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MTR Corporation
OpinionLetters

Letters | Hong Kong’s iconic old MTR trains deserve proper preservation

  • A new rain shelter in Tai Po pays homage to retired MTR trains, but its poor design and lack of information for visitors hardly promote heritage conservation
  • The project highlights Hong Kong’s careless attitude to preserving old transport

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A new rain shelter in Tai Po, featuring components from the retired Mid-Life Refurbishment (MLR) trains that once ran on Hong Kong’s East Rail line. Photo: Dennis Ho
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A new train-themed rain shelter was recently unveiled in Tai Po by the Home Affairs Department. The design, resembling an old East Rail line Mid-Life Refurbishment (MLR) train, was intended to preserve one of our collective memories.

However, the rain shelter fails to replicate the look of the recently retired train, while the construction quality is so far from satisfactory that defects could be found just days after the unveiling. In fact, when the shelter was revealed to the public on October 1, construction had not even been completed. This project is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to laissez-faire attitudes towards transport preservation.

First of all, if the rain shelter was designed with preservation in mind, it should feature a plaque detailing the history of MLR trains so that visitors can learn about them. Its design should also resemble the MLR train more closely, instead of having a “Lam Tsuen River” sign above the doors where a map should be, no floor pattern and doors that are improperly fixed onto the wall. Details such as labels, textures and the ceiling could be easily improved for a more authentic look as well.

The Hong Kong Railway Museum faces similar problems regarding exhibition and preservation techniques. Originally built to showcase the history of the Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR), the museum fails to offer much information about the MTR, tram or Peak tram, making its name rather misleading. And even if the KCR is the focus, the carriages on display ironically feature no signs detailing their history.

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The museum’s approach to train preservation is also unacceptable. For example, locomotive 51 underwent various modifications during its service life, but during restoration these elements were not included, likely due to their complexity.

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