Kowloon-Canton Railway

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Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR)
Locale Hong Kong
Transit type
Began operation October 10, 1911
- December 2, 2007 (take over by MTRCL)
System length 120.5 km (75 mi)
Number of lines 4 (3 railway lines, 1 light rail system)
Number of stations 33 railway stations, 68 light rail stations
Daily ridership about 1.49 million (2006)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) (standard gauge)
Operator(s) MTR Corporation Limited

The Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR; Traditional Chinese: 九廣鐵路) refers to a railway network in Hong Kong[1], comprising rapid transit services, a light rail system and feeder bus routes within Hong Kong, and intercity passenger and freight train services to the rest of China. Since 2 December 2007, the network has been operated by the MTR Corporation Limited under a 50-year lease. Ownership has continued to be held by its previous operator, the government-owned Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation.

Before the rebranding in 1996, "Kowloon-Canton Railway" or "KCR" referred to the railway that runs between Kowloon in Hong Kong and the city of Canton (now Guangzhou) in mainland China. When Hong Kong was under British rule, the section of this railway that lies within the territory of Hong Kong was known as the "British Section", which largely corresponded to the present-day East Rail Line. The Chinese Section of the original Kowloon-Canton Railway in mainland China is called the Guangshen Railway.

In 2006, the local KCR passenger train network (i.e. intercity services excluded) recorded an annual ridership of 544 million. On 2 December 2007, it was taken over by MTR Corporation Limited.

Contents

[edit] History

A historical KCR Sir Alexander Locomotive.
A historical KCR Sir Alexander Locomotive.

The original Kowloon-Canton Railway was opened in 1911 as a rail link between Kowloon in Hong Kong, then a British crown colony, and the Chinese city of Canton (now Guangzhou).[2] The founding member of the former KCR network, the British Section of the Kowloon-Canton Railway, was opened in 1910. Trains were steam-hauled. From the one line railroad, the KCR network was expanded to 3 railway lines and a light railway system, with 32 railway stations and 68 light rail stations.

In the past few years the subject of invasive marketing has arisen with the advent of television screens on carriages. The first few weeks saw several hundred complaints as the volume level was turned up to maximum in order to help generate revenue from marketing. After several weeks of complaints the company eventually backed down and introduced two 'quiet cars' to the rolling stock offering a peaceful respite for passengers. Other complaints included window advertising which blocked the views outside and made some passengers travel sick. Although windows continue to be obscured making viewing of the exterior difficult and travel less comfortable for passengers, the company has responded to complaints by reducing the size of the advertisements.

[edit] Service commenced

Steam locomotive W.G. Bagnall 0-4-4T, used in former Sha Tau Kok Branch Line.
Steam locomotive W.G. Bagnall 0-4-4T, used in former Sha Tau Kok Branch Line.

The British Section of the original Kowloon-Canton Railway (roughly corresponds to the present-day East Rail Line) was opened in 1910. With the Chinese section opened in 1911, through-trains ran from the southern terminus in Tsim Sha Tsui across the border to the southern Chinese city of Canton (now Guangzhou).

Opened as a single-track system, trains on the British Section travelled from Yau Ma Tei Station (now Mong Kok East Station) through eastern New Territories, up to the border with China at Lo Wu. The southern terminus, Kowloon Station in Tsim Sha Tsui, opened slightly later.

It was originally a narrow gauge railway but was changed to standard gauge before its opening. The narrow gauge materials were later used to build the now-defunct Sha Tau Kok Railway. After the communist takeover in mainland China in 1949, through-trains were no longer able to cross the border until the service was resumed in 1979.

[edit] An expanding network

Map of the KCR network at the time the MTRCL took over (planned extensions included, gray lines belong to the MTR network proper)
Map of the KCR network at the time the MTRCL took over (planned extensions included, gray lines belong to the MTR network proper)
Interior of a refurbished Metro Cammell EMU on the KCR East Rail (East Rail Line)
Interior of a refurbished Metro Cammell EMU on the KCR East Rail (East Rail Line)
Interior of a SP1900 train on the KCR West Rail (West Rail Line) and on part of the East Rail Line
Interior of a SP1900 train on the KCR West Rail (West Rail Line) and on part of the East Rail Line
KCR Feeder Bus in service.
KCR Feeder Bus in service.

The British Section of the original Kowloon-Canton Railway was originally operated by a department within the Hong Kong Government. Following the government's plan to corporatise the operation of the railway, the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) was established in December 1982, with the government remains as the sole shareholder.

With the development and urbanisation of the New Territories, the British Section has become an important corridor to connect the new towns in eastern New Territories with urban Kowloon. Electrification and conversion to a dual-track system was completed in 1984. Since then, the suburban rail has become much more metro-like. Frequent service is provided, and in the 1990s trains were refurbished to provide less seats and more standing places.

In 1984, the KCRC accepted the government's invitation to build and operate a light rail system in northwestern New Territories. The Light Rail Transit (known later as the KCR Light Rail, and now simply the Light Rail) was opened in 1988.

The KCRC won a bid in 1996 to build a "Western Corridor Railway", later branded as the KCR West Rail and opened in 2003. The British Section of the original Kowloon-Canton Railway was renamed KCR East Rail, and the LRT became KCR Light Rail. The names "Kowloon-Canton Railway" or "KCR" has become to refer to the network operated by the KCRC. The KCR Ma On Shan Rail was opened in 2004 as a branch line to the KCR East Rail.

[edit] Takeover by MTRCL

Various proposals to merge the KCRC and the other railway operater in the territory, the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) has been on government's agenda since the 2000s. In 2006, the government, as the sole shareholder of the KCRC, has decided to lease the KCR network to the MTRCL to operate, with an initial period of 50 years. The decision was passed by the Executive Council on 11 April 2006, and was later approved by the Legislative Council and the minority shareholders of the MTRCL [3] (the government, which had a 75% stake in the MTRCL, did not vote).

It was later decided that the takeover would happen on December 2, 2007. Since then the KCRC has become a holding company. The MTRCL pays the KCRC a fixed annual sum, and share parts of its profits from the KCR network with the KCRC.

As part of the merger, the KCR East Rail, KCR West Rail and KCR Ma On Shan Rail were renamed East Rail Line, West Rail Line and Ma On Shan Line. The KCR Light Rail is known simply as the Light Rail. Mong Kok Station on the East Rail was renamed Mong Kok East Station.

[edit] Express Rail Link proposal

On 2 August 2007, Chief Executive Donald Tsang announced that, considering the technical requirements, passenger forecast, Hong Kong's future economic development and the closer trade ties between Hong Kong and Guangdong, the new Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link will adopt the dedicated-corridor option after the 10th Plenary of the Hong Kong/Guangdong Co-operation Joint Conference. The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation has submitted a detailed project proposal to the government.[1] Because of the merger, however, it is unlikely the Rail Link will be built and operated by the KCRC.

[edit] Rolling stocks

[edit] Locomotives

Manufacturer Model Type Numbers Year
General Motors (Australia) G26 CU diesel loco 3 diesel locomotives (1974-1977)
Siemens (Germany) ER20 locomotive 5 diesel locomotives 2002
Adtranz-SLM Lok 2000 locomotive 2 electric locomotives 1997

[edit] Passenger train coaches

Manufacturer Model Numbers Year enter service Notes
Metro-Cammell EMU England 348 out of 351 cars (all underwent mid-life refurbishment between 1996 - 1999) Handicapped/disabled access 1983
Kinki Sharyo EMU SP1900 96 cars Handicapped/disabled access 2001 East Rail service
Itochu/Kinki Sharyo/Kawasaki Heavy Industries consortium EMU SP1900 154 cars (2001) Handicapped/disabled access 2003 West Rail service
Kinki Sharyo EMU SP1950 72 cars (same model as SP1900) Handicapped/disabled access 2004 Ma On Shan Rail
Kinki Sharyo KTT passenger coaches 12 1998 for service between Guangzhou and Kowloon)4

[edit] Light Rail

Manufacturer Model Numbers Year enter service Notes
Comeng (Australia) LRV 70 units 1988
Kawasaki Heavy Industries (Japan) LRV (DT/MT) 30 units 1992-1993
A. Goninan (Australia) LRV 20 units 1997-1998
N/A ballast car N/A N/A

[edit] Buses

Manufacturer/Model Numbers Year enter service Notes
Leyland Olympian (UK) 24 1987-1988 feeder bus
Volvo B10M (Sweden) 15 1995 feeder bus
Dennis Dart (UK) 3 1955 feeder bus
Dennis Trident (UK) 22 1999 feeder bus
Mitsubishi MK117 Fuso (Japan) 11 1991 feeder bus
Dennis Alexander Enviro500 9 2007
Dennis Alexander Enviro200D 11 2007
Volvo Olympian 15 1997-1998
MCW Metrobus Mk. II 39 1989-1990

[edit] Service Vehicles

Manufacturer Model Numbers Year enter service Notes
small crane car
flatcars
Flag of Germany Germany 25t crane
crane with services wagon
services Wagon
Plasser and Theurer track machine
maintenance wagon
Overhead cable inspection vehicle
Plasser & Theurer. Bauart 08-275 Unimat 3S
Railbus
JMY450B diesel loco

²This steam engine was once used on the Sha Tau Kok Branch Line, but since its closing in 1924, the engine has been displayed in the Tai Po Railway Museum. It has been the only steam engine in Hong Kong for over 40 years (since the KCR last used a steam engine).
³Unit E44 (cars 144-244-444) didn't undergo refurbishment, and #144 is now kept at the Tai Po Railway Museum for display.
4All Kinki Sharyo stock are purchased and imported from Japan.

[edit] Historic

Some of these are located at the Hong Kong Railway Museum in Tai Po, but most were scrapped when the KCR changed to modern rolling stock in the 1970s:

Manufacturer Model Numbers Year enter service Notes
First Class Passenger Carriage 1960s
Hand Cart
Motorized rail car
Leeds Forge Co., Ltd. of Leeds, Yorkshire First Class Dining Carriage
65 tons breakdown crane car
Hall-Scott Petrol motor coaches (USA) 2 1920s - renamed Taipo Belle and Canton Belle
Kitson 4-6-4 Tank Engine 1924
Kitson 4-6-0 Passenger Locomotive 1930
Robert Stephenson and Hawthorn 260 Tank Engine 1940s
1st Class lounge & observation cars
Ex-War Department) 2-8-0 steam tenders 9 1946
W.G. Bagnall engines
Clyde Engineering (Australia) G12 diesel locomotives 5 1954-1957
Clyde Engineering/General Motors (Australia) G16 loco: diesel locomotives 4 1961-1966
W.G. Bagnall 0-4-4T (UK) steam locomotive 2 (1924)
Class 1 2-6-4T steam locomotive
Class 3 2-6-4T steam locomotive
Class 9 4-6-4T steam locomotive
Class 15 4-6-0T steam locomotive
Class 21 2-8-0 steam locomotive
third-class open-verandah coach 1911
First-class coach 1964
Luggage compartment coach 1955
Kinki Sharyo ordinary class coach 1974
Kinki Sharyo third-class coach 1974
enginnering coach 1921

[edit] Facilities

[edit] Tunnels

The KCR line runs under two tunnels:

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] References

Government Documents

Other websites

Notes
  1. ^ Legislative Council information paper CB(1)357/07-08(01), THB(T) CR 8/986/00
  2. ^ The remaining section, i.e., the Chinese Section, corresponds to the present-day Guangzhou-Shenzhen Section of the Guangshen Railway Corporation (Simplified Chinese: 广深铁路).
  3. ^ Dan, Liu, editor; Xinhua (April 11, 2006). HK railway merger proposal gets green light. Retrieved on April 11, 2006.

[edit] External links