“The train to Tuen Mun is arriving. Please let passengers exit first.”
“This is Route 705, Tin Shui Wai Circular.”

I believe that most of you listen to these route announcements every day and know that all railway services and “K-bus” services (e.g., K73, K76) are all provided by the Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTR). But do you know that there was another railway service provider, the Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR), decades ago?

History of KCR

The idea of constructing a railway between Hong Kong and Mainland China was first put forward as early as 1864 by a British railway engineer, Macdonald Stephenson. Unfortunately, he found little support from either the Imperial Chinese Government in Peking or most of the prominent businessmen in Hong Kong, and the idea was not given further serious consideration for about the next 30 years. The idea re-emerged in the 1890s as a result of the various European powers competing to extend their influence in China. The British Government was particularly concerned about competition from the French in Southern China and obtained several railway concessions from the Imperial Chinese Government for the British & Chinese Corporation, a joint venture formed in 1898 between the trading company of Jardine Matheson & Co. and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. These concessions included the right to construct and operate a railway from Kowloon to Canton.

When the KCR British Section was opened in 1910, there were only seven stations in Hong Kong:
Kowloon (Now the Hong Kong Cultural Centre)
Hung Hom (1910-1921)
Yaumati (Now Mong Kok East Station)
Sha Tin
Tai Po (Closed in 1983)
Tai Po Market (Now the Hong Kong Railway Museum)
Fan Ling

There was also a branch line, known as the Sha Tau Kok Railway, opened in 1911, providing service from Fan Ling to Sha Tau Kok. The route was:
Fan Ling
Lung Yuek Tau
Kwan Tei (Opened in Feb 1916)
Hung Leng
Ma Mei Ha (Opened in Feb 1916)
Loi Tung (Opened in Feb 1916)
Wo Hang
Tai Long (Opened in Feb 1916)
Shek Chung Au
San Tsuen (Opened in Feb 1916)
Sha Tau Kok (Opened in April 1912)
Unfortunately, due to the opening of Sha Tau Kok Road in 1927, the passenger numbers of this branch line dropped significantly, and it was closed in April 1928. Now, there are only some remnants of this railway that still appear, which are the locomotive in the Railway Museum and the decrepit Hung Leng Station.

In 1936, KCR made a non-stop journey from Kowloon to Canton (now Guangzhou) taking only 2 hours and 15 minutes. This achievement was made by its railcar, Tai Po Belle.

The War

In 1938, as the Imperial Japanese Army had taken Guangzhou, the KCR was cut 15 miles north of Hong Kong. But Hong Kong was completely occupied by Japan after December 25, 1941. The KCR service was halted completely until the liberation of Hong Kong in 1945. Due to the loss of locomotives during the war, the KCR received 12 WD Austerity 2-8-0 locomotives in 1946 and 1947.

The KCR service continued but was separated in 1949 upon the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. Due to the separation, Lo Wu Station was built.

After the War

After 1949, the KCR only ran in Hong Kong territory. In 1950, the Wo Hap Shek Branch Line was opened, connecting the railway to the Wo Hap Shek Cemetery, and was closed in 1983. It had only two stations:
Fanling
Wo Hap Shek

New era

In 1955, two brand-new diesel-electric locomotives, the EMD G12s, entered service. They were:
No. 51 “Sir Alexander”
No. 52 “Lady Maurine”
In 1957, three more G12 locomotives entered service:
No. 53 “H.P. Winslow”
No. 54 “R. Baker”
No. 55 “R.D. Walker”
In 1962, all steam locomotives were replaced by diesel-electric trains entirely.
All G12 locomotives retired between 1997 and 2004, and only No. 51 was preserved.
In 1955, Locomotive No. 51 collided with an A34 “Comet” tank near Fanling; the driver of the train and a crew member of the tank died in the accident.

From the 1960s to 1983, the G12, G16, and G26 locomotives provided safe and reliable service for citizens in the Northern NT and Kowloon.

While the G12s retired between 1997 and 2004, the G16s and the G26s continued to provide cargo and railway inspection services until 2021, when the East Rail Line was extended to Admiralty.

1970s: The Return of the Mainland Train Service

The 1970s were a significant era for the development of the KCR. In 1975, the old Kowloon Station in TST ceased operations, and the terminus of the KCR was moved to the new Kowloon Station, which is now Hung Hom Station. At the same time, construction for double-tracking, electrification, and station modernization was started in 1978.
In 1979, 30 years after the train service to Mainland China was halted, the Kowloon-Canton train service resumed, operated by Guangzhou Railway and the KCR together.

1980s: Electrification

A few years after construction, the first stage of railway electrification was completed in 1982 between Kowloon and Sha Tin; the new Metro Cammell train entered service, while the old locomotives continued to provide passenger services from Sha Tin to Lo Wu until the complete electrification in 1983. The new train service had shortened the journey time on the railway to 30 minutes, which was reduced by half.

After electrification, there was a great change in the railway. For example, the Wo Hap Shek Branch Line stopped operation. The new railway system became similar to the East Rail Line now:
Kowloon
Mong Kok
Kowloon Tong (interchangeable with the MTR Kwun Tong Line)
Tai Wai (opened in 1989)
Sha Tin
Fo Tan/Racecourse
University
Tai Po Market
Tai Wo
Fan Ling
Sheung Shui
Lo Wu

1988: Light Rail

Now comes the most familiar part for all of us: the Light Rail system (LRT). The LRT was opened in 1988, providing service in Yuen Long and Tuen Mun, and had the following routes:
505 On Ting <-> Siu Hong
506 On Ting <-> Tuen Mun Ferry Pier
507 On Ting <-> Tin King
511 Tuen Mun Ferry Pier <-> Siu Hong
610 Tuen Mun Ferry Pier <-> Yuen Long
611 Tuen Mun Ferry Pier <-> Yuen Long
612 On Ting <-> Yuen Long

Due to the opening of the LRT, the Transit Service Area appeared, forcing minibus operators and the Kowloon Motor Bus to cancel all of their bus services in Yuen Long and Tuen Mun. As compensation, the KCR started to operate the KCR Bus (the K-bus we know now).

1990s

In 1993, the LRT Tin Shui Wai branch was opened, bringing along two new LRT routes:
721 Tin Shui <-> Yuen Long
722 Tin Shui <-> Siu Hong
In 1995, the branch extended to Tin Shui Wai Terminus (now Tin Wing). Due to the extension, there were some minor changes for the LRT service; Route 722 was cancelled and became Route 720, connecting Tin Shui Wai and Yau Oi. Route 721 changed its terminus to the new Tin Shui Wai stop.

At the same time, on the KCR East Rail, the old “yellow heads” were renewed and became the MLR trains that most people recognized. All MLRs were retired in 2021.

2000s: More New Railways

Now comes the millennium. In 2001, the new SP1900 trains entered service, serving on the KCR East Rail along with the MLRs.
In 2003, the KCR West Rail was opened, providing service from Tuen Mun to Nam Cheong, and had the following stations:
Tuen Mun (can change to KCR Light Rail)
Siu Hong (can change to KCR Light Rail)
Tin Shui Wai (can change to KCR Light Rail)
Long Ping
Yuen Long (can change to KCR Light Rail)
Kam Sheung Road
Tsuen Wan West
Mei Foo (can change to MTR Tsuen Wan Line)
Nam Cheong (can change to MTR Tung Chung Line)

As the Tin Shui Wai Station started operation, the LRT branch extended again, from Tin Shui Wai to Tin Yat. LRT service in Tin Shui Wai then experienced a major change. Routes 720 and 721 were cancelled, and new routes started service:
701 Tin Shui Wai South Circular (became Route 705 in 2004)
706 Tin Shui Wai Circular (started in 2004)
751 Yau Oi <-> Tin Yat
751P Tin Shui <-> Yau Oi (now Tin Yat <-> Tin Shui Wai)
761 Tin Wing <-> Yuen Long (cancelled in 2006)
761P Tin Yat <-> Yuen Long (whole-day service since 2006 to replace Route 761)

Meanwhile, in Tuen Mun, two new routes also started service:
614P, 615P Siu Hong <-> Tuen Mun Ferry Pier

One year after the West Rail Line started operation, East Tsim Sha Tsui Station started operation, and the KCR East Rail was extended to this station until the West Rail Line was extended to Hung Hom after the Kowloon Southern Link started operation. The Kowloon Southern Link has the following stations:
Austin
East Tsim Sha Tsui

The Kowloon Southern Link was completed after the merger of the KCR and the MTR in 2009.
The last railway that the KCR built was the Ma On Shan Line, which was opened in 2004, connecting Tai Wai and Wu Kai Sha. Unlike the 12-car trains on the East Rail and the 7-car trains on the West Rail, the Ma On Shan Line only has 4-car trains.
In 2007, the last branch of the East Rail, the Lok Ma Chau branch, started operation.

2007: MTR–KCR Merger

Starting from 2004, the government, the KCR, and the MTR had already started discussing the merger. In 2006, the Executive Council passed the MTR–KCR merger. According to the merger, the MTR paid 4.25 billion HKD to get a 50-year operating right on the ex-KCR railway network and bus service. Properties owned by the KCR were also sold to the MTR. The MTR needed to pay 750 million to the KCR and a non-constant fee that was paid based on the profit earned each year. Finally, on December 2, 2007, the KCR ended all its services 97 years after it was founded.