The Light Rail Transit (LRT) in Hong Kong, Part One

HF: The first phase of Hong Kong’s light rail transit (LRT) system opened in September 1988, providing a fully integrated transport service for the fast growing northwestern region of the New Territories. Designed as a high-capacity carrier yet providing a comprehensive network of services, the system features a large number of stopping points located in commercial, industrial, and residential areas. Many of the stops are directly linked by footbridges to transport interchanges and into the housing developments. The system opened on time and within budget, with very few technical start-up problems. Yet its early days of operation were clouded by controversy, and at one time it was branded as dangerous and trouble-prone by the local media.

The LRT system is the only public transport service in Hong Kong that features an open fare system, giving maximum customer convenience without turnstiles on the platforms or in the vehicles. Passengers pay for the number of fare zones they travel through rather than than the route they take. The system now regularly operates with 98 per cent punctuality and 99.9 per cent reliability despite having 18 major and 51 minor road crossings, all at grade and without barriers. Average journey speeds achieved are 20 km/hr including stops. Despite the low fares, the system already covers about 100 percent of its direct operating costs. Three new links have been added and 30 more cars will be delivered starting in late 1992. The operating regime is described, with the line-of-sight driving that achieves this daily performance, the priority request system to obtain signals to proceed over the road junctions, experience to date, as well as plans for the future.

The first phase of Hong Kong’s light rail transit (LRT) system commenced operation in September 1988, providing a fully integrated transport service for the fast growing northwestern region of the New Territories with a target population of 800,000 by the late 1990s. Clouded by a series of controversies initially, including concerns about monopoly and safety, the system has gradually started to gain passenger and public recognition and has become an integral part of Hong Kong’s multimodal public transport scene.

Patronage on the 23-km Phase 1 system has increased about 50 percent to average 262,000 daily (including some 37,000 who travelled on bus services feeding the network) in 1991, making it one of the most heavily used LRT systems in the world.

Operated largely on its own right-of-way but entirely at grade with 56 road junctions (73 on the expanded network) where the system meets other road vehicles, the system has consistently been attaining excellent safety, punctuality, and reliability records.

On an average day over 99 percent of the 1,600 light rail vehicle (LRV) trips on the timetable are operated and 98.5 percent arrive at their destinations within 3 min of their scheduled time. The accident rate is the lowest of all road-based modes of public transport, and no major incident has occurred that caused widespread interruption of service for an extended period of time.

Despite the very low fares charged (which, at the end of 1991, averaged HK$2.10, more or less the same charged by ordinary Hong Kong buses), fare revenues almost cover 100 percent of the system’s direct operating costs (excluding provisions for depreciation) thanks to continued rapid patronage growth and productivity enhancements.

This article was first posted on 21st January 2025.

Source: Transportation Research Record 1361 ”LRT in Hong Kong’s New Suburbs”

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