Downtown Train Ride - Hong Kong

Riding the Hong Kong Tramway - Location: https://goo.gl/maps/5RREJ - 16W Shipyard Lane Westbound Stop to WMT Western Market Terminus (End of Line). Cost: $0.30 USD.
Hong Kong Tramways (Chinese: 香港電車) is a tram system in Hong Kong, being one of the earliest forms of public transport in the metropolis. Owned and operated by Veolia Transport, the tramway runs on Hong Kong Island between Shau Kei Wan and Kennedy Town, with a branch circulating Happy Valley.
Trams in Hong Kong have not only been a form of commuter transport for over 100 years, but also a major tourist attraction and one of the most environmentally friendly ways of travelling in Hong Kong.[2] It is the only tram system in the world operated exclusively with double-decker trams, and is one of only three non-heritage tram systems in the world that use double-deck cars.

Tram routes
The trams run on a double track tramline built parallel to the northern coastline of Hong Kong Island from Kennedy Town to Shau Kei Wan, with a single clockwise-running track of about 3 km (1.9 mi) around the Happy Valley Racecourse.

There are 7 tram termini located along the tram line, namely, from west to east, Kennedy Town, Shek Tong Tsui (a.k.a. Whitty Street), Sheung Wan (Western Market), Happy Valley, Causeway Bay, North Point and Shau Kei Wan; some intermediate stops such as Sai Ying Pun, Admiralty MTR Station, Wan Chai, and Victoria Park are also equipped with turnaround facilities so that they can be used as makeshift termini in emergency situations, such as en-route traffic accidents.

Public reception and cultural significance
The trams have not only been a form of transportation for over a century, but also a major tourist attraction. The well-preserved tram lines still serve as a crucial means of transport in Hong Kong. Travelling in the lower deck of the tram allows travellers to have a close up view of the local street life, while occupying the front seats of the upper deck gives good views of the town as the tram rattles by.

Hong Kong's tram system is an icon of the city, like other Asian trams in Kolkata, Dalian and Sapporo.

As they run through the urban area of Hong Kong Island, the tram tracks have become an important icon of urban Hong Kong. Since the tracks were originally built along the waterfront before further land reclamation pushed the coastline northwards, the tracks can be used to identify directions and locations throughout urban Hong Kong Island.

Red light meals
In the old days, the duration of meal breaks allocated to tram drivers were far from adequate. Most drivers would therefore take advantage of the time their trams are waiting at a red light to gulp down a portion of their meal before the signal turns to green, continuing this practice whenever the tram comes to a red light until the meal is finished. This kind of hurried, impromptu meal is commonly referred as "red light meals" (Chinese: 紅燈飯).

Projects
Modern Tramway at Kai Tak Development[edit]
Hong Kong Tramways Limited announced its interest in constructing a 12-km modern tramway system in the Kai Tak Development, built on the vacated site of the former Kai Tak Airport, in place of the "Environmentally Friendly Linkage System" (monorail system) proposed by the Hong Kong Government. Possible extensions to neighbouring places such as To Kwa Wan, Kowloon City and Kwun Tong were suggested. The company appointed a consultancy firm to investigate on the feasibility of building such a modern tram system in 2010, and submitted a proposal to the Development Bureau on April 29, 2013.[9]

The company pointed out that the cost of constructing the proposed tram system is HK$2.8 billion. which is comparatively low as compared to the cost of $12 billion needed for a monorail system. Bruno Charrade, Managing Director of HKT, said the design of tramcars can be in connection with their Hong Kong Island counterparts or in a totally new shape, depending on the Government's discretion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Tramways

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294217-d1992541-Reviews-Hong_Kong_Tramways_Ding_Ding-Hong_Kong.html

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