Hong Kong’s Peak Tram expects surge in visitors after HK$684 million revamp to shorten queuing times and increase capacity of iconic ride
- Designers working on fresh look for sixth edition of tram cars that can carry almost twice as many passengers
- Other changes include slashing queuing times to just 17 minutes from 90 on weekends, and an art installation at entrance
The revamp of Hong Kong’s century-old Peak Tram is set to boost passenger numbers by double-digit growth in the first year and meet modern needs without changing the classic style of its iconic carriages.
May Tsang Ying-mei, general manager at the Peak Tramways Company, said the forecast was based on the novelty effect following a HK$684 million (US$87.2 million) facelift. She also expected the figure to climb at an average annual rate of 2 per cent in the following years.
“Our target is to reopen it in early 2021. We hope to do it before Lunar New Year,” she said in an interview with the Post last week.
Over the past decade, the operator recorded an average annual ridership of about 6 million. Hong Kong on the whole expects to welcome a record 66.4 million tourists this year, up from 65.1 million in 2018.
Opened in 1888, the tram service catered to British businessmen and Chinese workers. The first two seats in the initial 30-seater doorless compartment were once reserved for the governor.