New express bus routes, 45th anniversary of MTR - Issue 7 (August 2024)
The Wikimedia Journal of Hong Kong Transport
Issue 7 (August 2024)
- New express bus routes for New Territories East
- MTR 45th anniversary updates
- KMB summer carnival
Note and disclaimer: External links are included in this issue. The editor is not responsible for the material outside this issue.
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New bus services are coming in the late months of summer. On 19 August 2024, KMB started operating a new bus route, 85P, to and from Nai Chung and Hung Hom (Hung Luen Road), as well as extending the special departures of bus route 40X. The bus routes are intended to improve traveling times during the morning peak hours for commuters to Kwai Chung and Kowloon. Also on 25 August 2024, Citybus started operating an express bus route between Queen's Hill Estate, Tai Po, and Sha Tin as route 79. All of the changes originated from the 2022-2023 Bus Route Planning Programme, aimed to provide more convenience to customers with faster journeys with optimum use of bus operators' resources.
For the special departures of route 40X, the new arrangement will serve all stops locally to Kam Chun Court before heading directly to Kwai Chung via the Shing Mun Tunnels. All bus stops between Kwai Hong Court and Kwai Chung Estate are also omitted in the arrangement, and from the date above the special departure from Ma On Shan Town Centre was also canceled. Passengers are urged to use the normal services of route 40X instead. The service hours were between 07:15 and 08:15 on weekday mornings from Wu Kai Sha Station.
A new bus route to and from Nai Chung during peak hours was established to improve the travel experience for commuters to and from Wu Kai Sha and Kowloon on weekday mornings and evenings. The bus route, unlike that of the original route 85X, omits A Kung Kok and City One Shatin and only stops locally between Nai Chung and Park Belvedere before traveling directly to Kowloon City via Tate's Cairn Tunnel, with the first stop at The Latitude. The bus route then goes to Hung Hom calling all major stops of 85X in Kowloon City. The return journey runs a similar route, and the services run two on weekday mornings from Nai Chung and two from Hung Hom on weekday evenings. The special departure of 85X from Wu Kai Sha Station was also canceled that day.
The new bus route has the main selling point of serving the residential areas without requiring people to walk to train stations or travel on bus routes that ran over the hilly sections of Tai Po Road, thus competing with bus and rail. Unlike existing bus routes between Sha Tin and Tai Po, the route does not serve to twist hilly roads or the area of Ma Liu Shui and Pak Shek Kok, similar to that of NT East Boundary Line bus route B8, but serves different regions. Both routes share a common terminus at Tai Wai Station, however, route B8 served the east side of the Shing Mun River and route 79 served the Lek Yuen and Wo Che estates. Additionally, the latter served the Kwong Fuk Estate of Tai Po. The routing in North District is completely the same as Queen's Hill Line bus route 79X.
Along with the above changes for eastern New Territories, recent changes include a new express bus route from Kwai Chung Estate to West Kowloon on weekday mornings as route 37X, operated by KMB; as well as extending cross-harbor bus route 907C to Fu Tip Estate, and adding special departures of routes 273P and 307P to connect there as well.
MTR launched a new wave of promotion campaign for their 45th anniversary celebrations on 20 August 2024. The year-long campaign includes a promotional video featuring Hins Cheung, the Station Rail Voyage exhibition at Hung Hom Station, and a retro-themed train reminiscent of the 1980s. Since 1979, MTR connected people's lives with hearts, and it is one of the deep memories of Hong Kong people.
| External videos | |
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| MTR promotional video on YouTube | |
 Standard version | |
| Extended version |
On 20 August 2024, MTR released their new promotional video featuring renowned actor and singer Hins Cheung. The videos resurfaced the memories of MTR with romantic movie scenes from Behind the Yellow Line, Heart to Hearts, and Beyond the Dream, letting people witness the relations and the importance of the rail system from day one. The filming of the video took place in Admiralty and Hong Kong stations, with a new themed song specifically made for this purpose. In the past, MTR was the place that created many memories in life. Today, it is the prime commuting method for many people, connecting them of all ages, and bringing them an unforgettable experience.
On 27 April 2024, MTR opened a new exhibition at Hung Hom Station after the MTR Gallery at Kowloon Station. The exhibition is called Station Rail Voyage, and it occupied the space used by the former Intercity Through Trains which suspended operations in 2020. The exhibition brings both MLR and Yellow Head trains and a diesel-electric locomotive to life and is open for public visiting through reservation. The exhibition is scheduled to be held until the end of 2024, and reservations can be made through their portal website. In this part, excerpts of the exhibition will be explained.
The exhibition was set up amid requests to preserve rail memories by rail enthusiasts and other stakeholders, including Legislative Council members, rather than taking precious rail assets to the scrapyard.
This part of the exhibition includes signaling and other components for the rail system, letting visitors know how they would contribute to a safe rail system. A RADO clock, seen formerly at most MTR stations, is also exhibited in the venue.
.jpg "Signs used previously in rail on display")
.jpg "Salvaged rail vehicle components on display")
.jpg "Former East Rail Line signaling lights on display")
.jpg "A RADO station clock mounted on a pillar")
In this part, stories and important items of the rail in the old ages were collected and displayed, highlighting the friendship and documenting the contributions of the railway workers over the past four-and-a-half decades. Visitors can hear MTR announcements all around the world and try to dress like MTR staff in different eras. The most special piece of the exhibit in this part is a cab-end from a scrapped M-Train, the final point before heading down to the main part of the exhibition, located at the old platforms inside the station.
.jpg "Exhibition boards for Years on the Rail")
.jpg "The Broadcast Cloister exhibit")
.jpg "Railway Staff's Magic Pockets exhibit")
.jpg "Cab-end of M-Train A128 on display")
Coming to the final and main part of the exhibition, this part exhibited three different rail vehicles used by KCR in the past, including the Yellow Head and MLR EMUs, as well as diesel-electric locomotive number 56 I.B. Trevor. The interiors of the EMUs were open to visitors, including both the ordinary and first classes.
.jpg "Exhibition board for End of the Memory Lane")
.jpg "KCR EMU E44 on display at the former platform 5")
.jpg "Ordinary class interior of KCR EMU inside car 244")
.jpg "First class interior of KCR EMU inside car 444")
.jpg "Ordinary class interior of MLR EMU inside car 371")
.jpg "First class interior of MLR EMU")
.jpg "Diesel electric locomotive number 56 I.B. Trevor on display at the former platform 5")
After the visit, a souvenir retro-styled ticket will be randomly awarded to the visitors. They can also purchase the event-exclusive "MTR Ticket Classic Album" and other MTR souvenirs at the booths specifically set up for the exhibition. The visit is approximately 75 minutes, and MTR has reserved some sessions on weekdays for group visits.
More images of the exhibition can be seen through this Wikimedia Commons category.
_24-08-2024.jpg "MTR 45th Anniversary Themed Train entering Kwun Tong Station platform 1")
Being one of the major parts of the celebration campaign, an M-Train was re-liveried to make it look like that of a pre-refurbished train in the 1980s to the 1990s. This included a white cab-end with red stripes and an old MTR logo, interiors with orange-yellow ceilings and ball-shaped strap hangers in the first and last two vehicles, and themed Memories. The other four intermediate cars, with the theme Togetherness, were decorated with scenes collaborating with the old cartoon characters from My Boy by cartoonist Wong Sze Ma, licensed by his son, and reworked onto the train by comic artist Li Chi Tak, depicting the characters transformed into people in different eras, showing the changes of MTR and the city over the past 45 years.
This 45th Anniversary Themed Train was inaugurated at Kowloon Bay Depot with numerous delegates and colleagues of MTR attended on 22 August 2024, including CEO Jacob Kam, Under Secretary for Transport and Logistics Liu Chun San, and Legislative Council members Ben Chan and Dominic Lee.
.jpg "Interior of the themed M-Train, packed with passengers including rail enthusiasts")
The train was put into service on the Kwun Tong Line at 14:00 that day from platform 3 at Choi Hung Station running a special service towards Ho Man Tin, before returning to Kowloon Bay Depot.
.jpg "A young boy was being interviewed on board the train, surrounded by other rail enthusiasts")
The train arrived at the station platform welcomed by a crowd of rail enthusiasts and other passengers, at 13:50. Loaded full of people, the train departed punctually at 14:00 towards Ho Man Tin. Numerous journalists, reporters, and cameramen were also present conducting interviews with the passengers.
On Saturday, 24 August 2024, the train was opened for a public visit at platform 2 of Choi Hung Station. A long queue was formed early in the morning to take a glance inside the train, from 10:45 to 12:00. Many people took photos in the retro compartment, with warm lights, orange-yellow ceilings, and ball-shaped strap hangers. The queue was cut at 11:15 due to popular demand. For the visitors, they received a commemorative postcard of the "white head" train.
The train was then cleared for a passenger run from 12:05 at noon, serving the Kwun Tong Line for the rest of the day. This journey departs from platform 2 of Choi Hung Station towards Tiu Keng Leng, and then it joins the traffic on the line between Tiu Keng Leng and Whampoa. This train will then serve passengers until the end of 2024. For passengers who were lucky enough to catch this train, they may encounter a time journey to the past, that they will never forget.
_24-08-2024.jpg "MTR 45th Anniversary Themed Train approaching Kowloon Bay Station platform 2")
.jpg "Interior of vehicle A162, showing the Memories theme with orange ceiling and ball-shaped strap hangers")
.jpg "A close-up shot of the ball-shaped strap hangers with the orange-colored ceiling above")
.jpg "A shot of the side wall of the train, showing some railway knowledge Q&A's")
KMB held its carnival for the Free Ride Days for Kids concessionary, on 25 August 2024. The carnival featured a bus exhibition, employment and game booths, and more. Amid the hot summer, the positive reaction by the public 'had made the hotness gone'.
The event required the membership of a Club1933 member to get an entry ticket for the event, the same as the 90th-anniversary carnival held back in 2023.
.jpg "Buses line up for a bus exhibition of the carnival")
.jpg "Carnival game and employment booths, along with long queues")
.jpg "A 12m MCV bodied Volvo B8L in retro livery displayed at the event")
.jpg "A 12.8m Enviro500 in retro livery displayed at the event")
.jpg "D26 number 4961 on display at the event")
| External image | |
|---|---|
 Promotional artwork for the three-day bus captain contract |
- Citybus launched a new bus captain contract on 8 August 2024, letting them work for three days and enjoy another two days off. The contract is aimed at the new Generation Z labor force, as a move to reduce the loss of workforce for the bus operator.
- Mainland Chinese authorities announced the closure of all railway ports linking Hung Hom Station on 31 July 2024, bringing the intercity passenger train service to a real end. However, termination of the service was not yet announced by the government nor MTR, as the service remained suspended "until further notice".
.jpg "BED41 standing at Mody Road terminus for route 81C, with \"Proud of You\" livery")
- KMB wrapped a BYD B12D with a colorful Proud of You livery of sporting athletes in mid-August 2024 to commemorate their outstanding performance during the Paris Olympics. KMB is also planning to name buses to honor the athletes, especially Vivian Kong, a gold medalist in fencing.
- As part of the celebration of the 45th anniversary of the bus operator, in August 2024, Citybus wrapped a Volvo B8L, 52108 (formally numbered 8807) in a retro livery of the early 1990s, similar to that of 178. Also in late July, its open-top fleet of buses got a new service name that replaced the Rickshaw Sightseeing Bus, HK CITY SIGHTSEEING.
- On 18 August 2024, MTR launched a new feature in its MTR Mobile app that allows customers to purchase single journey tickets in the app and use it with their smartphones.
- Starting from 25 August 2024, all Hong Kong residents aged 60 or above must use a JoyYou Card to enjoy the Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities ($2 Scheme).
- Fairview Park residents can enjoy a new type of transport on weekdays starting from 26 August 2024, with autonomous minibusses introduced into internal shuttle bus services, running in 5G.
