It has the smooth look of an MTR train, a seating arrangement that reminds you of a double-decker bus and swing entry gates that will no longer trap your bags. Welcome on board the new-look Hong Kong tram.
Hong Kong Tramways owners Veolia Transport, which bought the city's century-old company more than a year ago, rolled out the prototype yesterday. The aim is to renovate the 161-strong fleet at a cost of around HK$75 million - part of the French company's HK$200 million investment plan for the network.
The major part of the facelift will see the traditional wooden tram bodies being replaced by aluminium, which will make them more durable, more environmentally friendly and easier to repair.
Aluminium may not be as tough as wood - questions about its use have been raised, especially after an accident two years ago in which the top of a bus was peeled off like a tin can - but Hong Kong Tramway's senior engineering manager Steven Chan Shih-yao said the new design could withstand an impact of up to 45 tonnes, which is similar to the originals.
'Most of our trams will be up for renewal in the next four to five years, so we must decide now, do we want to change them once and for all? Or we will keep mending the old ones when they wear down,' he said.
The old trams require thorough inspections every four years as the wood is prone to fungal infection. In light of rising wood and labour costs, aluminium is the perfect substitute as it is cheap and can last up to a decade without major maintenance and has a lifespan of between 35 and 40 years - 10 years longer than the wooden tram.
