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The Fanling Queen's Hill Express (粉嶺皇后山特快, initially named 粉嶺皇后山快速 in Chinese until August 2023) is a series of Citybus' franchised bus routes serving Fanling Queen's Hill, including the first batch of Citybus' solely-operated franchised bus routes serving the North District.

Background[]

At the former Queen's Hill Barracks site in Kwan Tei, Fanling, the Administration allocated part of the site for public housing development in 2016, named "Queen's Hill Estate" and "Shan Lai Court", for completion in 2021.

To cope with the population growth brought about by the public housing development in Queen's Hill, the Transport Department (TD) has selected operators for a group of bus routes in Queen's Hill in the 2020-2021 Bus Route Planning Programme, including the following four routes:

  • Fanling (Queen's Hill) to Kai Tak (Muk Yuen Street) Bus Terminus (78X)
  • Fanling (Queen's Hill) to Nam Cheong Station Public Transport Interchange (79X)
  • Fanling (Queen's Hill) to Central (Hong Kong Station) via Eastern Harbour Crossing (679)
  • Fanling (Queen's Hill) to Central (Hong Kong Station) via Western Harbour Crossing (979)

Citybus enters the North District[]

On 21 June 2021, the Transport Department (TD) announced that Citybus had been awarded the franchises for all four new Queen's Hill routes. Citybus commenced service on 30 November 2021 for the first two Fanling Queen's Hill Express Routes 78X and 79X, with Shan Lai Court as the New Territories terminus, and Concorde Road eastbound near Trade and Industry Tower and Sham Mong Road as the Kowloon terminus as the terminus of both routes were not yet in operation. During the initial period of service, Citybus deployed Volvo B8L with banners on both routes for promotion. The two cross-harbour routes 679 and 979 were introduced on 26 January 2022, and the New Territories terminus of Routes 78X and 79X was relocated to Queen's Hill Public Transport Terminus on the same day.

Later Developments[]

Citybus claimed to be "the only public franchised bus operator being awarded the bus routes serving Fanling Queen's Hill", but the patronage of the route was not satisfactory. At the Traffic and Transport Committee of the North District Council, the representative of Citybus criticised that there were inadequacies in the planning of the tendered routes, and that Citybus needed to keep proposing route modifications to serve areas not covered by other bus routes; it was dissatisfied that KMB's Route 78A, which was intended to be a feeder route to the railway station, had been turned into a feeder route to connect the residents with other inter-district routes to and from various districts; and citing the case of travelling to and from East Kowloon on Sha Tau Kok Highway as an example, KMB Route 277A was able to operate via Kwun Tong Road and extend its service hours. Taking Sha Tau Kok Highway to and from East Kowloon as an example, KMB Route 277A can travel via Kwun Tong Road and extend its service hours. It is hoped that Route 78X can be rerouted so that after leaving Tate's Cairn Tunnel, it will first travel via Kai Tak and then go to Kowloon Bay and Kwun Tong town centre, and it is believed that such a change can improve the patronage and service level. Meanwhile, Citybus will continue to press ahead with the proposed service improvements and operate a sustainable bus network that will truly benefit Queen's Hill residents.

In 2023, in the Bus Route Planning Programme announced by the Transport Department (TD), both Routes 78X and 79X were proposed to be modified by splitting the supplementary routes. 78X was diverted to run via a section of Kwun Tong Road in Kwun Tong town centre on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays for round trips and renumbered as 78C to meet residents' demand for direct access to Kwun Tong Town Centre, while Route 79X, after leaving Tsing Sha Highway, was diverted to go to MTR Nam Cheong Station, then run along Sham Mong Road via Tai Kok Tsui and then turn left to Nathan Road after entering Mong Kok to Cheung Sha Wan Road and Kom Tsun Street, and was also allocated with the additional resources for commencement of the new route 79P which would follow the main route to Mong Kok and then turn right to Yau Ma Tei area.

Route Network[]

Existing routes[]

Current Citybus Fanling Queen's Hill Express routes
Operator Route No. Origin Destination Service Methods
Citybus 78C Queen's Hill Fanling Kai Tak Outbound service Saturdays and holidays during morning to nighttime, via Kwun Tong Town Centre
Kai Tak Queen's Hill Fanling Inbound service Saturdays and holidays during noon to nighttime, via Kwun Tong Town Centre
Citybus 78P Queen's Hill Fanling Kwun Tong
(One-way)
Service Mondays to Fridays during Morning Peak Hours
Citybus 78X Queen's Hill Fanling Kai Tak Outbound service Mondays to Fridays during morning to afternoon non-peak hours, via Kwun Tong Ferry Pier
Kai Tak Queen's Hill Fanling Inbound service Mondays to Fridays during noon to nighttime, via Kwun Tong Ferry Pier
Citybus 79P Queen's Hill Fanling HSR West Kowloon Station Outbound service Mondays to Fridays during Morning Peak Hours
HSR West Kowloon Station Queen's Hill Fanling Inbound service Mondays to Fridays during Afternoon Peak Hours
Citybus 79X Queen's Hill Fanling Cheung Sha Wan (Kom Tsun Street) Outbound service daily during morning to nighttime
Cheung Sha Wan (Kom Tsun Street) Queen's Hill Fanling Inbound service Mondays to Fridays whole-day, Saturdays and holidays after Morning Peak Hours
Template:CHT 679 doesn't exist!
Citybus 979 Queen's Hill Fanling Central (Hong Kong Station) Outbound service Mondays to Fridays during Morning Peak Hours, via Sheung Wan
Central (Hong Kong Station) Queen's Hill Fanling Inbound service Mondays to Fridays during Afternoon Peak Hours, via Sheung Wan

Citybus route(s) serving Queen's Hill vicnity but not belonging to "Fanling Queen's Hill Express" series routes[]

Citybus route(s) serving Queen's Hill vicnity but not belonging to "Fanling Queen's Hill Express" series routes
Operator Route no. Origin Destination Service methods
Citybus 56A Tuen Mun (Ching Tin and Wo Tin) Queen's Hill Fanling Service Mondays to Fridays during peak hours
Citybus 79 Queen's Hill Fanling Tai Wai Station Service daily

Year list[]

2021[]

  • 21 June: The Transport Department (TD) announced that Citybus had won the franchise for four bus routes in Queen's Hill.
  • 30 November: Routes 78X and 79X, which are Citybus' first batch of solely-operated North District franchised routes, commenced service.

2022[]

  • 26 January: Routes 679 and 979 were put into service; the New Territories terminus of Routes 78X and 79X was relocated to Queen's Hill Public Transport Terminus.
  • 17 July: Route 78X was enhanced to daily service and service hours was extended, and an intermediate stop was added at Kwun Tong Ferry Pier for the return journey; the first bus hours of Route 79X from Fanling Queen's Hill was advanced to 05:35 daily, and the last bus time from Fanling Queen's Hill was postponed to 17:40 from Mondays to Fridays.
  • 18 July: Return trips of Routes 679 and 979 were introduced.
  • 28 November: The last bus hours of Route 79X from Fanling Queen's Hill was postponed to 19:00 from Mondays to Fridays, and the last bus time from Cheung Sha Wan (West) was postponed to 22:00 every day.

2023[]

  • 23 April: Cheung Sha Wan terminus of Route 79X was relocated from the roadside of Sham Mong Road to the newly built Hoi Tat Public Transport Interchange.
  • 19 August: Route 78X was diverted to serve Kwun Tong Road in the Kwun Tong Town Centre section on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays in both directions, and was renumbered as 78C; the Kowloon terminus of Route 79X was relocated to Cheung Sha Wan (Kom Tsun Street), and the routing within Kowloon was revised.
  • 21 August: Route 79P was put into service.

2024[]

  • 19 February: Route 78P was put into service.
  • 26 August: Route 79P was detoured via Tsim Sha Tsui for both directions.

Promotions[]

To mark the occasion, Citybus promoted the series of routes with a poker theme, derived from the word "queen" in the name of the place. This includes:

  • Design of the Queen's face on the front of a bus.
  • Created the slogan "Sending the Queen out to the city" (恭送皇后出城, in Chinese only).
  • The four suits of playing cards are used to represent the four sets of routes:
    • Sunflower Fan (♠️) - Route 78X and its branches.
    • Hearts (♥️) - Route 79X and its branches
    • Clubs (♣️) - Route 679
    • Stepping Brick (♦️) - Route 979
  • Sending Volvo B8Ls with promotional banners to operate on the relevant routes.
  • Selling limited edition playing cards (priced at HK$108).

Queen's Hill is close to a number of scenic spots, including the Hindu Temple and the "Mirror in the Sky" at the Lau Shui Heung Reservoir. Citybus has posted on its Facebook page that passengers can take Route 79X during the leaf-peeping season (December to January) to enjoy the beautiful view of the red leaves of larch.

To celebrate the first anniversary of Citybus' first batch of solely-operated routes in the North District, passengers can enjoy half-fare Octopus/e-payment on designated Citybus routes to Queen's Hill Road, Fanling on every Monday and Tuesday from 31 October to 8 November 2022, except that the offer is not applicable to passengers who are already enjoying the "$2 Concessionary Fare Saver Scheme". The designated routes are as follows:

  • 31 October and 1 November: Route 78X
  • 7 & 8 November: Route 79X

Although Route 56A is not part of the "Fanling Queen's Hill Express" series, its promotional posters and banners also use the Queen's Hill icon and the word "Express" from this series.

Gallery[]

Related Articles[]

References[]

External Links[]

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