Hong Kong’s Metro Transit Railway

• The MTR carries 4.9 million passengers every weekday!  Keep in mind that Hong Kong only has a population of 7 million people.

• MTR Stands for Metro Transit Railway

• The MTR was built in 1979 and began offering services on October 1, 1979

• The Kwun Tong Line was the first line open for service, beginning in Shep Kip Mei and ended in Kwun Tong

• The Metro Transit Railway is a publicly traded company that had its IPO in June of 2000

• Art in the MTR allows artists to display their creative works in MTR terminals in an effort to give passengers a constructive way to pass their time

• The MTR uses Octopus Cards that are electronic tickets, which contain a built in microchip

• Octopus Cards can be used for the MTR, Airport Express, Light Rail, buses and ferries; they can also be used for vending machines, pay phones and photo booths on the MTR lines

• The MTR has built applications for smart phones that allow users to find shortest travel distances, cheapest fares, traffic news, and information for tourists visiting Hong Kong

• The MTR has a direct line to Hong Kong Disney Land called the Disneyland Resort Line, which was opened September 12, 2005

• The MTR hosts an annual Race Walk that promotes healthy living in Hong Kong and last year the event raised 1.27 million Hong Kong dollars

• Children below the age of 12, senior citizens, and full time students are all offered discount travel rates

• The MTR offers tourist day passes that allow unlimited use of the MTR for one day; they cost $55

• Eating, drinking and smoking are not allowed in the paid areas of the train station

• The Airport Express Line allows users to quickly get to the Hong Kong airport, Kowloon airport or Tsing Yi airport; one way fares to Hong Kong airport cost 100 Hong Kong dollars; one way fares to Kowloon Airport cost 90 Hong Kong dollars; and one way fares to Tsing Yi Airport cost 60 Hong Kong dollars

• The Airport Express Line runs every 10 minutes and will take you to central Hong Kong in about 24 minutes

• The service hours of the MTR run from 5:30-6 AM to 1:00 AM the next day, 365 days per year.

• The MTR has nine urban lines and plans for 6 more lines by 2019

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