Journey to Nowhere

Here are small notes regarding some MTR stations in Hong Kong. If you are new to the city’s train (MTR) system, you may be interested.

First, if you want to go from Tsim Sha Tsui station to East Tsim Sha Tsui station, or vice versa, you have to buy a new ticket (meaning you have to leave the gate of one station before entering the gate of another), though the two stations are connected by a long subway and a long walk of at least 5-10 minutes.

Second, Hung Hom station, one of the busiest stations, is the only station of the whole MTR system where electronic information is displayed to show which train to depart from which platform, and at what time. The station is busy because it is the starting point and the final stop for two MTR lines (the West Rail Line and the East Rail Line that goes to Lowu or Lok Ma Chau). There are four platforms in the station so look out for the electronic information before going to any of the platforms.

Kowloon Tong is another busy station because here the East Rail Line and the Kwun Tong Line intersects. Previously, to transfer from one line to another, you had to buy a new ticket, just like the situation mentioned above regarding Tsim Sha Tsui station and East Tsim Sha Tsui station. But it is no longer the case. The walk from one line to another is long though, taking approximately five minutes. So be prepared. If you come from Lowu, Kowloon Tong is usually the transit point for going to the city.

If you need to travel from Lowu to Hong Kong International Airport, here’s the easiest way – take the airport bus from Sheung Shui train station on the East Rail Line.

After going through the Hong Kong immigration, you will find yourself at the Hong Kong Lowu train station. Board the train, and get off at the first stop – Sheung Shui station.

Take exit B2, to get to the Sheung Shui Bus Terminus, where you will find A43 airport bus, run by Long Win Bus Company. It takes about 1 hour to get to the Hong Kong International Airport, with a bus fare of HK$29.2. The bus is every 15-30 minutes.

For details of the schedule, please check here. Note that the first part of the schedule is for transport to the Airport from Luen Wo Hui (in Fanling, which is about 2-3 stops to Sheung Shui station), and the second part of the schedule is for transport from the Airport.

Hong Kong Transport Department has launched an online route finder to help travelers plan trips around the city. You can enter origin points and destination points for route search.

I’ve tried my hands at the system, and I must say it is a big disappointment. It is not user-friendly – hard to find what you want, and you are often at a loss as to how to search. The instructions are not helpful either. 

But it has an abundance of information, complemented with map, fares, and providing information covering bus, minibus, ferry, train, and tram – all modes of transport in Hong Kong. The system is in a pilot stage and hopefully it will be improved soon to give real benefits to visitors to Hong Kong. 

Here is the website: http://ptes.td.gov.hk/en/index.asp

China Travel Tours Transportation company, a subsidiary of China Travel Service (CTS), runs a full range of bus services between Hong Kong and neighboring mainland cities, such as Guangzhou, Dongguan, Foshan, Shunde, Panyu, Zhongshan and Zhuhai.

Its website lists schedules as well as prices. So it is a wonderful reference. But to see the full list of its bus services, you must click on the names of place/border crossing/route on the left navigation bar. You will be surprised how many more bus destinations you can find.

The website is
http://ctsbus.hkcts.com/routes/hk/hk_guangzhou02.html

This is a brief post updating the scene of Hong Kong’s major mode of transportation – train. 

Previously, Hong Kong’s train transport had two systems, that under the KCRC (Kowloon Canton Railway Corporation), which controlled the current East Rail line from Hung Hom to Lo Wu, and that under the MTRC (Mass Transit Railway Corporation), which was basically the city’s underground train system across Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. 

Late last year, the two corporations merged to become the MTR. So now all the train stations in Hong Kong are called MTR stations, regardless of being underground or not. 

Starting only a few days ago, with the bid to integrate the two systems, passengers can use one ticket for riding across different train lines, without going out of the station and going in again at some major transferal stations such as Kowloon Tong. 

Check out the MTR website for more info.