love that british english on MTR trains! especially the "please mind the gap"

lol I've the same feel, but I really hate the Mandarin version in both MTR and KCR, her voice is just disturbing. :tongue:
btw, anyone know since when mtr make mandarin announcement second?

Kowloon MTR Station around mid-night

http://www.pbase.com/sherman_s/image/33840805/original.jpg

lol I've the same feel, but I really hate the Mandarin version in both MTR and KCR, her voice is just disturbing. :tongue:
btw, anyone know since when mtr make mandarin announcement second?
I have to agree too. I think they started the Mandarin last September. I think the Mandarin is said by another lady. I wish they would put Mandarin 3rd, English 2nd

地 鐵 ， 從 1979 年 10 月 1 日 正 式 通 車 至 今 ， 九 千 多 天 連 續 接 載 乘 客 ， 風 雨 不 改 。 2004 年 的 今 年 ， 地 鐵 已 度 過 了 第 25 個 年 頭 ， 並 會 陸 續 舉 辦 不 同 的 慶 祝 活 動 ， 包 括 今 周 日 推 出 25 周 年 紀 念 票 套 裝 。 地 鐵 給 你 的 印 象 ， 是 電 影 《 緣 份 》 中 哥 哥 與 曼 玉 在 地 鐵 車 廂 內 你 追 我 逐 的 浪 漫 情 景 ， 抑 或 是 Danny 仔 的 《 幾 分 鐘 的 約 會 》 中 「 地 下 鐵 碰 她 」 ？ 每 個 人 的 記 憶 都 不 同 ， 今 日 就 讓 大 家 一 起 追 尋 吧 ！
記 者 ： 何 善 華
攝 影 ： 周 旭 文 　
部 份 相 片 提 供 ： 地 鐵 有 限 公 司


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo1p.jpg
■ 以 紀 念 車 票 砌 出 「 25 」 ， 代 表 「 7910 」 四 人 與 地 鐵 同 步 成 長 至 25 歲 。


四 位 於 1979 年 出 生 的 青 年 人 ， 不 約 而 同 均 是 於 地 鐵 首 次 通 車 的 10 月 份 「 來 到 人 間 」 ， 不 經 不 覺 已 經 跟 隨 地 鐵 同 步 成 長 至 25 歲 ， 當 中 的 關 係 可 謂 千 絲 萬 縷 。
記 得 地 鐵 公 司 1989 年 10 月 舉 辦 「 十 分 興 奮 十 周 年 」 紀 念 活 動 ， 當 時 凡 於 1979 年 10 月 份 出 生 的 小 朋 友 ， 都 可 到 各 地 鐵 站 張 登 記 表 格 填 妥 ， 不 久 就 有 專 函 寄 來 通 知 小 朋 友 親 身 到 位 於 九 龍 灣 的 地 鐵 大 樓 「 拎 獎 品 」 。 猶 記 得 獎 品 豐 富 之 餘 兼 且 唔 係 人 人 有 份 ， 可 以 話 係 有 錢 都 買 唔 到 ， 如 10 周 年 紀 念 書 包 、 10 周 年 生 日 卡 同 埋 紀 念 車 票 乙 張 。 這 四 人 實 在 受 惠 不 少 ， 更 自 稱 為 「 7910 」 地 鐵 聯 盟 。


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo2p.jpg
■ 手 執 1989 年 獨 家 的 10 周 年 生 日 卡 ， 「 7910 」 地 鐵 聯 盟 正 式 成 立 。 （ 左 起 ） Philip 、 Wah 、 Valerie 、 Oliver


心 目 中 的 紀 念 車 票
Philip 　 7 ． 1 回 歸 票 好 珍 藏
Philip 話 地 鐵 10 周 年 時 錯 過 了 換 取 精 品 的 機 會 ， 非 常 失 望 。 但 對 於 地 鐵 的 感 覺 依 舊 充 滿 希 冀 ， 好 似 即 將 竣 工 的 迪 士 尼 公 園 ， 有 傳 聞 明 年 會 有 一 個 新 設 地 鐵 站 連 接 竹 篙 灣 ， 到 時 便 可 以 和 家 人 一 同 乘 搭 地 鐵 穿 梭 往 返 。 「 重 記 得 1997 年 7 月 1 日 香 港 回 歸 當 日 ， 地 鐵 特 別 推 出 了 回 歸 紀 念 車 票 ， 我 覺 得 呢 張 車 票 背 後 意 義 非 常 大 ， 可 謂 見 證 了 另 一 段 香 港 的 歷 史 ， 好 珍 而 重 之 咁 收 藏 ， 將 來 再 拿 出 來 從 頭 細 味 。 」


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo3p.jpg
■ Philip 認 為 單 看 地 鐵 過 去 推 出 的 紀 念 車 票 ， 正 是 香 港 歷 史 演 變 的 縮 影 。


Valerie 　 專 挑 卡 通 人 物 車 票
「 我 一 向 都 無 特 別 儲 地 鐵 推 出 紀 念 車 票 或 精 品 ， 而 我 第 一 次 肯 排 長 龍 買 車 票 ， 就 係 多 啦 A 夢 的 紀 念 車 票 ， 重 有 一 個 好 得 意 多 啦 A 夢 手 電 筒 ， 家 都 唔 捨 得 拆 出 來 。 」 Valerie 表 示 自 此 之 後 除 了 心 儀 的 卡 通 人 物 推 出 紀 念 車 票 外 ， 往 後 的 日 子 亦 很 難 發 現 她 會 捱 眼 排 隊 買 票 ， 不 過 近 期 的 和 路 迪 士 尼 系 列 、 日 本 動 畫 大 師 宮 崎 駿 電 影 系 列 和 Hello Kitty 的 紀 念 車 票 套 裝 ， Valerie 亦 甘 心 花 個 多 小 時 去 輪 購 。


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo4p.jpg
■ Valerie 坦 言 地 鐵 推 出 的 卡 通 人 物 紀 念 車 票 才 會 吸 引 她 搶 購 。


Oliver 模 擬 車 長 搞 搞 震
1998 年 地 鐵 新 設 的 東 涌 線 及 機 場 快 線 正 式 投 入 服 務 ， 此 舉 無 疑 實 現 了 Oliver 的 童 年 夢 想 。 「 我 細 細 個 搭 地 鐵 就 好 鍾 意 車 長 的 一 舉 一 動 ， 每 當 到 達 車 站 時 總 會 伸 個 頭 出 去 睇 車 長 做 緊 乜 ， 重 記 得 有 次 俾 車 長 鬧 ， 叫 我 快 縮 番 個 頭 入 車 廂 內 。 」 Oliver 話 車 長 給 他 的 感 覺 好 威 勇 又 嚴 肅 ， 曾 經 憧 憬 自 己 有 朝 一 日 會 當 上 車 長 載 乘 客 「 周 圍 走 」 。 而 98 年 推 出 的 東 涌 線 及 機 場 快 線 紀 念 車 票 套 裝 包 括 兩 輛 地 鐵 小 型 模 型 列 車 ， 可 讓 Oliver 一 嘗 當 「 手 動 車 長 」 的 滋 味 。


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo5p.jpg
■ Oliver 對 心 愛 的 地 鐵 模 型 列 車 愛 不 釋 手 ， 希 望 將 來 可 以 當 上 真 正 的 列 車 車 長 。


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo6p.jpg
■ 隨 手 就 可 以 控 制 列 車 自 如 ， 在 天 橋 路 軌 上 「 橫 行 」 。


每 隔 5 年 大 搞 周 年 紀 念
地 鐵 公 司 差 不 多 隔 5 年 便 會 大 搞 一 次 周 年 紀 念 ， 每 次 的 舉 辦 活 動 排 列 得 密 麻 麻 。 今 年 正 是 地 鐵 通 車 25 周 年 ， 你 又 知 否 地 鐵 即 將 會 有 甚 麼 新 搞 作 ？ 或 許 可 以 從 過 去 的 周 年 紀 念 而 略 知 一 二 吧 ！


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo8pzok.jpg
年 份 ： 1979 年 　
紀 念 ： 通 車 日
地 鐵 於 1979 年 正 式 通 車 前 一 天 9 月 30 日 ， 首 次 印 製 了 紀 念 車 票 ， 售 價 10 元 ， 並 全 數 撥 捐 公 益 金 。 隨 紀 念 車 票 可 獲 贈 一 本 記 載 各 車 站 和 鐵 路 操 作 詳 情 的 地 鐵 歷 史 紀 念 冊 。


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo9pzok.jpg
年 份 ： 1985 年 　
紀 念 ： 港 島 線 首 次 通 車 日
1985 年 5 月 31 日 ， 地 鐵 港 島 線 首 次 通 車 。 地 鐵 公 司 於 通 車 當 日 發 行 了 紀 念 車 票 ， 正 式 踏 入 了 地 鐵 跨 區 行 駛 的 新 一 頁 。


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo10pzok.jpg
年 份 ： 1989 年 　
紀 念 ： 10 周 年 紀 念
地 鐵 10 周 年 紀 念 ， 於 1989 年 舉 辦 「 十 分 興 奮 十 周 年 」 紀 念 活 動 ， 推 出 10 周 年 紀 念 車 票 ， 售 價 10 元 。 乘 客 在 10 月 1 日 可 無 限 次 乘 坐 地 鐵 ， 而 於 1979 年 10 月 份 出 生 的 小 朋 友 更 可 獲 贈 精 美 禮 物 。


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo11pzok.jpg
年 份 ： 1994 年 　
紀 念 ： 15 周 年 紀 念
以 曾 參 與 的 慈 善 籌 款 活 動 為 題 發 行 紀 念 車 票 ， 包 括 兩 張 地 鐵 15 周 年 紀 念 車 票 、 一 本 紀 念 冊 和 一 遊 戲 卡 ， 乘 客 更 可 於 10 月 1 日 當 天 無 限 次 乘 坐 地 鐵 。 所 得 的 收 益 合 共 港 幣 637 萬 ， 全 數 撥 捐 公 益 金 ， 打 破 了 地 鐵 過 往 捐 款 的 紀 錄 。


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo12pzok.jpg
年 份 ： 1999 年 　
紀 念 ： 20 周 年 紀 念
20 周 年 時 ， 於 1999 年 10 月 1 日 ， 推 出 限 量 版 紀 念 票 套 裝 ， 隨 票 附 送 經 典 第 一 代 及 現 代 化 地 鐵 列 車 模 型 各 一 部 ， 見 證 和 回 顧 了 地 鐵 公 司 過 去 20 年 的 歷 史 。


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo13pzok.jpg
年 份 ： 2004 年 　
紀 念 ： 25 周 年 紀 念
今 年 為 地 鐵 25 周 年 紀 念 ， 地 鐵 公 司 將 於 9 月 19 日 推 出 25 周 年 紀 念 票 套 裝 ， 包 括 4 張 紀 念 票 、 一 輛 地 鐵 25 周 年 紀 念 列 車 及 一 本 地 鐵 里 程 小 冊 子 。 每 張 紀 念 車 票 由 購 買 當 日 至 11 月 30 日 可 享 有 兩 次 車 程 使 用 。 車 票 為 雙 面 設 計 ， 展 現 地 鐵 在 過 去 25 年 來 對 香 港 社 區 建 設 所 作 出 的 貢 獻 。


地 鐵 歷 史 里 程 碑
由 1979 年 走 到 2004 年 ， 當 中 25 年 的 歷 史 見 證 了 香 港 的 新 舊 變 化 ， 如 港 督 更 替 、 香 港 回 歸 、 新 機 場 開 幕 、 地 鐵 上 市 等 焦 點 新 聞 ， 而 陪 同 地 鐵 成 長 的 每 位 香 港 市 民 ， 對 地 鐵 過 去 25 年 的 事 ， 你 又 知 多 少 呢 ？


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo14p.jpg
1979 年 ：
地 鐵 正 式 通 車 投 入 服 務
1979 年 9 月 30 日 ， 當 時 的 港 督 麥 理 浩 爵 士 乘 搭 首 班 載 客 的 地 鐵 列 車 ， 主 持 通 車 儀 式 。 觀 塘 站 與 石 硤 尾 站 一 段 鐵 路 正 式 投 入 服 務 ， 首 日 載 客 量 達 28 萬 5 千 人 次 。


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo15pzok.jpg
1985 年 ：
港 島 線 通 車 啟 航
港 島 線 （ 柴 灣 至 金 鐘 ） 於 1985 年 5 月 31 日 投 入 服 務 ， 當 時 的 港 督 尤 德 爵 士 為 新 線 主 持 通 車 儀 式 。


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo16pzok.jpg
1989 年 ：
東 區 海 底 隧 道 路 段 通 車
1989 年 8 月 5 日 ， 全 長 4.6 公 里 的 地 鐵 東 區 海 底 隧 道 地 段 （ 觀 塘 至 魚 涌 ） 正 式 通 車 ， 為 乘 客 提 供 另 一 途 徑 乘 地 鐵 過 海 。


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo18pzok.jpg
1998 年 ：
東 涌 線 及 機 場 快 線 投 入 服 務
1998 年 7 月 6 日 ， 來 往 赤 角 香 港 國 際 機 場 和 香 港 市 區 的 機 場 快 線 正 式 投 入 服 務 。 同 年 6 月 22 日 ， 全 長 30.8 公 里 的 東 涌 線 亦 正 式 通 車 。 機 場 快 線 正 式 投 入 當 日 ， 地 鐵 公 司 推 出 了 限 量 版 「 機 場 快 線 」 列 車 模 型 。


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo19pzok.jpg
1997 年 ：
八 達 通 的 誕 生
八 達 通 卡 在 1997 年 9 月 正 式 面 世 ， 不 但 讓 乘 客 憑 一 張 卡 即 可 乘 坐 6 種 公 共 交 通 工 具 ， 更 取 代 了 過 往 的 儲 值 車 票 入 閘 方 法 。


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo20pzok.jpg
2000 年 ：
地 鐵 公 司 上 市 廣 招 股 東
2000 年 10 月 正 式 上 市 ， 地 鐵 股 票 的 香 港 聯 合 交 易 所 編 號 為 「 66 」 ， 並 納 入 為 生 指 數 成 份 股 。 亦 推 出 紀 念 票 套 裝 供 地 鐵 股 東 獨 家 認 購 。


穿 梭 地 鐵 考 考 你
1. 地 鐵 公 司 第 一 代 的 荃 灣 線 中 ， 今 天 的 「 美 孚 站 」 ， 於 當 年 是 以 哪 個 名 稱 命 名 呢 ？

2. 於 現 時 50 個 地 鐵 站 中 ， 哪 兩 個 車 站 的 相 差 距 離 最 短 途 ？

3. 哪 個 地 鐵 車 站 有 最 多 的 出 入 閘 機 ？

4. 過 去 25 年 中 ， 地 鐵 公 司 推 出 單 程 車 票 ， 最 低 的 是 多 少 票 值 ？

5 來 往 地 鐵 月 台 與 地 面 的 扶 手 電 梯 中 ， 現 時 哪 一 個 車 站 的 扶 手 電 梯 ， 直 達 地 底 車 站 最 具 深 度 ？


答 案 ：
1. 荔 灣 站

2. 旺 角 站 與 太 子 站

3. 九 龍 塘 站 ， 共 66 個

4. 1979 年 ， 港 幣 1 元

5. 魚 涌 站 ， 最 深 達 37 米


http://appledaily.atnext.com/images/apple-photos/640pix/20040916/Article_LiveMag/16fo7p.jpg
■ 就 是 這 套 「 電 影 一 世 紀 紀 念 票 」 ， 教 小 記 經 歷 了 買 車 票 變 入 醫 院 的 離 奇 遭 遇 。


小 記 有 感 ： 排 隊 買 飛 排 到 入 醫 院
至 於 「 7910 」 地 鐵 聯 盟 的 會 員 Wah ， 其 實 真 正 身 份 是 本 文 記 者 。 自 細 已 愛 儲 地 鐵 推 出 的 紀 念 車 票 ， 家 中 收 藏 的 超 過 100 套 ， 連 地 鐵 上 市 都 參 與 成 為 股 東 之 一 。 但 留 下 最 深 刻 印 象 的 ， 是 1996 年 推 出 的 「 電 影 一 世 紀 紀 念 票 」 。 「 記 得 當 日 下 毛 毛 細 雨 ， 又 因 為 趕 住 排 隊 沒 有 食 早 餐 ， 排 到 中 途 已 覺 全 身 乏 力 ， 問 前 面 排 隊 人 借 白 花 油 搽 頭 都 無 幫 助 ， 最 後 不 支 倒 地 暈 。 」 醒 回 時 發 覺 自 己 身 處 醫 院 ， 但 最 終 都 如 願 買 了 該 次 的 紀 念 車 票 。 不 過 原 來 地 鐵 公 司 收 藏 的 紀 念 精 品 還 不 及 我 多 呢 ！

Congratulation to MTR :cheers:

Anywhere I can find MTR train and station pics from the 80s?

I want to look for old Lai King station photo before the Tung chung line opened.

Airport Express & Tung Chung Line Rolling Stock
http://www.hkrs.org.hk/photogallery/R074-16_TCL_AEL_train_at_Olympic.jpg

Interior - Airport Express
http://www.hkrs.org.hk/photogallery/mtr/tclael/Dsc00192.jpg

http://www.hkrs.org.hk/photogallery/mtr/tclael/Dsc00199.jpg

http://www.hkrs.org.hk/photogallery/mtr/tclael/Dsc00200.jpg

http://www.hkrs.org.hk/photogallery/mtr/tclael/Dsc00196.jpg

Source : Hong Kong Railway Society

http://210.0.140.74/hkrpm/hkrm/mtr/store/mtrtrack.gif

Aviation Ads on the Subway - Central Station
From a Hong Kong aviation forum :

http://www.enjoyalbum.net/ealbums/userpics/16785/DSC04964f.jpg

http://www.enjoyalbum.net/ealbums/userpics/16785/DSC04965f.jpg

http://www.enjoyalbum.net/ealbums/userpics/16785/DSC04970f.jpg

http://www.enjoyalbum.net/ealbums/userpics/16785/DSC04974f.jpg

http://www.enjoyalbum.net/ealbums/userpics/16785/DSC04975f.jpg

http://www.enjoyalbum.net/ealbums/userpics/16785/DSC04977f.jpg

http://www.enjoyalbum.net/ealbums/userpics/16785/DSC04979f.jpg

http://www.enjoyalbum.net/ealbums/userpics/16785/DSC04980f.jpg

http://www.enjoyalbum.net/ealbums/userpics/16785/DSC04985f.jpg

Mody Road subway:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/sp1900/ETS1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/sp1900/ETS2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/sp1900/ETS3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/sp1900/ETS4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/sp1900/ETS5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/sp1900/ETS6.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/sp1900/ETS7.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/sp1900/ETS8.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/sp1900/ETS9.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/sp1900/ETS10.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/sp1900/ETS_le.jpg

To meet the growing demand for domestic and cross-boundary passenger rail services, KCRC is moving ahead with three East Rail Extension lines - Ma On Shan Rail , Tsim Sha Tsui Extension and Lok Ma Chau Spur Line.

The three extensions are crucial to the further development of East Rail as the north-south strategic railway corridor in Hong Kong, complemented by West Rail as the east-west corridor.

On 26 May 2000, the Finance Committee announced the approval of a HK$8 billion equity injection from the Government to Ma On Shan and Tsim Sha Tsui Extensions. The combined capital cost of these three projects at money of the day is HK$27.5 billion.

Ma On Shan Rail and the Tsim Sha Tsui Extension are due for completion by 2004, while the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line is targeted for completion in 2007.

http://www.kcrc.com/Upload%20Content/News%20Centre/Projects%20Update/ERE/PU_Sep%2003/KCRC%20map%20ERE(E).jpg

and the railway overall in plan (excluding light rail)
http://www.hyd.gov.hk/eng/major/road/rail/planned/popup/all.jpg

Source : http://www.pbase.com/alex1030/hong_kong_station

http://www.pbase.com/image/32829398.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/32831455.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/32832366.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/33353981.jpg

Future lines (completion years might change):

MTR:
2005~Disneyland Line
2009~West Island Line & South Island Line
2010~Kwun Tong Line Ext.
2016~North Island Line

KCR:
2004~Tsim Sha Tsui Ext. & Ma On Shan Ext.
2007~Lok Ma Chau Spur
2008~Kowloon Southern Link
2010~Sha Tin - Central Link
2011~Northern Link & Regional Express Line

I'm not crazy about some of the stations' color schemes. I mean, lime green? And bright yellow? Bleeecht.

the color sheme is supposed to match the line colour...

Source : http://www.pbase.com/jonathanwg/mtr

http://www.pbase.com/image/32367394.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/32367395.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/28499110.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/28483234.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/28483235.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/28483236.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/28483239.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/image/26634599.jpg

http://www.ushb.net/news/uhead040907-004.jpg

Tung Chung Cable Car
Website : http://www.tungchungcablecar.com.hk/

The project comprises a 5.7km cableway linking the two terminals at Tung Chung and Ngong Ping. Next to the Ngong Ping Station will be a themed village leading all the way to the Ngong Ping Plateau, where the world's largest seated outdoor bronze Buddha Statue is located.

The Tung Chung Cable Car is expected to open to the public in early 2006.

Ngong Ping
http://www.tungchungcablecar.com.hk/html/eng/images/img_ngongping_terminal_b.jpg

http://www.tungchungcablecar.com.hk/html/eng/images/img_master_layout_plan_b.jpg

North Island Line
http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/extensions/images/lar241z.jpg

The North Island Line is formed by the extension of the Tung Chung Line at Hong Kong Station to connect with the Island Line at Fortress Hill. There will be two new underground stations namely Tamar and Exhibition. Total route length of the NIL is 3.5 km. This work is proposed to be carried out simultaneously with the "SWAP" which comprises the extension of the Tseung Kwan O Line from North Point Station to connect with the Island Line at Tin Hau Station. In the future Tseung Kwan O Line services will run to Sheung Wan and Tung Chung Line services will run to Chai Wan Station, thus forming two parallel lines on the northshore of HK Island.

Is this really necessary? Tamar is literally a couple footsteps away from Admiralty station, and Exhibition a stone's throw away from Wan Chai station.

My biggest gripe with Island Line is the distance from Central to Hong Kong station. The distance between Mei Foo KCR-WR and MTR-TWL is also very annoying; I find myself changing at Nam Cheong for the [slightly more inconvenient] Tung Chung Line instead.

Copyright 2004 South China Morning Post Ltd.
October 8, 2004

Two more mechanical malfunctions hit a red-faced MTR Corp
Benjamin Wong

The MTR, already under fire from the transport chief for "intolerably frequent" mishaps, was hit by two more mechanical problems yesterday.

The incidents, a power failure and a door that wouldn't close, occurred within half an hour of each other before the morning rush hour. They came a day after a brake seizure sent smoke pouring from a train - the second such problem in 18 days.

The first of yesterday's mishaps occurred at 7.04am, when a power interruption between Diamond Hill and Kowloon Tong halted trains at Wong Tai Sin and Choi Hung stations.

Passengers had to wait in the trains for about four minutes while the MTR fixed the problem. Backup electricity supplies kept the trains lit and ventilated, although the lights were dimmed.

The electricity supplier to Kowloon and New Territories, CLP Power, said there had been no problems with its supplies on the affected section.

In the second incident, at 7.30am, passengers were transferred from a train at Causeway Bay station after one of its doors would not close. The faulty train returned to the MTR depot for inspection. Services were disrupted for a few minutes.

"We looked into the incidents and one important thing was that they did not affect safety," said the MTR Corporation's external affairs manager, Maggie So Man-kit.

The company apologised for its latest problems and vowed to conduct thorough investigations.

The Environment, Transport and Works Bureau said it would study the reports and hoped the MTR would identify the causes of the problems and fix them.

"It was lucky that the incidents happened very early, before the rush hour ... at 8am or 9am, many more people would be affected," a spokeswoman said.

On Wednesday, about 1,000 commuters had to be evacuated from a train on the Tung Chung line at Nam Cheong after a brake failed to release and started smoking.

In a similar incident at Tsing Yi station on September 18, 600 passengers were evacuated when choking fumes poured into one of the cars. The fumes were traced back to a malfunctioning brake system.

That incident prompted criticism by Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works Sarah Liao Sau-tung, who said a repeat would be unacceptable.

Future lines (completion years might change):

MTR:
2005~Disneyland Line
2009~West Island Line & South Island Line
2010~Kwun Tong Line Ext.
2016~North Island Line

KCR:
2004~Tsim Sha Tsui Ext. & Ma On Shan Ext.
2007~Lok Ma Chau Spur
2008~Kowloon Southern Link
2010~Sha Tin - Central Link
2011~Northern Link & Regional Express Line


where is the kwun tong line extension going to whampoa?

where is the kwun tong line extension going to whampoa?

there is no any project for the Kwun Tong Line

third line down 2010 kwun tong extension????

would the person who posted that plz explain?

Yes. Kwun Tong Line MIGHT be extended to Whampoa or even to Fortress Hill.

Copyright 2004 South China Morning Post Ltd.
October 14, 2004

UK rail expert to investigate MTR failings; Transport chief demands an immediate response after yet another breakdown
Felix Lo

The MTR Corporation yesterday appointed a UK-based rail expert to conduct a thorough review of the company and its services after a series of mishaps affecting its rail network in recent weeks - including a short circuit that immobilised a train yesterday.

One passenger was treated for smoke inhalation after the incident at Quarry Bay station, which forced 1,500 passengers to change trains and delayed services by 19 minutes.

The MTR Corp's chief executive officer, Chow Chung-kong, denied the appointment of Lloyd's Register Rail to conduct the review was due to government pressure. He said this despite an order to the corporation by Secretary for Environment, Transport and Works Sarah Liao Sao-tung that it respond immediately to the government about yesterday's incident.

"The review will start immediately and take about three months to complete," Mr Chow said after apologising to the public at a hastily convened news conference.

"It covers the service performance aspect, facilities and asset management," he said, adding that a report would be submitted to the government.

MTRC head of operations Wilfred Lau Cheuk-man said an electrical fault on the train caused the supply to be switched off at 8.16am. About 1,500 people had to alight. Normal service resumed at 8.35am.

Some passengers said they heard a loud bang and saw smoke billow onto the platform. Mr Lau denied there had been an explosion. He said the noise was caused by the cut to power and that some sparks had generated smoke.

One passenger said there had been no information broadcast through the public address system to keep people informed.

"Seeing firemen going into the paid area and those inside already unfurling the hose, I still heard no broadcasts about what happened. Why did they not broadcast something?" he asked.

There have been a number of problems on MTR trains in the past month, although the company says they are unrelated.

Mr Chow argued that the average number of monthly service delays actually dropped from 26 cases in 2003 to 18 in 2004, stressing that the service had in fact improved.

Phil Gaffney, MTRC managing director in charge of operations and business development, denied the problems had been caused by overloading at peak times.

Ms Liao, welcoming the appointment of the rail expert, said: "I think it is very timely in view of the recent spate of events. It is very important that we do look for professional help to see whether there are any systemic reasons for such incidents and look for solutions."

The chairman of Legco's transport panel, Lau Kong-wah, called on the government to set up an independent committee to investigate. He said incidents involving smoke were intolerable as they frightened passengers.

Taken on Oct. 16th by mario from a Hong Kong transport forum :
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v462/marioso/3-3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v462/marioso/2-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v462/marioso/1-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v462/marioso/4.jpg

This is a Reply for

third line down 2010 kwun tong extension????

would the person who posted that plz explain?
and information for related questions.

The Kwun Tong line Extension is an extension of the Kwun Tong line from Yau Ma Tei Station to the south which will contain 2 new stations (Ho Man Tin and Whampoa) The line is an alternative to the Underground Light rail which connects Whampoa with Hung Hom Station and it is currently under consideration of the Government. Originally, in the MTR's bid for the Shatin-Central Link, The MTR also offered to extend the KTL (Kwun Tong Line) to Whampoa and make an interchange station between the two lines at a new station called Ho Man Tin. This only happens if the MTR wins the bid. But, the KCRC won the Contract for the Shatin-Central Link. After winning the bid, KCRC immediately announced that they will also incorporate the Underground Light rail (As mentioned above) which includes 2 stations (Whampoa and Man Yue Street). Around Half a year later, the MTR submitted a proposal to the Government of HK that they are interested in building a extension of the KTL to Whampoa. The reason behind this is because the MTR knows that for the future plan of railway developments, there will be a need for a 5th harbour crossing for rail between the Kowloon penninsula and Fortress Hill of Hong Kong Island and with the KCRC threatening to compete with the monopoly that the MTR has over the Victoria Harbour, there is a need to first place a railway line near the coast which later when there is a need for the 5th harbour crossing to be built, the MTR will have to bid with the KCRC for this project.
The government looked at the two options and decided that this shall be considered as a seperate project. So, the government invited the 2 railway companies to submit a bid for the project. Currently, because of a possible merger between the MTRC and the KCRC, the Government has halted the bidding process of this line/extension because it will interfere with the merger of the two compaines. So, more details of railway construction in the Whampoa area will be known after the result of the merger of the two railway companies.

Hope this will make people understand more about the current situation of Hong Kong's Railway network.

P.S. The reason why I replied so late is because I was trying to find the PDF file on the Environment, Transportation & Works Bureau's website, but apparently, because the bidding is paused, the link to the file has been deleted.

well im from hong kong myself i just dount live there i go to school in the US and going to hong kong during the summer and sometimes the winter

for people how have been to hong kong do you like MTR or KCR more?

Will there still be a merger of the KCRC & the MTRC? Have there been any new developments?

Why are Hong Kong's trains powered by overhead pantographs? Aren't these more vulnerable to being damaged by the strong winds of passing typhoons? as well as being an eyesore?

Will there still be a merger of the KCRC & the MTRC? Have there been any new developments?

Why are Hong Kong's trains powered by overhead pantographs? Aren't these more vulnerable to being damaged by the strong winds of passing typhoons? as well as being an eyesore?

there's so many highrises in hk that the wind get blocked. lol,joking. im not sure but they do have a "roof" on top of certain sections of railway like , kcr east rail at mong kok, tai wai and some other areas, on mtr they have them on the red and green lines in elevated sections, none of airport express line. maybe they are protected in vaulunderable areas?

South China Morning Post
September 17, 2004

Rail lines merger to 'cut fares, keep jobs'
Denise Tsang

Negotiations over the terms and structure of a proposed merger between the MTR Corp and the KCRC are far from over, but they will now be better informed following the conclusion of a technical study.

The rail corporations yesterday submitted a joint merger proposal to the government that mapped out a plan to integrate railway operations, adopt a transparent fare-setting regime and scrap interchange charges for existing and future networks.

While claiming the merger would bring down fares, the companies reassured their combined 12,400-strong workforce about job security should it go ahead.

"The space for fare reduction will be created from the economy of scale if the two companies are merged," MTR chief executive Sir Chung-kong Chow said yesterday. "Cost savings will come from bundling procurement and adopting best practice on operating systems, which provide space for fare cuts."

KCRC acting chief executive Samuel Lai Man-hay said new rail projects in Hong Kong and overseas offered job opportunities for staff members.

"We have set up a number of channels to communicate with the staff and gather their views," Mr Lai said.

Sir C.K. promised no reduction in the number of rail routes or stations and said train frequency would remain the same under a merged entity.

The government, which owns 76 per cent of the MTR and the entire KCRC, said it would take a few months to decide whether to press ahead with the merger and vowed not to base its decision on financial gain.

"The government won't execute the merger for the sake of cashing in on its assets," said Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Frederick Ma Si-hang.

Without specifying a time schedule for the merger, Sarah Liao Sau-tung, the secretary for the environment, transport and works, said it would take a few months to scrutinise the proposal as the two firms were expected to provide further information.

"We will also discuss with the MTR their proposals for preliminary transaction terms for the possible merger," she said.

The MTR, which went public in 2000, is expected to buy the KCRC, but analysts said they were unsure how many KCRC assets it would buy and how much it would pay.

Sources familiar with the talks said the MTR and the government were looking at various options.

"They are looking at the MTR buying the whole KCRC, or part of the KCRC or purely the operation rights of KCRC rail lines," one said. "They incline to the first option as the joint proposal assumed an integration of both ."

Even if the government decided to proceed, the merger would still require the approval of about 400,000 MTR minority shareholders.

With additional reporting from Cheung Chi-fai.

Interim Results (January - June 2004)
Revenues + 11.8% to HK$3987 million
Operating Margin before Depreciation +4.7% to 55.6%
Property Development Profit HK$1153 million
Patronage +12.2% to 407 million

Patronage - Monthly Total (in 000s)
Format :
Month
Tsuen Wan, Island, Kwun Tong, Tung Chung, and Tseung Kwan O Lines
Airport Express

Sep 2004
69,505
651

Aug 2004
72,014
702

Jul 2004
71,426
700

Jun 2004
66,796
640

May 2004
67,887
623

Apr 2004
64,159
684

Mar 2004
70,116
650

Feb 2004
65,682
578

Jan 2004
68,947
659

Can anyone posting some new "Tsim Sha Tsui East" line PIC :)

【本報香港訊】斥資41億元興建的九鐵尖沙咀東站17日試業，全日約有6萬名市民到場親身感受，不少市民不滿「試搭」仍要收費，認為九鐵誤導公眾。乘客又批評車站設計有問題，包括指示牌不足、轉乘地鐵過海的行人通道太長等。

East Tsim Sha Tsui is just a station, an extension of the East Rail. Instead of terminating at Hung Hom, southbound trains now terminate at East Tsim Sha Tsui, a comfortable stroll away from the corresponding MTR station at Tsim Sha Tsui.

Can anyone posting some new "Tsim Sha Tsui East" line PIC :)

【本報香港訊】斥資41億元興建的九鐵尖沙咀東站17日試業，全日約有6萬名市民到場親身感受，不少市民不滿「試搭」仍要收費，認為九鐵誤導公眾。乘客又批評車站設計有問題，包括指示牌不足、轉乘地鐵過海的行人通道太長等。

Have a look at the KCR thread.

Thanks ailiton and superchan 7

I was made up this line of KCR to MTR :)
Rolling stock is using of Korea or Japan ??
Pretty charming

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v408/mark850905/KCR/12.jpg

There are more photos of the new East Tsim Sha Tsui station in this usbsection's KCR thread.

The rolling stock is from Kinki Sharyo. My favourite feature is the hidden wheels. The trains are very quiet from outside.

http://ieng9.ucsd.edu/~ccheuk/kcr-newtrain.jpg