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Q:
Is
there any airport train service between the airport and downtown Hong
Kong?
A:
There is a Airport Express
Line (AEL) running between Hong Kong International Airport
and CBD, Central (Hong Kong Island). Details can be found at MTRC (Mass
Transit
Railway Corp.) website. Pricing and service hours can be found at MTRC homepage.
Q:
Is there any one-day pass or ticket for traveling public transport in
Hong Kong?
A:
MTR (underground) sells one day pass for $50
(US$6.50). This ticket entitles a passenger of one day unlimited number
of rides on the MTR excluding the Airport Express Line.
The
easiest way is to buy an Octopus Card, this card
enables you to travel on MTR network, KCR East Rail and light rails,
trams, peak trams, ferries, all buses and you may even make phone calls
and buy soft drinks at railway stations. This card can be purchased at
Airport Express service counters at the arrival hall or any other MTR
and KCR station ticket counters. It costs HK$150 (US$19) and consists
of $100 value (and $50 deposit). You can top us the card once the card
balance running low or below 0. Full refund can be made at any point of
time.
Q:
What kinds of trains can be seen in Hong Kong? Where are the best
places to watch trains?
A: In Hong Kong, there are 5
types of railway: MTR
(underground), KCR (East and West Rail), Light Rail, Trams and Peak
Trams.
Although most of the urban line
MTR tracks
are built underground, part of the tracks are built on bridges which
are good places for watching trains. These include the Kwai Hing-Lai
King section (Tsuen Wan line), Kowloon Bay-Kwun Tong section (Kwun Tong
line), Heng Fa Chuen-Chai Wan section (Island line). The depots at
Tsuen Wan, Kowloon Bay and Heng Fa Chuen are built on the ground.
However, visitors are NOT allowed to visit the depots without prior
approval.
The Olympic-Tung Chung / Airport
section
is built on the ground or on bridges. It is not difficult to find a
place to watch trains at the Tung Chung / Airport Express line.
For the KCR East Rail, the best
places for watching trains are:
1. over the bridge at Cheong Wan
Road at Kowloon Station. This
is the best place to watch the diesel
locomotives of East Rail.
2. over a bridge at Boundary Street. This bridge is parallel to the
railway track.
3. at the bridge between Shatin Station and Fo
Tan. Visitors can go to Shatin Station first, then walk towards the
Grand Central Plaza, follow the northern bound of the track and finally
arrive at the bridge.
4. Kau Lung Hang bridge for pedestrians
at Fanling.
5. Railway Museum at Tai Po Market. Details
please visit their official
homepage.
The Light Rail runs between
Tuen Mun, Tin Shui Wai and Yuen Long. Visitors can take any buses to
these areas. Here is one of the suggested route: Take bus 68M from
Tsuen Wan MTR Station to Yuen Long. You can see the Light Rail when you
arrive at Yuen Long.
Trams operate from Kenedy Town
to Sau Kei Wan on the busy streets of Hong Kong Island while Peak Trams
run from Garden Road to the Peak. Visitors can watch these vehicles
elsewhere along the line.
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2.
Going from Hong Kong into the mainland China and beyond
Q:
Is there any train service running between Hong Kong and Mainland
China? How much does it cost?
A:
Yes. There are
intercity services running from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, Dongguan,
Foshan, Zhaoqing and stations to Beijing and Shanghai. Timetables and
fare tables can be found at KCRC
Website .
You can also travel on KCR East Rail's EMU to
Lo Wu and cross the boundary there.
Q:
Can I buy train tickets (Hong Kong -
Mainland China) at places other than Hong Kong (such as internet)?
A:
I believe the
answer is no at this stage. There is no official website that you can
book a train tickets. However, you can try to contact C.I.T.S. (China
International Travel Service) at their overseas offices.
Q:
Is it possible to travel from Hong
Kong to London by train?
A:
Yes. Try the
following itinerary:
- Train #T98 from Hong Kong's
Hung Hom
station to Beijing West (30 hours, 2276km)
- Change
trains from at Beijing Main Station for train #K3 to Moscow and
arriving Moscow (Moskva Yaroslavskaya) 6 days later (7661km
via Ulaanbaatar)
- Move yourself to another
station
in Moscow (Moskva Belorusskaya) for train #EN248 to Cologne (Koeln
Hbf) (9 hrs 35mins)
- Thalys high-speed
train with take you from Cologne (Koeln Hbf) to Brussels Midi/Zuid
Station (2hrs 35 mins)
- Finally, Eurostar #9133
departing 1302 hours will take you to London Waterloo in 2
hours and 40 minutes.
Q:
Are there any International trains
running from Hong Kong to other countries?
A:
No.
However, there are some international services operating at other
Chinese cities such as:
- Beijing - Moscow, Russia (via
Ulaanbaatar or Manzhouli)
- Beijing - Ulaanbaatar,
Mongolia
- Beijing - Pyongyang, North
Korea
- Beijing - Nanning - Hanoi,
Vietnam
- Kunming
- Hanoi, Vietnam (narrow gauge)
- Harbin -
Vladivostok, Russia
- Urumqi - Aktogay, Kazakhstan
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3. Traveling around mainland China
Q:
Can I buy tickets in advance and pay other than cash?
A:
You can
purchase tickets usually up to 6-12 days in advance. However, they do
not accept any payment other than cash.
Q:
What sort of accommodation do
Chinese trains offer?
A: For most short distance train
services, it
composes of Hard Seats (Yingzuo, 2nd Class) and
Soft Seats (Ruanzuo, 1st Class) and for long
distance train, it usually comprise of Hard Seats, Hard Sleeper (open
compartment and 3 berths per row) and Soft Sleepers (4 berths per
room). For some premium routes (such as Beijing -
Shanghai/Guangzhou/Hong Kong), it also consists of de-luxe soft berth
(2 per room) with shower facilities. Most of the trains are
air-conditions. Non-airconditioned (green trains) can be found
occassionally.
Q:
How do the Chinese trains
classify their route numbers?
A: The
route numbers can be classified into: Special Express Trains (the T
series), Express Trains (the K series), Regular Trains (nos. 1xxx-5xxx)
and Slow Trains (nos. 6xxx -
9xxx). Odd numbered trains are those leaving Beijing / Shanghai while
even numbered trains are those heading towards Beijing / Shanghai. A
rule of thumb is that the higher the route number, the slower the
train, the more stations the train will stop, the higher chance that
the train is non-air-conditioned and the cheaper the tickets are.
Q
: Is it difficult to buy train tickets in
China?
A: Except from the peak season
in the Chinese New Year (from late Jan. to mid-Feb.), the short
distance train tickets are easy to buy. You can buy "No Seat" tickets
if you are very urgent. However, the long distance train tickets (both
hard or soft sleepers) are difficult to buy, especially during the date
of departure. It would be easier if you buy the tickets 3 days or more
in advance. If, unluckily, you cannot buy such tickets, you can buy
hard seat tickets first. Then you can try to contact the Train Officer
on board (usually he/she is in the 5th coach). After around 1 hour, the
Officer will know whether there are vacant sleeper tickets and will
sell to passengers. If you are still unlucky, you can pay around RMB 30
to sit in the dinning coach overnight. The environment there should be
much better than that in the hard seat coach!
Q:
Are there any steam locomotives
in operation in China?
From
2000 onwards, all the steam locomotives at the mainline have been
replaced by diesel or electric locomotives. However, some of the local
railway (such as the famous Jitong line at Inner Mongolia), quarry
railway and industrial lines still use steam locomotives. The nearest
place where steam locomotives are used is inside Guangzhou
Steelwork (Information up to 4/2002). There are some internet
websites (for example, Rob
Dickinson's International Steam homepage) have regular
reports. For steam train information about Guangdong Province. Visit
our Railways
in Guangdong Page.
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