Hong Kong Tramways Ride - East to West Island - Hong Kong
Riding the
Hong Kong Tramway -
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/5RREJ - 16W
Shipyard Lane Westbound Stop to
WMT Western Market Terminus (
End of Line). Cost: $0
.30 USD.
Hong Kong Tramways (
Chinese: 香港電車) is a tram system in
Hong Kong, being one of the earliest forms of public transport in the metropolis.
Owned and operated by
Veolia Transport, the tramway runs on
Hong Kong Island between
Shau Kei Wan and
Kennedy Town, with a branch circulating
Happy Valley.
Trams in Hong Kong have not only been a form of commuter transport for over
100 years, but also a major tourist attraction and one of the most environmentally friendly ways of travelling in Hong Kong.[2] It is the only tram system in the world operated exclusively with double-decker trams, and is one of only three non-heritage tram systems in the world that use double-deck cars.
Tram routes
The trams run on a double track tramline built parallel to the northern coastline of Hong Kong Island from Kennedy Town to Shau Kei Wan, with a single clockwise-running track of about 3 km (1.9 mi) around the
Happy Valley Racecourse.
There are 7 tram termini located along the tram line, namely, from west to east, Kennedy Town,
Shek Tong Tsui (a.k.a.
Whitty Street),
Sheung Wan (Western Market), Happy Valley,
Causeway Bay,
North Point and Shau Kei Wan; some intermediate stops such as
Sai Ying Pun,
Admiralty MTR Station,
Wan Chai, and
Victoria Park are also equipped with turnaround facilities so that they can be used as makeshift termini in emergency situations, such as en-route traffic accidents.
Public reception and cultural significance
The trams have not only been a form of transportation for over a century, but also a major tourist attraction. The well-preserved tram lines still serve as a crucial means of transport in Hong Kong.
Travelling in the lower deck of the tram allows travellers to have a close up view of the local street life, while occupying the front seats of the upper deck gives good views of the town as the tram rattles by.
Hong Kong's tram system is an icon of the city, like other
Asian trams in
Kolkata,
Dalian and
Sapporo.
As they run through the urban area of Hong Kong Island, the tram tracks have become an important icon of urban Hong Kong. Since the tracks were originally built along the waterfront before further land reclamation pushed the coastline northwards, the tracks can be used to identify directions and locations throughout urban Hong Kong Island.
Red light meals
In the old days, the duration of meal breaks allocated to tram drivers were far from adequate. Most drivers would therefore take advantage of the time their trams are waiting at a red light to gulp down a portion of their meal before the signal turns to green, continuing this practice whenever the tram comes to a red light until the meal is finished. This kind of hurried, impromptu meal is commonly referred as "red light meals" (Chinese: 紅燈飯).
Projects
Modern Tramway at
Kai Tak Development[edit]
Hong Kong Tramways
Limited announced its interest in constructing a 12-km modern tramway system in the Kai Tak Development, built on the vacated site of the former
Kai Tak Airport, in place of the "
Environmentally Friendly Linkage System" (monorail system) proposed by the
Hong Kong Government. Possible extensions to neighbouring places such as
To Kwa Wan,
Kowloon City and
Kwun Tong were suggested.
The company appointed a consultancy firm to investigate on the feasibility of building such a modern tram system in
2010, and submitted a proposal to the
Development Bureau on April 29,
2013.[9]
The company pointed out that the cost of constructing the proposed tram system is HK$2.8 billion. which is comparatively low as compared to the cost of $12 billion needed for a monorail system.
Bruno Charrade,
Managing Director of
HKT, said the design of tramcars can be in connection with their Hong Kong Island counterparts or in a totally new shape, depending on the
Government's discretion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Tramways
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294217-d1992541-Reviews-Hong_Kong_Tramways_Ding_Ding-Hong_Kong
.html