Kowloon-Canton Railway

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Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR)
Locale Hong Kong
Transit type - Regional rail
- Light rail
Began operation - October 10, 1911
- December 2, 2007 (took over by MTRCL)
System length 120.5 km (75 mi)
No. of lines 4 (3 railway lines, 1 light rail system)
No. 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 MTR Corporation Limited

The Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR; Traditional Chinese: 九廣鐵路) was 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 December 2, 2007, the network has been operated by the MTR Corporation Limited under a 50-year lease. It is owned 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.[2]

Contents

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).[3] The founding member of the former KCR network, the British Section of the Kowloon-Canton Railway, was opened in 1910. Trains were steam-hauled. Over the years, the KCR network was expanded to 3 railway lines and a light railway system, with 32 railway stations and 68 light rail stations.

Image:1stkcr.jpg
A train leaving the southern terminus at Tsimshatsui. What is now Salisbury Road had not been developed when the picture was taken.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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
A train on the KCR Ma On Shan Rail (Ma On Shan Line) approaching the southern terminus, the Tai Wai Station
A train on the KCR Ma On Shan Rail (Ma On Shan Line) approaching the southern terminus, the Tai Wai Station
A single journey ticket for adults on East Rail (old one).
A single journey ticket for adults on East Rail (old one).
KCR Feeder Bus in service.
KCR Feeder Bus in service.

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 refurbrished 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 simple 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.

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 April 11, 2006, and was later approved by the Legislative Council and the minority shareholders of the MTRCL [4] (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.

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.

  • small crane car
  • flatcars
  • 25t crane Flag of Germany Germany
  • 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.

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:

The KCR line runs under two tunnels:

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Government Documents

Other websites

Notes
  1. ^ Legislative Council information paper CB(1)357/07-08(01), THB(T) CR 8/986/00
  2. ^ KCRC Annual Report 2006 (2006). Retrieved on May 24, 2007.
  3. ^ The remaining section, i.e., the Chinese Section, corresponds to the present-day Guangzhou-Shenzhen Section of the Guangshen Railway Corporation (广深铁路).
  4. ^ Dan, Liu, editor; Xinhua (April 11, 2006). HK railway merger proposal gets green light. Retrieved on April 11, 2006.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon-Canton_Railway"
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