Hong Kong MTR

[Backroom_boy]

In HK for a fortnight and finding the metro pretty good. What does suprise is the frequency which is low by London standards (5/6 minutes) though this could be just the Tung Chung line which I've been using mainly and I've tried to avoid rush hour.

Also a couple of newish lines terminate at central/admiralty (which are the centre focus of the system) rather being a through line to the other side which is a bit odd. I assume the long term plan is to connect them up?

Oh and it seems really difficult to top up your Octopus card with a card; withdrawing cash just to put back on your card seems a bit redundant.

 

[generalnerd]

They haven’t really figured out the whole ‘card’ system in Hong Kong yet, but that’s mainly down to how good the Octopus is.

The issue with extending further is that is costs a lot of money to extend through Hong Kong island itself, with only one line covering it. The trains and stations are so wide that, in general, people who need to get to not destinations can just change trains easily.

The system is very impressive despite its flaws, I often refer to it as a network of crossrails.

 

[stuu]

The Tung Chung line shares tracks with the Airport Express so that limits the frequency - there are passing tracks in a couple of places IIRC. The Island line and the ones through Kowloon are more frequent. They have a plan to link the Tung Chung line with the one that terminates on the eastern side, creating a second link along the island

 

[Backroom_boy]

Also OT but air pollution seems less than London; wonder if the petrol formula is different here?

 

[generalnerd]

Also OT but air pollution seems less than London; wonder if the petrol formula is different here?

They drive smaller cars in HK so less fuel is used, along with having more greenery