Track gauge in Hong Kong

Current use

1435 mm

In Hong Kong, the three ex-KCR lines (the East Rail line, the West Rail line, and the Ma On Shan line) and the Light Rail service use 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge. New extensions to the Island line (West Island line) and Kwun Tong line, as well as the South Island line, also use the 1,435 mm gauge.

1432 mm

The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) lines (except for West Island line, South Island line, and Kwun Tong line extension) that were not part of the Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR) use 1,432 mm (4 ft 8 3⁄8 in) track gauge, 3 mm (1⁄8 in) narrower than standard gauge.[1][2][3]

1067 mm

Hong Kong Tramways, which has been operating tram service on northern Hong Kong Island since 1904, uses 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge.

Rail gauge table
Rail gauge Rail Length (km) Operator Service period
610 mm (2 ft) Sha Tau Kok Railway 11.67 Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation 1912 – 1928
914 mm (3 ft) Hong Kong Disneyland Railroad 1.5 Hong Kong Disneyland 2005 – present
1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Hong Kong Tramways 30 Hong Kong Tramways, Limited 1904 – present
1,432 mm (4 ft 8 3⁄8 in) Kwun Tong line 18.4 MTR Corporation 1979 – present
1,432 mm (4 ft 8 3⁄8 in) Tsuen Wan line 16 MTR Corporation 1982 – present
1,432 mm (4 ft 8 3⁄8 in) Island line 16.3 MTR Corporation 1985 – present
1,432 mm (4 ft 8 3⁄8 in) Tung Chung line 31.1 MTR Corporation 1998 – present
1,432 mm (4 ft 8 3⁄8 in) Airport Express 35.3 MTR Corporation 1998 – present
1,432 mm (4 ft 8 3⁄8 in) Tseung Kwan O line 12.3 MTR Corporation 2002 – present
1,432 mm (4 ft 8 3⁄8 in) Disneyland Resort line 3.8 MTR Corporation 2005 – present
1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) East Rail line 41.5 MTR Corporation 1910 – present
1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Light Rail 36.2 MTR Corporation 1988 – present
1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) West Rail line 35.7 MTR Corporation 2003 – present
1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Ma On Shan line 11.4 MTR Corporation 2004 – present
1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) South Island line 7.4 MTR Corporation 2016 – present
1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link Hong Kong section 26 MTR Corporation 2018 – present
1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in) Peak Tram 1.365 The Peninsula Hotels 1888 – present

Former narrow gauge
Preserved Kowloon-Canton Railway locomotive

The Kowloon–Canton Railway (now East Rail) was originally partially laid to 2 ft (610 mm) and 3 ft (914 mm) gauge during its construction, and the latter was proposed to be its gauge since the tunnel could only accommodate 3 ft gauge if the line was to be double track throughout. However it was built to standard gauge and was single track, retaining space at places for later expansion. The now-defunct Sha Tau Kok Railway, built in 1911 and closed in 1928, constructed of the same materials used for constructing the main line, was 2 ft gauge. The famous Hong Kong Tramways are 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge. The MTR uses a gauge of 1,432 mm (4 ft 8 3⁄8 in), 3 mm narrower than the standard gauge. Originally it was to be standard gauge but when the link between the KCR and MTR at Kowloon Tong fell into disuse due to the difference in the choice of voltage for their respective electrification plans, the latter favoured a narrower gauge for technical reasons. This has proven to be an impediment of the proposed merger between the two systems.[4]

The haematite mine at Ma On Shan used an electric internal railway network of 2 ft 6 in (762 mm)

The Kowloon Godowns in Tsim Sha Tsui, before redevelopment in the 1970s, also had an extensive network of 2 ft (610 mm) gauge tracks using tiny hand-pushed 2-axle trucks. Similar systems existed elsewhere in Hong Kong. Railways believed to be metre gauge existed in Taikoo Dockyards and Whampoa Dockyards, though standard gauge is more probable for the latter, since it was connected to the main line network after 1937. A cement works in To Kwa Wan, north of the Whampoa dockyards, used a small internal narrow gauge system with jubilee track (prefabricated panels) and wagons, but apart from a few aerial photographs available at the Lands Department Mapping Office, there is little available information about this system.[4]

During the reclamation of Kowloon Bay for the construction of the Kai Tak estates, "jubilee" track and steam locomotives were used to convey spoil. This area became the Kai Tak Airport which has now been demolished.[4]

See also

References
  1. 香港鐵路(MTR)
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-06-09. Retrieved 2012-11-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Allen, Geoffrey Freeman, Jane's World Railways, 1987–88, Jane's Information Group, 1987 (ISBN 9780710608482)
  4. A Picture Album of Steam Locomotives in China, 1876 - 2001. China Rail Publishing House. ISBN 7-113-04147-7.
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