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wyliepoon
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HK Photos: New Territories West, KCR West Rail & LRT
Continued from my New Territories (NT) East photo thread (I would suggest that you check out the other thread first for background information) ...
The "new towns" of western New Territories in Hong Kong, unlike those in eastern NT, were not developed around the railway (KCR East Rail), but around highways and roads. However, the transportation situation has much improved since then, with the extension of MTR subway lines into southwestern NT, the opening of KCR Light Rail which connects new towns in northwestern NT, and finally with KCR West Rail which connects all the western new towns with urban Kowloon.
Tsuen Wan, Tsing Yi and Kwai Chung
Satellite view of Tsuen Wan and Tsing Yi from Google Maps
Tsuen Wan, Tsing Yi and Kwai Chung are the oldest of the new towns in Hong Kong. In the 1960s when the Hong Kong government decided to develop new towns, this area was already under development, with factories and warehouses being built for the city's industrial boom at the time. Today these new towns look no different from many of the old urban neighbourhoods of Kowloon and Hong Kong, and often they have been mistaken as being part of urban Kowloon instead of the "suburban" New Territories.
Kwai Chung is Hong Kong's portlands area, the site of the world's busiest container port. Tsuen Wan is a densely populated industrial town that is currently being transformed as a commercial centre. Tsing Yi is an island just off Tsuen Wan. It has numerous high-rise communities, as well as energy facilities (fuel tank farms and a power plant). These new towns are the only ones in NT to be served by MTR subway lines. The current combined population of the towns is 772 000.
Part of Kwai Chung's container port, seen from MTR's Tung Chung Line
Photos of Tsuen Wan...
Tsuen Wan's Nina Tower under construction. Nina Tower is named after Nina Wang, the "weird" female president of Chinachem which is developing this project. Originally Nina proposed to build the world's tallest building in Tsuen Wan, but that died when a flight path to the new Hong Kong Int'l Airport was placed over Tsuen Wan. The tower being built now is 319m tall, making it by far the tallest building in the New Territories, and the new landmark of the new town.
Across the street from the tower, a high-class mall is being built. A wall of condo towers will also be built next to Nina Tower.
Luk Yeung Galleria is a mall built next to MTR's Tsuen Wan station, on top of MTR's Tsuen Wan Line depot. The Galleria serves as a podium for a high-rise residential community. The mall and the residential towers are all owned by MTR.
Sam Tung Uk is a traditional village located next to the MTR depot. Today it is a museum (which unfortunately was not open when I was there).
Tsing Yi Island has a number of public and private high-rise neighbourhoods. Many offer great views of the Tsuen Wan skyline. There is also a waterfront promenade in Tsing Yi with spectacular views of Tsuen Wan.
Maritime Square, another MTR-owned mall. This one is built next to Tsing Yi station on the Tung Chung Line and Airport Express.
Inside Maritime Square
Entrance to Tsing Yi MTR station
The west side of Tsing Yi Island is devoted to port, industrial and energy uses. It is also the eastern end of Tsing Ma Bridge, the world's longest road-rail suspension bridge which connects the Airport with Hong Kong (unfortunately I wasn't able to get photos of the bridge).
KCR West Rail
KCR West Rail is the major rail link linking northwestern New Territories with Kowloon. The route is in the shape of a hook (see map at top), curving north from Kowloon to Yuen Long, and then back south to Tuen Mun. This route manages to connect all the new towns in western NT, but is very unattractive to commuters in Tuen Mun, who usually commute to Kowloon by bus via a direct route to Tsuen Wan. Unlike KCR East Rail, West Rail handles only commuter rail with no mainline or freight traffic.
West Rail has the same reputation that the Sheppard Subway is seen in Toronto... an oversized, over-glamourous rapid transit line to nowhere. The KCR designed every station on West Rail to look like the Jubilee Line extension in London, with modern cathedral-sized spaces and platform screen doors, perhaps in an attempt to show that they could compete architecturally to the richer MTR subway system. However, when West Rail first opened, it failed to attract the projected passenger figures, and KCR took a lot of heat for it. With a series of new marketing schemes (such as the introduction of a monthly pass), ridership appears to have increased, but still not as good as other rapid transit lines in HK.
Kam Tin area
Heading north from Tsuen Wan by West Rail, the first station is Kam Sheung Road, which serves the Kam Tin area. Kam Tin is one of the main rural villages in the New Territories, which fortunately has not come under major urban or suburban development. This area is surrounded farms and green hills... hard to believe this still part of Hong Kong!
Photos of Kam Sheung Road KCR station... a massive station literally in the middle of nowhere.
Park-n-ride lot
The Kam Tin area from the upper deck of a KMB route 64K double-decker bus that runs from Tai Po to Kam Sheung Road, through the heart of the New Territories. I highly recommend this bus- it's a very scenic route!
The area around Kam Sheung Road...
Yuen Long
EzCode Parsing Error:=http://Satellite view of Yuen Long from Googl
Northwest from Kam Sheung Road on West Rail, we arrive at Yuen Long. Yuen Long is a new town, but it has a long history as a market town. Yuen Long is most famous for its food- Wing Wah, a company that makes Chinese sausages and Autumn Festival "moon cakes" famous around the world, is based in Yuen Long.
Yuen Long's current population is 211 000.
KCR Light Rail
Yuen Long is the eastern terminus of KCR Light Rail, Hong Kong's second light rail transit system (the first being the world-famous double-decker Hongkong Tramways on Hong Kong Island). Opened in 1988, the LRT system is 36kms long with 68 stops, serving the western New Territories new towns of Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai and Tuen Mun. With the opening of West Rail in 2003, LRT serves as feeder routes to West Rail stations. It is also a cheap and fast way for new town residents to get around their neighbourhoods.
Almost all of the LRT network is made up of ROWs, with raised platforms in the middle of streets that serve as stations. LRT vehicles have 3 wide doors on one side to allow for easier passenger boarding and exiting at stations. LRT uses the honour system for fare payments: there are no turnstiles at stations, but passengers need a proof of payment (POP) to board LRT vehicles (either a ticket bought at station vending machines or an Octopus fare card validated at a station scanner). Just like GO Transit in Toronto, KCR staff roam LRT vehicles to check for POP. From what I've seen on KCR Light Rail, POP checks are rare, and many passengers don't really bother to get a POP. The KCR must have also noticed this, because they are planning to introduce turnstiles at several LRT stations.
Yuen Long KCR West Rail and LRT station photos:
Yuen Long station is so big that there's a good-sized dim sum restaurant in the station building!
Yuen Long photos:
A sign at an LRT station reminding passengers to validate their Octopus Cards at the station scanners before riding LRT. Note the English on the sign- to "beep" means the same as to scan an Octopus Card.
"Entry" Octopus Card validators at an LRT station. Passengers are required to scan their Octopus Cards at these orange scanners before riding the LRT, and when they leave the LRT system they must take their cards to a green "Exit" scanner. Passengers who fail to do the above risk paying a fine or a maximum fare.
Interior of LRT train
Tin Shui Wai
Satellite view of Tin Shui Wai from Google Maps
Tin Shui Wai is the most recently developed of the new towns in western New Territories. Before construction began in 1987, Tin Shui Wai was an area of mostly fishponds. Today Tin Shui Wai is a dense new town with a population of 270 000.
Tin Shui Wai unfortunately has a reputation in Hong Kong similar to that of Jane and Finch or Scarborough in Toronto- a suburban area that has more than its fair share of social problems and crime. Physically isolated from other urban areas in Hong Kong, Tin Shui Wai has a disproportionate number of poor families, and a lack of social services (its official "town centre" has not yet been built), which contribute to its social problems. Youth gangs and crimes are rampant here, relative to Hong Kong (which is one of the safest cities in the world).
I took some photos of the new town from the back of LRT vehicles on the Tin Shui Wai Circular route... not because I was scared of being mugged (which would be highly improbable), but because I was pressed for time.
Note overhead sign that tells the arrival time of next LRT train, the route it belongs to, and the length of the train.
Tin Shui Wai KCR West Rail and LRT station:
Tuen Mun
Satellite view of Tuen Mun from Google Maps
Tuen Mun is the westernmost of the new towns in the New Territories, and the terminus of West Rail. It has a population of 485 000.
Promenade at Tuen Mun ferry pier
Tuen Mun Ferry Pier LRT terminal
Tuen Mun town centre:
Tuen Mun's worst building is probably its KCR West Rail station. It is an oversized, cheap building built on piers on top of a foul-smelling river channel. The riverfront was pretty bad even before West Rail, but this station probably ends any chance for a healthy recovery.
Tuen Mun's industrial buildings
Tuen Mun KCR station concourse
Tuen Mun station platform
Siu Hong is a public housing neighbourhood in northern Tuen Mun, with its own West Rail station...
Siu Hong Housing Estate
These definitely aren't public housing!
Continued from my New Territories (NT) East photo thread (I would suggest that you check out the other thread first for background information) ...
The "new towns" of western New Territories in Hong Kong, unlike those in eastern NT, were not developed around the railway (KCR East Rail), but around highways and roads. However, the transportation situation has much improved since then, with the extension of MTR subway lines into southwestern NT, the opening of KCR Light Rail which connects new towns in northwestern NT, and finally with KCR West Rail which connects all the western new towns with urban Kowloon.
Tsuen Wan, Tsing Yi and Kwai Chung
Satellite view of Tsuen Wan and Tsing Yi from Google Maps
Tsuen Wan, Tsing Yi and Kwai Chung are the oldest of the new towns in Hong Kong. In the 1960s when the Hong Kong government decided to develop new towns, this area was already under development, with factories and warehouses being built for the city's industrial boom at the time. Today these new towns look no different from many of the old urban neighbourhoods of Kowloon and Hong Kong, and often they have been mistaken as being part of urban Kowloon instead of the "suburban" New Territories.
Kwai Chung is Hong Kong's portlands area, the site of the world's busiest container port. Tsuen Wan is a densely populated industrial town that is currently being transformed as a commercial centre. Tsing Yi is an island just off Tsuen Wan. It has numerous high-rise communities, as well as energy facilities (fuel tank farms and a power plant). These new towns are the only ones in NT to be served by MTR subway lines. The current combined population of the towns is 772 000.
Part of Kwai Chung's container port, seen from MTR's Tung Chung Line
Photos of Tsuen Wan...
Tsuen Wan's Nina Tower under construction. Nina Tower is named after Nina Wang, the "weird" female president of Chinachem which is developing this project. Originally Nina proposed to build the world's tallest building in Tsuen Wan, but that died when a flight path to the new Hong Kong Int'l Airport was placed over Tsuen Wan. The tower being built now is 319m tall, making it by far the tallest building in the New Territories, and the new landmark of the new town.
Across the street from the tower, a high-class mall is being built. A wall of condo towers will also be built next to Nina Tower.
Luk Yeung Galleria is a mall built next to MTR's Tsuen Wan station, on top of MTR's Tsuen Wan Line depot. The Galleria serves as a podium for a high-rise residential community. The mall and the residential towers are all owned by MTR.
Sam Tung Uk is a traditional village located next to the MTR depot. Today it is a museum (which unfortunately was not open when I was there).
Tsing Yi Island has a number of public and private high-rise neighbourhoods. Many offer great views of the Tsuen Wan skyline. There is also a waterfront promenade in Tsing Yi with spectacular views of Tsuen Wan.
Maritime Square, another MTR-owned mall. This one is built next to Tsing Yi station on the Tung Chung Line and Airport Express.
Inside Maritime Square
Entrance to Tsing Yi MTR station
The west side of Tsing Yi Island is devoted to port, industrial and energy uses. It is also the eastern end of Tsing Ma Bridge, the world's longest road-rail suspension bridge which connects the Airport with Hong Kong (unfortunately I wasn't able to get photos of the bridge).
KCR West Rail
KCR West Rail is the major rail link linking northwestern New Territories with Kowloon. The route is in the shape of a hook (see map at top), curving north from Kowloon to Yuen Long, and then back south to Tuen Mun. This route manages to connect all the new towns in western NT, but is very unattractive to commuters in Tuen Mun, who usually commute to Kowloon by bus via a direct route to Tsuen Wan. Unlike KCR East Rail, West Rail handles only commuter rail with no mainline or freight traffic.
West Rail has the same reputation that the Sheppard Subway is seen in Toronto... an oversized, over-glamourous rapid transit line to nowhere. The KCR designed every station on West Rail to look like the Jubilee Line extension in London, with modern cathedral-sized spaces and platform screen doors, perhaps in an attempt to show that they could compete architecturally to the richer MTR subway system. However, when West Rail first opened, it failed to attract the projected passenger figures, and KCR took a lot of heat for it. With a series of new marketing schemes (such as the introduction of a monthly pass), ridership appears to have increased, but still not as good as other rapid transit lines in HK.
Kam Tin area
Heading north from Tsuen Wan by West Rail, the first station is Kam Sheung Road, which serves the Kam Tin area. Kam Tin is one of the main rural villages in the New Territories, which fortunately has not come under major urban or suburban development. This area is surrounded farms and green hills... hard to believe this still part of Hong Kong!
Photos of Kam Sheung Road KCR station... a massive station literally in the middle of nowhere.
Park-n-ride lot
The Kam Tin area from the upper deck of a KMB route 64K double-decker bus that runs from Tai Po to Kam Sheung Road, through the heart of the New Territories. I highly recommend this bus- it's a very scenic route!
The area around Kam Sheung Road...
Yuen Long
EzCode Parsing Error:=http://Satellite view of Yuen Long from Googl
Northwest from Kam Sheung Road on West Rail, we arrive at Yuen Long. Yuen Long is a new town, but it has a long history as a market town. Yuen Long is most famous for its food- Wing Wah, a company that makes Chinese sausages and Autumn Festival "moon cakes" famous around the world, is based in Yuen Long.
Yuen Long's current population is 211 000.
KCR Light Rail
Yuen Long is the eastern terminus of KCR Light Rail, Hong Kong's second light rail transit system (the first being the world-famous double-decker Hongkong Tramways on Hong Kong Island). Opened in 1988, the LRT system is 36kms long with 68 stops, serving the western New Territories new towns of Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai and Tuen Mun. With the opening of West Rail in 2003, LRT serves as feeder routes to West Rail stations. It is also a cheap and fast way for new town residents to get around their neighbourhoods.
Almost all of the LRT network is made up of ROWs, with raised platforms in the middle of streets that serve as stations. LRT vehicles have 3 wide doors on one side to allow for easier passenger boarding and exiting at stations. LRT uses the honour system for fare payments: there are no turnstiles at stations, but passengers need a proof of payment (POP) to board LRT vehicles (either a ticket bought at station vending machines or an Octopus fare card validated at a station scanner). Just like GO Transit in Toronto, KCR staff roam LRT vehicles to check for POP. From what I've seen on KCR Light Rail, POP checks are rare, and many passengers don't really bother to get a POP. The KCR must have also noticed this, because they are planning to introduce turnstiles at several LRT stations.
Yuen Long KCR West Rail and LRT station photos:
Yuen Long station is so big that there's a good-sized dim sum restaurant in the station building!
Yuen Long photos:
A sign at an LRT station reminding passengers to validate their Octopus Cards at the station scanners before riding LRT. Note the English on the sign- to "beep" means the same as to scan an Octopus Card.
"Entry" Octopus Card validators at an LRT station. Passengers are required to scan their Octopus Cards at these orange scanners before riding the LRT, and when they leave the LRT system they must take their cards to a green "Exit" scanner. Passengers who fail to do the above risk paying a fine or a maximum fare.
Interior of LRT train
Tin Shui Wai
Satellite view of Tin Shui Wai from Google Maps
Tin Shui Wai is the most recently developed of the new towns in western New Territories. Before construction began in 1987, Tin Shui Wai was an area of mostly fishponds. Today Tin Shui Wai is a dense new town with a population of 270 000.
Tin Shui Wai unfortunately has a reputation in Hong Kong similar to that of Jane and Finch or Scarborough in Toronto- a suburban area that has more than its fair share of social problems and crime. Physically isolated from other urban areas in Hong Kong, Tin Shui Wai has a disproportionate number of poor families, and a lack of social services (its official "town centre" has not yet been built), which contribute to its social problems. Youth gangs and crimes are rampant here, relative to Hong Kong (which is one of the safest cities in the world).
I took some photos of the new town from the back of LRT vehicles on the Tin Shui Wai Circular route... not because I was scared of being mugged (which would be highly improbable), but because I was pressed for time.
Note overhead sign that tells the arrival time of next LRT train, the route it belongs to, and the length of the train.
Tin Shui Wai KCR West Rail and LRT station:
Tuen Mun
Satellite view of Tuen Mun from Google Maps
Tuen Mun is the westernmost of the new towns in the New Territories, and the terminus of West Rail. It has a population of 485 000.
Promenade at Tuen Mun ferry pier
Tuen Mun Ferry Pier LRT terminal
Tuen Mun town centre:
Tuen Mun's worst building is probably its KCR West Rail station. It is an oversized, cheap building built on piers on top of a foul-smelling river channel. The riverfront was pretty bad even before West Rail, but this station probably ends any chance for a healthy recovery.
Tuen Mun's industrial buildings
Tuen Mun KCR station concourse
Tuen Mun station platform
Siu Hong is a public housing neighbourhood in northern Tuen Mun, with its own West Rail station...
Siu Hong Housing Estate
These definitely aren't public housing!