Hong Kong has the world's only tramway system operated entirely with double-deck
cars. The unidirectional tramcars have two axles and traditional trolley
poles; their entrance is at the rear and the exit in front, with a staircase at
each door. The trams are fun for sightseeing and really cheap (each ride costs
HK$2, no matter how long, paid in the driver's fare box upon exit), but also
slow as the streets are often congested - if you want to get from A to B, better
take the MTR (mass transit railway, underground).
<p>
Here is car No. 87 on the line to Kennedy Town, directly followed by another car,
with a third in the background. Photo taken out of the upper deck of a tram in
the opposite direction. The trams used today were built in the 1930s to 1960s,
and received new bodies in the 1980s/1990s. New generation "millennium trams"
have not been ordered in large series yet.
<p>
Hong Kong, 2006-05-03
<p>
<a href="mailto:tbk@uncia.de">tobias b k&ouml;hler</a>