What KCRC Does as an Asset Manager Under the Service Concession

Updated

KCRC (the Kowloon–Canton Railway Corporation) does not run trains. Since 2007, it has been the holder of the railway system, land and related assets, and it oversees how the service concession agreement it granted to MTR Corporation Limited is implemented. If you are trying to understand who is responsible for what on Hong Kong's former KCR lines, the split is: MTR operates the trains and sets the published service and fare information, while KCRC manages the assets and monitors the concession.

The concession arrangement in one line

KCRC granted a service concession to MTR Corporation Limited in 2007 to operate its several railway lines. From that point, KCRC's day-to-day work shifted from running a railway to acting as an asset manager — overseeing the implementation of the service concession agreement and holding the railway system, land and assets concerned.

What KCRC is responsible for

Based on KCRC's own description of its role, its responsibilities fall into three areas:

  • Asset holding — it is the holder of the railway system, the land and the assets concerned.
  • Concession oversight — it oversees the implementation of the service concession agreement with MTR.
  • Corporate status — it is a statutory public corporation wholly owned by the Government, and has been since 1982.

What KCRC is not responsible for

  • It does not operate the railway lines. Operation sits with MTR Corporation Limited under the concession.
  • It does not publish the train service and fare details for those lines. KCRC's site directs visitors elsewhere for that information — see the next section.

Where train service and fare details actually live

KCRC's page carries a section headed "Train Service and Fares," but it does not list timetables or fares itself. Instead it points readers to MTR for the details of train services and fares on the railway lines MTR operates. So if your question is about a specific fare or timetable, the answer is on MTR's side, not KCRC's.

Background worth knowing

KCRC's history goes back more than 100 years: its forerunner began operating the first railway in Hong Kong in 1910. It became the Kowloon–Canton Railway Corporation in 1982, and the 2007 concession is what created the current asset-manager role.

Quick reference

Question Answer
Who operates the trains now? MTR Corporation Limited, under a service concession granted in 2007
What does KCRC do? Holds the railway system, land and assets; oversees implementation of the concession agreement
Who owns KCRC? The Government — it is a statutory public corporation wholly owned by the Government
Where are fares and timetables? With MTR, not on KCRC's site
When did KCRC take its current form? 1982 as a corporation; 2007 for the concession arrangement