wyliepoon
Senior Member
Last in a series of threads showing photos from my recent trip to Hong Kong
No trip to Hong Kong is complete for me without the ritual of riding the city's unique double-decker trams- one of three streetcar systems in the world that has double-decker vehicles (the others are Blackpool, England and Alexandria, Egypt), and the only one that runs only double-deckers.
Since I live in Kowloon, across Victoria Harbour from northern Hong Kong Island where the tramway is, the trams are very much like a tourist attraction to me.
Enjoy the photos!
One of the "Millennium Trams", the newest trams in the fleet. It's an attempt at re-inventing the double-decker trams with modern comforts, such as air-conditioning.
Hongkong Tramways operate on a route that is paralleled by double-decker bus routes, and an MTR subway route runs under it for much of its length. How does it stay competitive? A HK$2 (about $0.30 Canadian) flat fare, and by being attractive to tourists.
Tram #120 is restored to a 1950s look, with traditional green livery, wood window frames, and ads selling Chinese traditional medicine.
Lower deck of tram
Old meets new in fare payment technology... a farebox and an Octopus fare card scanner.
Entrance doors at the rear of the tram. Hongkong Tramways has a strange passenger loading method... passengers get on the tram via the rear doors, and they get off via the front doors, paying the operator on their way out. Turnstiles prevent passengers from getting off via the rear doors without paying.
Western Market tram terminal
Most tram stops are islands in the middle of the street.
Nothing fancy like barriers or cobblestones to keep cars off of a tram ROW... usually simple pavement markings like this does the trick here.
The Canal Road Flyover. Hong Kong people have found out how to use the space under this urban elevated road efficiently, with things like social service centres and bus terminals located under the Flyover. It's a popular spot for the Chinese religious ritual known as Villain Hitting.
Cyclists often consider tram lanes as bike lanes, as long as they can outrun the trams. In urban Hong Kong there are few street cyclists, and the ones who bike are usually on delivery for things like fast food or kerosene tanks.
*****
Best place to check out the Hongkong trams up close is the Chun Yeung Street market in North Point. The street market is a woonerf-like street which forms part of the North Point loop on the tramway. The tram drops off passengers at the eastern end of the street, and then travels at near-walking speed down the length of the market, clanging its bell along the way.
Imagine the TTC doing something like this, like a Queen's Quay woonerf that includes streetcars, or putting a streetcar loop in the middle Kensington Market!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wof-v0r3k3o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_N2OkwVOmI
No trip to Hong Kong is complete for me without the ritual of riding the city's unique double-decker trams- one of three streetcar systems in the world that has double-decker vehicles (the others are Blackpool, England and Alexandria, Egypt), and the only one that runs only double-deckers.
Since I live in Kowloon, across Victoria Harbour from northern Hong Kong Island where the tramway is, the trams are very much like a tourist attraction to me.
Enjoy the photos!
One of the "Millennium Trams", the newest trams in the fleet. It's an attempt at re-inventing the double-decker trams with modern comforts, such as air-conditioning.
Hongkong Tramways operate on a route that is paralleled by double-decker bus routes, and an MTR subway route runs under it for much of its length. How does it stay competitive? A HK$2 (about $0.30 Canadian) flat fare, and by being attractive to tourists.
Tram #120 is restored to a 1950s look, with traditional green livery, wood window frames, and ads selling Chinese traditional medicine.
Lower deck of tram
Old meets new in fare payment technology... a farebox and an Octopus fare card scanner.
Entrance doors at the rear of the tram. Hongkong Tramways has a strange passenger loading method... passengers get on the tram via the rear doors, and they get off via the front doors, paying the operator on their way out. Turnstiles prevent passengers from getting off via the rear doors without paying.
Western Market tram terminal
Most tram stops are islands in the middle of the street.
Nothing fancy like barriers or cobblestones to keep cars off of a tram ROW... usually simple pavement markings like this does the trick here.
The Canal Road Flyover. Hong Kong people have found out how to use the space under this urban elevated road efficiently, with things like social service centres and bus terminals located under the Flyover. It's a popular spot for the Chinese religious ritual known as Villain Hitting.
Cyclists often consider tram lanes as bike lanes, as long as they can outrun the trams. In urban Hong Kong there are few street cyclists, and the ones who bike are usually on delivery for things like fast food or kerosene tanks.
*****
Best place to check out the Hongkong trams up close is the Chun Yeung Street market in North Point. The street market is a woonerf-like street which forms part of the North Point loop on the tramway. The tram drops off passengers at the eastern end of the street, and then travels at near-walking speed down the length of the market, clanging its bell along the way.
Imagine the TTC doing something like this, like a Queen's Quay woonerf that includes streetcars, or putting a streetcar loop in the middle Kensington Market!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wof-v0r3k3o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_N2OkwVOmI
!
