WestK Quay and WestK Ferry, new Sai Sha bus routes - Issue 13 (December 2025)

Released 11/16/2025

The Journal of Hong Kong Transport
Issue 13 (December 2025)

In this issue

New ferry pier opens at WestK
Kwoon Chung 60th anniversary carnival
New Citybus routes for Sai Sha

Note: This issue includes external links. The editor is not responsible for any content outside this Journal.
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A special message to readers

Dear readers,

It is very unfortunate to see a tragedy like the Wang Fuk Court fire from happening, which claimed 168 lives. As this Journal continues to thrive, we strive to provide the best quality content without commissions or ads, but we cannot prevent such things from occurring.

With this catastrophic aftermath, we sincerely express our deepest condolences to those families who lost their relatives in the tragedy, as well as deep gratitude to anyone who put in numerous hours and effort to help the needy who lost their homes in Wang Fuk Court.

As promised, we will make every effort to help the needy by donating at least HK$50,000 to the support fund* for the victims of the Wang Fuk Court fire. We also joined the three-minute mourning at 8 am on 29 November 2025, to mourn the dead. We hope that the relatives can soon recover from the pain caused by the fire; for those who were injured, we hope they can recover from their injuries; and for those who died, we hope they rest in peace.

The Journal of Hong Kong Transport
29 November 2025

* To make a donation to the Wang Fuk Court Support Fund, please transfer your donations to account numbers 012-875-2-190159-7 (for Hong Kong dollars) and 012-875-2-190160-7 (for foreign currencies) of Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited. The FPS Identifier is 124037276.

New Way to Get to WKCD: WestK Quay commenced service

On 10 November 2025, WestK Quay, part of the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD), was opened for service, with the formal opening scheduled on 15 November 2025 alongside the new ferry route, operated by Fortune Ferry, to Central Ferry Piers. This adds a new way to access WKCD by ferry, further attracting visitors on the other side of the harbour.

About the pier

This pier, located at the southwestern tip of Kowloon, was originally proposed as a replacement for the old Jordan Road ferry pier when the peninsula was reclaimed from the 1970s to the 1990s. WKCD plans to develop the dock as a means to make visitors more accessible by water transport and also to bolster visitor flow in and out of WKCD, especially M+. The pier was also available for other public ferries to berth, on a pre-booked basis using their online portal, which is free of charge.

The pier was designed to be accessible to people with disabilities, and therefore, a ramp-and-platform design was used. This design, used by Star Ferry, Sun Ferry, and HKKF at most of their piers, featured a platform that could be raised and lowered according to water levels. A ramp connects the platform, providing accessible, step-free access between the pier entrance and the ferry. What made this platform unique was its single-deck design, unlike most ferry piers that have double decks. Most ferries only have one main passenger deck. Other amenities at the dock include an information booth for inquiries about ferry services and other WKCD details.

New ferry service

The ferry service operated by Fortune Ferry under a contract with WKCD coincides with the opening of WestK Quay and was launched on the same day as the pier. It is pet-friendly, making it one of the few ferry services in Hong Kong that allows pets to travel with their owners. The journey takes approximately eight minutes, with a ticket price of HK$20 per passenger and for each piece of freight. The vessel used for this service, MV Fortune, has 200 seats available and is fully air-conditioned. The service operates at 30-minute intervals, operating between 8:00 and 22:00 on weekdays, and 8:00 to 23:00 on weekends and public holidays.

WKCD and Fortune Ferry will also distribute 3,500 free ferry tickets on this route, so that many people can come to Pier 8 of Central Ferry Piers to redeem them. These tickets are only valid on 15 and 16 November 2025, the first weekend of operation. Monthly tickets are also available for HK$560, offering unlimited ferry rides for one month.

Additionally, there will also be Hong Kong Water Taxi services that call at the pier, offering destinations around Victoria Harbour, adding a spot of sightseeing and attracting tourists alike.

“Keep on Movin'”: Kwoon Chung Bus 60th Anniversary Carnival

Kwoon Chung Bus, established in 1965, celebrated its 60th anniversary with a carnival at Chater Road in Central from 11:30 am to 6:00 pm on 16 November 2025. In the carnival, Kwoon Chung Bus displayed a Volvo B13R bus with Old Master Q livery and a CRRC EU12 (TEG6125EUBEV01) single-decker low-floor bus. The event also includes game booths and performances, sharing the pleasure of the event with the people of Hong Kong.

A Volvo B13R of Kwoon Chung Bus exhibited in the carnival
A CRRC EU12 of Kwoon Chung Bus exhibited in the carnival
Game booths at the carnival
Soccer field at the carnival

Enhanced Services for Sai Sha: New Citybus Routes to Tsuen Wan and Kowloon

On 1 December 2025, Citybus started operating three bus routes to and from Sai Sha of Ma On Shan. At the same time, bus route 580, which serves Sha Tin Station, will increase frequencies to a daily service to meet growing passenger demand. At this point, Citybus has six routes serving the new development in Sai Sha by Sun Hung Kai Properties, including GO PARK, which opened a year ago.

Additionally, some services of Long Win Bus route A41P will begin service from Sai Sha, and all routes serving Sai Sha will be relocated to the new public transport interchange at Sai Sha Residences, which includes an air-conditioned lounge for bus waiting and other amenities.

Route details

The three bus routes, 586, 587, and 589, would serve Cheung Sha Wan and Tsuen Wan, Tsim Sha Tsui, and Kwun Tong, respectively. These three routes will initially operate during peak hours on weekdays, then be expanded to frequent service as demand increases.

586

This route calls at Tai Wai and Cheung Sha Wan before terminating at Tsuen Wan Station, utilizing Tsing Sha Highway and Tsuen Wan Road. The initial service departs from Sai Sha at 7:50 am and returns from Tsuen Wan at 6 pm. The full adult fare is HK$13.8.

On the first day of service, Citybus used its retro Volvo B8L for both the morning and evening services, which attracted numerous bus enthusiasts for a ride and to take photos and videos for the occasion. However, with only one service in each direction on each weekday, and as this is a new connection route to Sai Sha Residences, passenger numbers are relatively low.

Also, on the first day, there were no christenings or other ceremonies to celebrate the start of operation of the new route, to mourn the victims of the Wang Fuk Court fire. This differs from that of previous occasions when new bus routes were established, such as KMB route 13 on 30 March 2025.

587

Similar to route 586, this bus route also calls at Tai Wai but differs by traversing the busy Nathan Road to the Mody Road Public Transport Interchange in Tsim Sha Tsui. Services initially depart from Sai Sha at 7:50 am and from Mody Road at 6:15 pm, with the full adult fare at HK$13.6.

However, the bus route may be affected by major traffic jams in Tsim Sha Tsui, a major tourist spot in Hong Kong, further delaying the journey. The selection of departure times is also a congestion point, as many special peak-hour-only bus routes operated by KMB departed from the Mody Road terminus at the same time.

This is not the first time that Citybus has set a terminus at Mody Road. Another Citybus route, 973 to Stanley, has also set foot at Mody Road terminus since 2013.

589

This east Kowloon express route uses Tate's Cairn Tunnel as a direct journey to Kwun Tong and Kowloon Bay business areas. However, during the route planning phases, many stakeholders, such as local groups and district councillors, blamed the reversing route that makes a U-turn to Kwun Tong before calling at Kowloon Bay. The Transport Department explains that the routes were designed to reach the Kwun Tong business areas more quickly. Initially, services depart from Sai Sha at 8:05 am and from Kowloon Bay at 6 pm. Full adult fares cost HK$11.2, the cheapest among the three routes.

Furthermore, Citybus claimed that the increased frequency of routes 580 and 581 can be as low as 10-minute intervals, providing convenience to the residents of Sai Sha. Citybus and KMB are also preparing to operate special services on the cross-harbour bus route 980X, which departs and terminates at Sai Sha Residences, taking effect on 15 December 2025.

Epilogue

This issue marks the end of year 2025 — a year full of challenges, but also discovered many new dimensions, such as KMB's route 19 began operations on 30 March 2025, broadening new horizons of Sau Mau Ping and Anderson Road, as well as nurturing the development of the area, and the tourist bus route HK1 was changed to open-top operations in 3 August 2025.

Bus enthusiasts waving at a leaving bus after running as bus route 80M for the last ever time

Other special highlights of this year also include the termination of KMB's route 80M on 1 August 2025, ending its 37 years of operation between Sui Wo Court and Kowloon Tong Station, when many bus enthusiasts gathered to bid a farewell to one of the most special and historic bus routes ever run.

Unfortunately, because there is less news about public transport throughout most of the year, the Journal can publish a new issue only every two to three months. The editor would apologise for this inconvenience and hope that fellow readers would accept.

It has been two years since this Journal began publishing articles in February 2024, documenting the debut of the hydrogen bus. Since then, the Journal has grown to 13 issues, with additional content to be added, including the experimental Reader's Corner, featuring articles from online forums, written by bus enthusiasts. We look forward to adding more content that benefits not only the Journal but also its readers. As always, we record much of the news of public transport that most mainstream media in Hong Kong often overlook.

The current situation the Journal is facing is a lack of editors to provide more content, and help with corrections and other types of editing. Interested individuals can apply using the forms below. We appreciate your participation.

As always, the Journal wishes everybody a happy Christmas and a new year 2026.

Note: This issue was published a month earlier for technical purposes. Other updates will follow in the coming weeks since the publication of this issue.

Other highlights for September—December 2025

At 3:53 am on 20 October 2025, a Boeing 747-400 freighter (registered as TC-ACF) skidded into the sea while hitting a car with two people on board during landing at Hong Kong International Airport. Both occupants in the vehicle were drowned in the accident, and the crews on board the aircraft were safely evacuated through slides without injuries.
KMB, Citybus, Star Ferry, and MTR offer free rides to all athletes and other related personnel during the 2025 National Games held in Guangdong, China, Hong Kong, and Macau.
An Enviro500 MMC of Citybus running route 55 was seen loading passengers at Ching Tin Estate
Citybus expands bus route 55 to an everyday service on 17 November 2025. The newly added weekend service will use Kwun Tong Road instead of going through Kowloon Bay. The service frequency was also increased, and the service hours were extended accordingly. Citybus also offers free interchange between the bus routes with B3X, in an effort to attract East Kowloon passengers to Shenzhen Bay Port.
The LRV used for the Yuen Long Sightseeing Route stands at the Yuen Long terminus
The Light Rail Voyager Yuen Long Sightseeing Route was launched on 28 September 2025, alongside the Tuen Mun route, which debuted as a tourist route seven months prior. The routes are designed to let riders discover Yuen Long and Tuen Mun through specially curated routes, promoting tourism in the New Territories' northwest. Unfortunately, this weekend-and-public-holiday-only service was suspended from 16 December 2025 onwards, with MTR citing a change of business strategies as the reason.
Citybus started operating a special open-top bus route, H20, on 19–20 November 2025, to cater to tourists visiting by cruise. This is the first time that franchised open-top buses have served Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, which opened in 2013.
On 9 November 2025, major public transport services offered free rides to people with disabilities and their companions in observance of the International Rehabilitation Day. On 16 November, the elderly were offered free travel on most public transport services in Hong Kong in observance of Elderly Day.
The Legislative Council General Election will be held on 7 December 2025. Contrary to the 2021 elections, no public transport concessions will be offered. What do you think? Use the form below to share your thoughts.
Aftermath of the Wang Fuk Court fire, seen from a footbridge over Kwong Fuk Road
On the evening of 26 November 2025, a level 5 fire occurred in Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po. As many as 39 bus routes were rerouted as the only passage to Tai Po Road from Tolo Highway was closed. The Journal sincerely extends its condolences to those who lost their lives in this tragedy (see the A special message to readers section above).
With the opening of the Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong on 11 December 2025, Citybus and KMB rerouted a total of eight bus routes to serve the new Pak Shing Kok hospital complex on 9 December.
Citybus signed an agreement on 10 December 2025 to procure thirty Enviro500 MMC diesel buses from Alexander Dennis. This move has overwritten the original pledge made last year that the bus operator would stop purchasing diesel buses, as a motive to maintain service quality.
KMB adds two-way section fares to nine bus routes serving Kowloon and Kau Lung Hang of Tai Po on 15 December 2025, for electronic payments, with a fare reduction of up to HK$8.4.