Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [215]
Overland fares are cheap, starting at $3.50, with a 42-minute ride to Sheung Shui from East Tsim Sha Tsui costing just $11.50 (1st class is $23) and the 48-minute trip to Lo Wu $36.50 (1st class $73). Children and seniors pay reduced fares of between $1.50 and $18. Paying with an Octopus card brings down fares considerably.
The MTR runs some 129 feeder buses on 18 routes via its MTR Bus Service ( 2881 8888; www.mtr.com.hk), but these are generally of interest only to residents of housing estates within striking distance of the MTR East and West Rails and the Light Rail.
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Light Rail Lines
The MTR’s Light Rail system began oper-ations in 1988 and has been extended several times since. It is rather like a modern, air-conditioned version of the trams in Hong Kong, but it’s much faster, reaching speeds of up to 70km/h. It runs along 36km of track parallel to the road and stops at 68 designated stations, carrying some 320,000 passengers a day.
Until recently, only those travellers visiting the temples of the western New Territories made much use of the Light Rail, as it essentially was just a link between the New Towns of Tuen Mun and Yuen Long. But with the opening of the MTR West Rail, it is an important feeder service for the MTR.
There are 11 Light Rail lines connecting various small suburbs with Tuen Mun to the south and Yuen Long to the northeast, both of which are on the MTR West Rail. The system operates from about 5.30am to between 12.15am and 1am. Trams run every four to 12 minutes, depending on the line and time of day. Fares are $4 to $5.80, depending on the number of zones (from one to five) travelled; children aged three to 11 and seniors over 65 pay from $2 to $2.90. If you don’t have an Octopus card, you can buy single-journey tickets from vending machines on the platforms.
The system of fare collection is unique in Hong Kong: there are no gates or turnstiles and customers are trusted to validate their ticket or Octopus card when they board and exit. That trust is enforced by frequent spot checks, however, and the fine is 50 times the maximum adult fare – $290 at present.
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TRAM
Hong Kong’s venerable old trams, operated by Hongkong Tramways Ltd ( 2548 7102; www.hktramways.com), are tall and narrow double-decker streetcars, the only all double-deck wooden-sided tram fleet in the world. They roll (and rock) along the northern coast of Hong Kong Island on 16km of track, carrying some 240,000 passengers daily.
The electric tramline first began operating in 1904 on what was then the shoreline of Hong Kong Island. This helps explain why roads curve and dogleg in ways that don’t seem quite right. Try to get a seat at the front window on the upper deck for a first-class view while rattling through the crowded streets: tall passengers will find it uncomfortable standing up as the ceiling is low, but there is more space at the rear of the tram on both decks.
Trams operate from 6am to midnight and arrive every couple of minutes. The six routes from west to east are: Kennedy Town–Western Market, Kennedy Town–Happy Valley, Kennedy Town–Causeway Bay, Sai Ying Pun (Whitty St)–North Point, Sheung Wan (Western Market)–Shau Kei Wan, and Happy Valley–Shau Kei Wan.
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Peak Tram
The Peak Tram ( 2522 0922, 2849 7654; www.thepeak.com.hk; one way/return adult $22/33, child 3-11yr $8/15, senior over 65yr $8/15) is not really a tram but a cable-hauled funicular railway that has been scaling the 396m ascent to the highest point on Hong Kong Island since 1888. It is thus the oldest form of public transport in the territory.
While a few residents on the Peak and in the Mid-Levels actually use it as a form of transport – there are four intermediate stops before you reach the top – the Peak Tram is intended to transport visitors and locals to the attractions, shops and restaurants