KCR Light Rail

Light Rail (輕鐵)

Opening Date

25 September 1988

Routes

12

Number of trains

119¹

Service Area (District)

Tuen Mun, Yuen Long

¹ There were 120 units purchased in total, but in 1994, one of them (unit number 1013) had collided with a tour bus and was never restored to service.

The KCR Light Rail is one of the four systems of the KCR network in Hong Kong. It serves the northwestern New Territories, within and between Tuen Mun District and Yuen Long District.

It runs on 1435mm track gauge (standard gauge), with direct current 750V.

History

A Light Rail Vehicle of route 751 enroute to Yau Oi

Track layout diagram of original LRT network

Planning and commencement

When Tuen Mun was developed in the 1970s, the government had set aside space for laying rail tracks There was uncertainty as to which company would be commissioned to built the train line, and in 1982 Hong Kong Tramways showed interest in building the system and running double-decker trams on it. Finally, the company was forced to abandon the project. Later that year, the KCRC decided to build the system. After some research, construction commenced in 1985.

By that time, Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) had developed its own network in Tuen Mun and Yuen Long, and there were about 10 routes serving within the district internally, most of them were profitable. However, the government introduced the concept of the "Light Rail Service Area" in both districts, forcing the KMB to withdraw all internal bus services in favour of the Light Rail. It also forced the KMB to impose boarding and alighting restrictions for external routes. It was decided that services between town centres and settlements would be provided solely by the Light Rail, while feeder buses operated by the KCRC would connect remote sites to the network, replacing KMB's equivalent services where applicable.

The system was completed and fully operational on 18 September 1988. It consisted of two big and three small loops serving most of the public housing estates in northern Tuen Mun. Three branches: one to On Ting Estate in the southeast, one to the Tuen Mun Ferry Pier in the southwest, and another northern branch all the way into the town of Yuen Long along Castle Peak Road. It was then known as Light Rail Transit, or LRT, and is also called as the North-west Railway according to the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation Ordinance.

The system was divided into five fare zones, making it the only public transportation system in Hong Kong with such zoning. The feeder buses have fares independent of these zones, but provide discounts when passengers interchange between these buses and Light Rail. 70 single-deck tram units were manufactured in Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia by Comeng, and shipped to Hong Kong for the seven tram routes in the system. Three of the routes were to Yuen Long and the others were confined to Tuen Mun.

Extensions

The current route map of the KCR Light Rail (Chinese only)

The system's first extension came for the southern and eastern parts of Tuen Mun. The eastern extension branches off the main line south of Siu Hong station and crosses the river that runs through Tuen Mun immediately with a flyover. The line then runs along Castle Peak Road to a road north of the town centre, where it climbs to another flyover and rejoins the main route. The northern end of this extension is still the only non-triangular junction in the entire system.

The southern extension mainly consists of a route linking On Ting and Ferry Pier, on the newly reclaimed land near the river mouth of Tuen Mun River, known as "Mouse Island" by local people. A short spur line is also built from the extension to another terminus at Sam Shing Estate, located near Castle Peak Bay. 3 Light Rail routes were diverted (route 505 was extended to Sam Shing), and 1 feeder bus route (route 559) cancelled as a result of these changes.

Tin Shui Wai was originally an area with numerous fish ponds, but was developed as a residential town in the early 1990s. With the increase of internal commuter traffic demand, the Light Rail built a spur line north of Hung Shui Kiu station that opened in 1993, with four stations serving the initial housing areas of the town. The area was further developed in the next few years, and the spur line was extended by two stations: Chestwood and "Tin Shui Wai" in 1995 (Tin Shui Wai was renamed as Tin Wing after the opening of West Rail). 2 Light Rail routes were established, one to Tuen Mun (route 720) and one to Yuen Long(721).

The age of West Rail

The system remained essentially unchanged until the completion of the West Rail in December of 2003. Many changes were made, mainly around the new railway stations. The KCRC designed most railway stations in the Light Rail area to interchange with the new West Rail line. The idea was to encourage passengers to use the West Rail instead of the Light Rail for longer journeys to free up LRT vehicles for passengers making shorter journeys. For this purpose, an interchange discount system was launched with the introduction of the West Rail system, meaning that passengers would pay no more (and in some cases less) to travel on the West Rail instead of the Light Rail for the main part of their journey. Although this most recent extension is the largest ever, no new trams were purchased. And although rearrangements were made, some infrequent and unreliable services resulted, causing passengers to blame the lack of trams and poor arrangement of new services. The KCRC has since modified the inside of some trams to allow more standing room for passengers during peak hours. They have also several route alterations to arrange them better.

Stations

The stations of this line are:

Name	Routes	Connections	Opening Date
KCR Light Rail Tuen Mun District Central Loop Starting from the north, zone 3
Siu Hong 兆康	505, 610, 614, 614P, 615, 615P, 751	KCR West Rail	18 September, 1988
Kei Lun 麒麟	505, 615P		18 September, 1988
Tsing Chung 青松	505, 615, 615P		24 September, 1988
Kin Sang 建生	505, 615, 615P		24 September, 1988
Tin King 田景	505, 507, 615, 615P		24 September, 1988
Leung King 良景	505, 507, 615, 615P		24 September, 1988
San Wai 新圍	505, 507, 615, 615P		24 September, 1988
Shek Pai 石排	505, 610, 615, 615P		18 September, 1988
Ming Kum 鳴琴	505, 610, 615, 615P		18 September, 1988
Kin On 建安	505		18 September, 1988
Ho Tin 河田	507, 751		18 September, 1988
Choy Yee Bridge 蔡意橋	507, 751		18 September, 1988
Affluence 澤豐	610, 751		18 September, 1988
Tuen Mun Hospital 屯門醫院	610, 751		18 September, 1988
Tai Hing Linkage Starts between Choy Yee Bridge and Affluence
Ngan Wai 銀圍	507, 610		18 September, 1988
Tai Hing South 大興南	507, 610		18 September, 1988
Tai Hing North 大興北	507, 610		18 September, 1988
Shan King Branch Branches off the central loop north of Ming Kum
Shan King North 山景北	505		24 September, 1988
Shan King South 山景南	505		24 September, 1988
Pier Branch Branches off the central loop west of Kin On, zone 2
Tsing Wun 青雲	610, 615. 615P		18 September, 1988
Tsing Shan Tsuen 青山村	610, 615, 615P		18 September, 1988
Lung Mun 龍門	610, 615, 615P		18 September, 1988
LRT Depot 輕鐵車廠	610, 615, 615P		18 September, 1988
Butterfly 蝴蝶	610, 615, 615P		18 September, 1988
Melody Garden 美樂	610, 615, 615P		18 September, 1988
Ferry Pier 屯門碼頭	507, 610, 614, 614P, 615, 615P	Ferries to Tung Chung and Airport
Town Centre Branch Branches off the central loop east of Kin On
Tuen Mun 屯門 Formerly San Fat	505, 507, 751	KCR West Rail	23 September, 1988
Town Centre 市中心	505, 507, 614, 614P, 751		23 September, 1988
On Ting 安定	505, 507, 614, 614P, 751		23 September, 1988
Yau Oi Loop Branches off the Town Centre branch north of On Ting
Yau Oi 友愛	751		23 September, 1988
San Hui Branch Branches off south of Siu Hong
Fung Tei 鳳地	614, 614P		2 February, 1992
Prime View 景峰	614, 614P		2 February, 1992
San Hui 新墟	614, 614P		2 February, 1992
Ho Fuk Tong 何福堂	614, 614P		2 February, 1992
Pui To 杯渡	614, 614P		2 February, 1992
Southern Extensions Continuing from On Ting, south of the junction with Yau Oi Loop
Siu Lun 兆麟	505, 507, 614, 614P		1 February, 1992
Goodview Garden 豐景園	507, 614, 614P		1 February, 1992
Tuen Mun Swimming Pool 屯門泳池	507, 614, 614P		1 February, 1992
Siu Hei 兆禧	507, 614, 614P		1 February, 1992
Sam Shing Branch Branching off south of Siu Lun
Sam Shing 三聖總站	505		2 February, 1992
Yuen Long Branch Starting from the terminus in Yuen Long, zone 5
Yuen Long 元朗總站	610, 614, 615, 761P	KCR West Rail	18 September, 1988
Tai Tong Road 大棠道	610, 614, 615, 761P		18 September, 1988
Hong Lok Road 康樂路	610, 614, 615, 761P		18 September, 1988
Fung Nin Road 豐年路	610, 614, 615, 761P		18 September, 1988
Shui Pin Wai 水邊圍	610, 614, 615, 761P		18 September, 1988
Ping Shan 屏山	610, 614, 615, 761P		18 September, 1988
Tong Fong 塘坊村	610, 614, 615, 761P		18 September, 1988
Hung Shui Kiu 洪水橋	610, 614, 615, 751		18 September, 1988
Chung Uk Tsuen 鍾屋村	610, 614, 615, 751		18 September, 1988
Nai Wai 泥圍	610, 614, 615, 751		18 September, 1988
Lam Tei 藍地	610, 614, 615, 751		18 September, 1988
Tin Shui Wai Branch Original Branch
Tin Shui 天瑞	705, 706, 761P		10 January, 1993
Locwood 樂湖	705, 706, 761P		10 January, 1993
Tin Yiu 天耀	705, 706, 761P		10 January, 1993
Hang Mei Tsuen 坑尾村	751, 761P		10 January, 1993
First Extension
Tin Wing 天榮	705, 706, 751, 751P, 761P		23 March, 1995
Chestwood 翠湖	751, 751P		23 March, 1995
Tin Shui Wai Loop Starting between Tin Yiu* and Hang Mei Tsuen, zone 4*
Tin Shui Wai 天水圍	705, 706, 751	KCR West Rail	6 December, 2003
Tin Tsz 天慈	705, 706, 751, 751P		6 December, 2003
Tin Wu 天湖	705, 706, 751, 751P		6 December, 2003
Ginza 銀座	705, 706, 751, 751P		6 December, 2003
Tin Wing 天榮	705, 706, 751, 751P, 761P		6 December, 2003
Tin Yuet 天悅	705, 706, 761P		6 December, 2003
Tin Sau 天秀	705, 706		6 December, 2003
Wetland Park 濕地公園	705, 706		6 December, 2003
Tin Heng 天恆	705, 706		6 December, 2003
Tin Yat 天逸	705, 706, 751, 751P, 761P		6 December, 2003
Tin Fu 天富	705, 706, 751, 751P, 761P		6 December, 2003
Chung Fu 頌富	705, 706, 751, 751P, 761P		6 December, 2003

Current service pattern

There are currently nine routes serving the Light Rail system:

505: Sam Shing to Siu Hong (via Leung King, Shan King, Kin On, and On Ting)
507: Tin King to Ferry Pier (via Tai Hing and On Ting)
610: Yuen Long to Ferry Pier (via Tai Hing and Tsing Shan Tsuen)
614: Yuen Long to Ferry Pier (via Fung Tei and On Ting)
615: Yuen Long to Ferry Pier (via Leung King, Ming Kum, and Tsing Shan Tsuen)
705: Around the Tin Shui Wai loop anticlockwise
706: Around the Tin Shui Wai loop clockwise
751: Tin Yat to Yau Oi (via Chestwood, Affluence, and Choy Yee Bridge)
761P*: Yuen Long to Tin Yat (via Tin Shui)

*761P operates special services between Yuen Long and Tin Wing (via Wetland Park) at 30-minute intervals from 10:00 to 15:00 daily.

After the opening of West Rail, the demand for Light Rail services between Siu Hong and Yuen Long decreased. Therefore, half of 614 and 615 services were changed to short-distance services operating between Siu Hong and Ferry Pier, numbered 614P and 615P respectively.

The following route runs only during peak hours:

751P: Tin Yat to Tin Shui Wai

Fares

The Light Rail is the only public transport system in Hong Kong to have fare zones. These fare zones apply only to passengers purchasing single-ride tickets from ticketing machines at LRT stops. Since the introduction of Octopus cards, however, passengers have a choice of ticketing options. All fares indicated below are for adults, while children and the elderly usually pay the concessionary fare, which is half the adult fare.

Single-Ride tickets

There are six fare zones — 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 5A — for passengers purchasing single-ride tickets in tram stations. A trip between two zones costs HK$4, HK$4.70 for three zones, and journeys further than three zones costs HK$5.8. Zone 5A was introduced solely for the latest extension in Tin Shui Wai, and both zones 5 and 5A are only connected to Zone 4. Therefore travelling between zones 5 and 5A is considered as travelling through three zones.

Octopus Cards

Octopus Card

Octopus card fares are calculated based on the minimum number of stations travelled (from origin to destination stations), rather than the number of fare zones travelled through. All stations have Octopus card entry and exit processors at the entrances to and exits from platforms. Passengers may enter the system after placing their Octopus card on the reader of an orange-coloured 'Entry Processor' reader. This action is known as 'validation'. At this point, HK$6 is deducted from the Octopus card. When the passenger completes their journey, they place their card on a dark-green coloured 'Exit Processor'. At this time, the difference between the HK$5.80 intitially deducted, and the value of the fare travelled is refunded to the card. This design ensures that passengers re-validate their cards upon exit, otherwise they must pay the maximum fare of HK$5.80. A third type of processor exists at most platforms. Light-blue in colour, it is an 'Enquiry Processor', and allows passengers to check the balance on their card, along with the 10 most recent Octopus transactions, and, in the case of Personalised Octopus Cards, the number of Light Rail credits accumulated.

Passengers using Personalised Octopus Cards are able to participate in the Light Rail Bonus Scheme. Adults who spend HK$30 in 6 consecutive days, or children who spend HK$15 over the same period get an automatic credit of $HK3 and $HK1.5 respectively. Octopus card holders with student identity stored in the card can enjoy a rebate of $3.4 when he spend HK$12 in 4 consecutive days.