Ordinary Gweilo

It's not big and it's not clever, it's just a Brit in Hong Kong writing (mainly) about Hong Kong

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Category: Public Transport

  • Let me just push past you–whoops

    The MTR is a world-class public transport system.  The passengers – not so much.  Leading to everyday frustrations, with the occasional moment of madness. Case one – trying to get off a crowded train.  Doors open.  I say “Mh Goi”, but no-one moves, so I have to force my way out through a crowd of…

  • Hong Kong not so good- HKIA North Satellite Concourse

    There’s not too much wrong with Hong Kong International Airport.  Apart from the North Satellite Concourse, that is. It was opened more than 5 years ago (for smaller planes such as the Airbus A320 / A321), and yet the only way to get there (or back) is by taking a shuttle bus across the apron….…

  • Stand still

    The MTR have started painting feet on the escalators to show passengers where to stand (yes, really), and it seems that they are now encouraging people to stand still rather than walking up or down in that reckless way favoured by some: Smiley®World Character dressed as Penguin to Promote Escalator Safety MTR cares about your…

  • East-West? No.

    They print so many stupid letters in the SCMP, but this one is spectacular: Combine two MTR rail lines There has been much discussion (or rather negative feedback) from East Rail Line passengers after the West Rail Line was extended to Tsim Sha Tsui East while the East Rail Line now terminates at Hung Hom.…

  • East meets West (Rail)

    Today West Rail is extended, through the new Austin station and the existing East Tsim Sha Tsui station, to terminate at Hung Hom, where it finally links up with East Rail (the original KCR line from Kowloon to the border with mainland China).  This means that East Rail trains have stopped running to East Tsim…

  • Out of Service

    Picture the scene: it’s raining and you are looking for a taxi.  There’s one with the “Taxi” light on.  You get closer and notice that it’s “out of service”. Maybe the driver is waiting to pick up a passenger who has made a telephone booking; or it could be that he is only interested in…

  • Sha Tin to Central – or maybe not

    Last week the SCMP had two stories about the so-called "Sha Tin to Central link", the new rail line being built by the MTR (MTR Corp submits new rail plan and vows to minimise disruption. When completed the 17km extension will not only give commuters in Ma On Shan and Sha Tin a direct rail…

  • Sensible changes

    The government has given the go-ahead for the so-called "Sha Tin to Central Link". When this was first announced it was going to be a new railway line from Tai Wai (in Sha Tin district), via Hung Hom, to Central.  You might not realize this from newspaper reports, but it has become two separate extensions…

  • Two for the price of one

    Today is Rail Merger Day.  The government has engineered a deal whereby the MTR (which used to be government-owned but is now a public company, albeit still controlled by the government), will operate the railway services and manage the property of the KCR (which is still government-owned).  That means that all the rail services in…

  • Worse than London and New York?

    Another one of those surveys that seem to work wonders in getting free publicity. It was in Friday’s Independent London’s public transport is world’s best (no, really) and Sunday’s SCMP London ranked above HK in transport poll as well. A survey that voted London as having the best public transport system in the world has been greeted with…