MTR

This article is about the public transport network in Hong Kong. For the corporation that operates it and other networks worldwide, see MTR Corporation. For other uses, see MTR (disambiguation).

Mass Transit Railway (MTR)
港鐵
An MTR train on the Tung Chung line
An MTR train on the Tung Chung line
Overview
LocaleHong Kong
Transit type
Number of lines
  • Rapid Transit: 10
  • Light rail: 12
Number of stations
  • Rapid Transit: 99
  • Light rail: 68
  • High-speed rail: 1[1]
Daily ridershipNovember 2023:

4,823,000 (city metro lines only, without cross border passengers)

5,764,000 (All rail transport, including light rail and high speed rail)
Annual ridershipJanuary 2023 to December 2023

1,586,646,000 (city metro lines only, without cross border passengers)

1,896,798,000 (all rail transport, including light rail and high speed rail)
Websitemtr.com.hk
Operation
Began operation
  • 1 October 1910; 114 years ago (1910-10-01) (British Section of KCR opened)
  • 1 October 1979; 45 years ago (1979-10-01) (MTR's Modified Initial System opened)
  • 2 December 2007; 16 years ago (2007-12-02) (MTR and KCR operations merged)
Operator(s)MTR Corporation
Technical
System length
  • Heavy rail: 209.1 km (129.9 mi)[2]
  • Light rail: 36.2 km (22.5 mi)[2][3]
Track gauge
  • 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge (East Rail line, Tuen Ma line, South Island line, Light Rail and line extensions after 2014)
  • 1,432 mm (4 ft 8+3⁄8 in) almost-standard gauge (all other lines)
Mass Transit Railway (MTR)
Traditional Chinese港鐵
Simplified Chinese港铁
JyutpingGong2tit3
Hanyu PinyinGǎngtiě
Literal meaning"(Hong) Kong railway"
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinGǎngtiě
IPA[kǎŋ tʰjè]
Hakka
RomanizationKóng-Thiet
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationGóngtit
JyutpingGong2tit3
IPA[kɔŋ˧˥ tʰit̚˧]
Southern Min
Tâi-lôKáng-thih

The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is a major public transport network serving Hong Kong. Operated by the MTR Corporation (MTRCL), it consists of heavy rail, light rail, and feeder bus services, centred around a 10-line rapid transit network, serving the urbanised areas of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories. The system encompasses 245.3 km (152.4 mi) of railways, as of December 2022, with 179 stations—including 99 heavy rail stations, 68 light rail stops and 1 high-speed rail terminus.[1][2]

Under the government's rail-led transport policy,[4] the MTR system is a common mode of public transport in Hong Kong, with over five and a half million trips made on an average weekday consistently achieving a 99.9% punctuality rate on its arrivals and departures. As of 2018, the MTR has a 49.3% share of the franchised public transport market, making it the most popular transport option in Hong Kong.[5] The integration of the Octopus smart card fare-payment technology into the MTR system in September 1997 has further enhanced the ease of commuting.

  1. ^ a b "Railways". Transport Department, The Government of Hong Kong SAR. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022. The MTR, XRL and Airport Express networks comprise a total of 99 stations and carry an average of about 3.9 million passengers per day in 2021. Light Rail ... has a route length of about 36.2 kilometres with 68 stops.
  2. ^ a b c "Business Overview" (PDF). MTR Corporation. 2021. p. 11. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 June 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  3. ^ "MTR Press Release" (PDF). MTR Corporation. 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  4. ^ Merging Hong Kong's Railways Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Civic Exchange, 2004
  5. ^ "2018 Annual Report" (PDF). MTR Corporation. p. 32. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2019.