[Northwest Classics Series]#26 615-Tuen Mun Northwest Line at the same time as Tin Shui Wai Line

Sep 30, 2020

Driving segment:

The history of the route from Tuen Mun West to Tuen Mun Pier in the Jiansheng section of Liangtian can be divided into two parts:

Before 615: Light Rail Auxiliary Bus A58 (February 1992 to January 1993)

During the period from 1988 to 2000, KCRC opened auxiliary bus routes in a number of areas with a large number of light rail passengers. Among them, the A58 route was opened in May 1992, from Kin Sang Village to Tuen Mun Ferry Pier, via Leung King Village , Mountain View Village and Butterfly Village are only available during peak hours in the morning from Monday to Saturday. However, this line only served a few months and was replaced by Light Rail Line 615 in January 1993.

LRT 615 (January 1993 to present)

The first and second phase of the Tin Shui Wai branch line of the Light Rail was opened to traffic on January 10, 1993. On the same day, the 721 line between Tin Shui and Yuen Long was opened, but the 722 line between Tuen Mun was not opened at the same time, but the 615 line was opened. The 615 lines are routed as follows:

Yuen Long - Tai Tong Road (Note 1) - Hong Lok Road - Fung Nin Road - Shui Pin Wai - Ping Shan - Tong Fong Village - Hung Shui Kiu - Chung Uk Village - Nai Wai - Lam Tei - Siu Hong (2) - Qilin (2) - Tsing Pine - Kin Sang - Tin King - Leung King - San Wai - Shek Pai - Ming Qin - Tsing Wan (3) - Castle Peak Village - Longmen (4) - Light Rail Depot - Butterfly - Merlot - Tuen Mun Pier

(1) Tai Tong Road Station before 2010
(2) Before the West Rail project of Siu Hong Station in 2002, stop at Platform 4 towards Tuen Mun Ferry Pier, pass through Qilin Station and stop at Platform 1 towards Yuen Long. During the construction of the West Rail, it will stop at Platform 2 at Tuen Mun Ferry Pier and will not pass through Qilin Station, but it will not resume to pass through Qilin Station after the completion of the project
(3) Before August 2003, it was called Industrial College Station
(4) Before August 2003, it was called Sanshiwan Station

When Young Rail started this route, there are several claims. In addition to replacing the A58 auxiliary bus, there are also claims that the Light Rail ordered 30 second-phase trains from Kawakatsu Heavy Industries of Japan for the Tin Shui Wai branch line, increasing the number of light rail fleets to 100. . After deducting the vehicles required for the two Tin Shui Wai routes, there are still enough resources to run the 615 route.

Route and passenger characteristics

Route 615 is the only route to Yuen Long that passes through Liangtian and Kin Sang areas. Therefore, before the opening of the West Rail, residents in the northwest of Tuen Mun rely on this route. However, the difference between Route 615 and Route 610 is that the former passes through Tsing Chung to San Wai, while the latter passes through Tuen Mun Hospital to Tai Hing North. The two lines are exactly the same from Tuen Mun Pier to Shek Pai and Siu Hong to Yuen Long. Therefore, if you need to travel to Yuen Long from Shek Pai to Mei Lok, it will depend on the two lines on a first-come, first-served basis. However, according to the travel time data of the Light Rail, Line 615 is the route with the longest travel time in the entire Light Rail system. Therefore, if two trains arrive at the same time, normally Line 610 will reach the destination faster.

Therefore, in addition to the section from Xinwei to Qingsong, Line 615 can be said to be used as an auxiliary Line 610 to divert its passenger volume. However, since April 2004, the frequency of Line 615 has been reduced, resulting in passengers from San Wai to Tsing Chung may take other routes to transfer to Shek Pai Station or Siu Hong Station.

Twice it was suggested to cancel, but it was ultimately unsuccessful

Line 615 was proposed to be cancelled twice, as follows:

The first time was in 2003. In January 2003, the KCRC announced the reorganization plan of the light rail lines after the opening of the West Rail. All the lines would be cancelled and reorganized into a new set of lines. However, the plan was immediately announced by the Tuen Mun and Yuen Long District Councillors and residents. Opposes, arguing that passengers need multiple transfers to reach their destination, as well as forcing passengers to take the higher-fare West Rail. Finally, in March 2003, the light rail changed its reorganization plan, and other routes except 610 were cancelled as originally planned.

In mid-2003, the Light Rail announced the details of the phased restructuring of the Light Rail. In Tuen Mun District, except for Line 614 , which was cancelled three months after the opening of the West Rail, and the reservation of Line 610 , all routes will be cancelled one month after the opening of the West Rail. Open new routes 551, 552 and 553. However, in December 2003, the new Tin Shui Wai branch line of the Light Rail was opened to traffic, and the Tin Shui Wai route was reorganized, but chaos broke out on the first working day. The light rail has since been suspended for route reorganization.

In February 2004, the Light Rail renewed its route reorganization plan in Tuen Mun District. All routes were retained, and the 551, 552 and 553 routes were put on hold. However, the frequency of Route 614 and Route 615 will be halved, and Route 614P and Route 615P will only be operated between Tuen Mun Ferry Pier and Siu Hong to free up resources to operate Tin Shui Wai Circular Route 706 . Finally, this reorganization was implemented in April 2004. The Tuen Mun District route was reorganized on April 4, and the 706 route was opened on April 9.

The second time it was proposed to cancel the 615 line was in June 2017. At that time, the MTR and the government released the "Public Transport Strategy Study", which proposed that Lines 614 and 615 would be cancelled, and one train each of Lines 505 and 507 would be cut to strengthen the frequency of Lines 614P and 615P , and to open the service between Yuen Long and Siu Kang's 610P line was immediately opposed by members of the Tuen Mun District Council. Finally, in July 2017, the MTR changed its plan, not to cancel the 614 and 615 lines, and not to reduce the number of cars on the 505 and 507 lines, but the frequency of the 614 and 615 lines will be reduced to more than 20 minutes. Due to the opposition in the gate area, the plan was not implemented in the end. In March 2019, the MTR announced the arrangement after the fifth phase of the light rail was put into service. Instead, it proposed that the 614 and 615 lines would increase the number of tow trucks after the third and fourth phase five trains were put into service.

The history of car use

Since most areas of Line 615 and Line 610 overlap, the number of passengers on Line 615 is not high. Before June 2019, Route 615 was mainly run with a single card, and only in special circumstances, such as temporary transfers with other routes, would there be a chance of dragging.

As for the tow truck shift, it was initially only one or two shifts to Yuen Long in the early morning, and then it was exchanged with the single truck on the 761P line. Before the timetable was changed in March 2015, the 615 line only traveled by tow trucks on the first train (train sequence 114) to Yuen Long on weekdays. After March 2015, the light rail changed its timetable. Although it was proposed that Route 615 would increase the number of tow trucks, it only changed the service to Yuen Long (Train 115) after the second in the morning on weekdays to tow trucks, to Yuen Long and 761P . Line 93 car sequence single card swap.

On April 22, 2013, Route 615 added a tow truck frequency during the rush hour in the afternoon on weekdays, but only one to Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal. At that time, train No. 117 departed for the Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal at about 7:20 p.m., and the train would be taken back to the factory. The MTR changed the shunting method. At that time, train No. 64 of Line 610 departed during the rush hour in the afternoon, which was the tow truck train. , at about 7:20, it will be swapped with the 117 single card of the 615 line, and the 117 vehicle will be diverted to tow trucks to travel to Yuen Long at 19:22. However, this arrangement lasted for less than a year. In March 2014, due to the increase in the frequency of the 761P line, the 64-vehicle sequence of the 610 line was changed to single-car travel and canceled.

When it comes to the 615 line's own tow truck shift, it will be June 2019. At that time, in order to lighten the load on Castle Peak Road and Yuen Long Avenue, the Light Rail reduced the frequency of some light rail lines, but some of the frequency was replaced by tow trucks. Route 615 will reduce 1 to 2 trains per turn during the daily rush hours, but at the same time, the reduced trains will be merged with the original trains, and the trains will be driven by tow trucks. The details are as follows:

On weekdays morning rush hours are reduced from 7 trains to 6 trains per turn, of which 1 shift is switched to tow trucks (vehicle sequence 116), and 6 shifts are maintained during the day, and vehicle sequence 116 continues to tow trucks. In the afternoon, the rush hour was reduced from 8 trains per turn to 6 trains. In addition to the car sequence 116, which continued to drive the tow truck until about 9:00, the car was collected and returned to the factory, and the 507 line also took a tow truck to travel to the 113 car sequence until it was busy in the afternoon. After the time, switch back to a single card and continue walking. In the early morning, the trailers of 114 and 115 car sequences continued to be maintained.

On Saturdays and school holidays, train sequence 111 will be added to Yuen Long with a tow truck in the early morning, and then it will be swapped with the 761P train sequence 96. In the morning, the rush hour was reduced from 8 shifts to 6 shifts, and the trains 112 and 116 were changed to tow trucks. After that, the tow trucks of the train sequence 112 and the train sequence 54 of the 610 line switched. In the afternoon, the rush hour was reduced from 7 to 6, and the car sequence 116 continued to travel with tow trucks.

During holidays and daytime, the number of shifts is reduced from 7 to 5. Lines 614P and 615P are reduced by one tow truck on each side and assigned to Lines 614 and 615 respectively. In addition, Line 615 is reduced by two trains per shift, so another two shifts are converted to tow trucks. The three trailer sequences are 112, 114 and 115.

In 2020, with COVID-19 raging, schools are closed, and some civil servants and private companies have switched to working from home three times so far. In February 2020, the light rail started to run on a Saturday schedule, and in the second half of February, it was changed to a holiday schedule, and the number of tow trucks was reduced. In April 2020, it was once converted to a single card for all lines. In May, it cooperated with civil servants to resume office work and the opening of the secondary school diploma examination, and at the end of May, classes resumed after the grading of primary and secondary schools. Route 615 resumed one of the bus sequences during the morning rush hour. Walk with a tow truck. However, the third wave of outbreaks in July led to the early closure of schools, some civil servants and private enterprises resumed work-from-home arrangements, and this route resumed single-card travel across the board.

Social movement, resulting in multiple diversions and stoppages

In June 2019, a social movement broke out in Hong Kong, and the MTR and LRT stations were damaged starting in September 2019. In July 2019 and after, there were many parades and even vandalism on Yuen Long Main Road, so that the Light Rail Yuen Long District may suddenly need to suspend services. During this period, the north terminus of Line 615 was changed to Hongtian Road emergency platform. However, 615 has less impact along the Tuen Mun line. Even when all other light rail lines were suspended, Line 615 could continue to provide limited services.

On October 4, 2019, the SAR government invoked the Emergency Regulations and promulgated the "Rule of Masking", triggering larger-scale destruction by protesters. The MTR and Light Rail were damaged in many places. Finally, the MTR was destroyed at 10:30 that night. The entire line was announced to suspend services. In addition, because the maintenance personnel could not safely arrive at the maintenance site, the MTR was announced to be suspended for the entire day the next day. Only the Airport Express began to provide limited services in the afternoon, and the MTR buses began to run with limited travel at 4 o'clock.

Due to the damage to many signals and stations of the Light Rail, the road conditions are also very bad. As the Light Rail will be able to partially provide services on October 6, each train needs to be driven by two captains. Even if services can be provided on some routes, the frequency of It is also sparser than usual, and for this reason, the MTR will suspend services on lines 614 and 615 from October 6 to 12.

On November 11, 2019, there were junior strikes in many areas in Hong Kong. That night, many areas in Tuen Mun and Yuen Long, as well as light rail facilities/signals were damaged again. In the early morning of November 13, the tracks in some areas of the Yuen Long section were once filled up. During the period from November 12th to December 15th, the routes and sections of the light rail that can be walked can only be run every 15 minutes at the most intensive level because each train requires two captains. Initially, line 615 only traveled with 1-2 tow trucks. Until November 24th, the wave entrance leading to platform 6 of Zhaokang Station was damaged. 614P to Zhaokang needed to suspend service, because 614P will be diverted to 615P after reaching the terminal. Therefore, the service of Line 615P in the direction of Tuen Mun Pier will be suspended at the same time. On the same day, Line 615 will be changed to 4-draw trailers, and the train will run every 25 minutes throughout the day.