The MTR Bus (Northwest New Territories) Route K51 runs between Fu Tai and Tai Lam via Lingnan University, MTR Siu Hong Station, San Hui, MTR Tuen Mun Station, Tuen Mun Town Centre, Chi Lok Fa Yuen, Sam Shing Estate, So Kwun Wat and Siu Lam.
History[]
- 25 September 1988: Light Rail Transit (LRT) Feeder Bus Route 521 was introduced to tie in with the commencement of the Transit Service Area, using Toyota Coaster 24-seater buses for journeys between Tuen Mun Town Centre and Tai Lam (near Tai Lam Chung Tsuen).
- 17 October 1988: Double-decker buses were added to the service; as double-decker buses could not turn around at Tai Lam Village, the Tai Lam terminus was terminated at Castle Peak Road near the junction with Tai Lam Chung Road. According to the Schedule of Services, double-decker buses were required to turn around at Sham Tseng and the journey time was lengthened by 10 minutes.
- 1 October 1989: Extended from Tuen Mun Town Centre to Tseng Choi Street.
- 26 August 1990: All tripss changed to be served by double-decker buses; all trips from Tai Lam Terminus terminated at the junction of Castle Peak Road and Tai Lam Chung Road.[1]
- There was another reason for the relocation of the Tai Lam Bus Terminus that villagers at Tai Lam reported that a dog breeder had been killed by a bus on Route 521, and a conflict broke out between the villagers and the bus captain, so KCRC no longer ran Route 521 into the village to avoid disputes.[2]
- At that time, the Tai Lam Bus Terminus, which was designed as a roundabout, had not yet been completed, and buses had to drive to Ma Wan Pier as an empty bus after dropping off passengers before they could turn around and return to the direction of Tuen Mun, which resulted in unstable schedules, a situation which was not resolved until the opening of the Tai Lam Temporary Turnaround Area and the permanent terminus on 7 September 1992, when the buses were allowed to return to the Tuen Mun direction.
- 14 January 2001: Extended from Tseng Choi Street to Fu Tai.[3][4]
- 24 June 2001: The first bus time from Fu Tai Estate was advanced from 06:00 to 05:48.[5]
- 14 December 2003: Renumbered as Route K51 and detoured via Tuen Mun WR Station Public Transport Interchange (Fu Tai direction only) and Siu Hong WR Station (South) Public Transport Interchange in anticipation of the commissioning of the KCR West Rail on 20 December. [6]
- 20 December 2003: KCR West Rail officially opened, with the addition of Octopus Interchange concessions with West Rail and free bus rides.
- 2 December 2007: Changed to operate by MTR Corporation following the rail merger.
- 19 September 2009: In conjunction with the National Day Fireworks Display in Tuen Mun, a special short-haul express service was introduced from Tuen Mun Station of the West Rail Line to Tai Lam in the afternoon of the same day. For details of the special service, please refer to the relevant section of this article.
- 14 March 2010: Due to the permanent closure of the open-air terminus at Tuen Mun Station Public Transport Interchange, the route no longer passed through Pui To Road, Ho Pong Street, Yan Ching Street and the open-air PTI when going to Fu Tai; the intermediate stop at the open-air interchange was cancelled, and a new bus stop MTR Tuen Mun Station" on Tuen Mun Heung Sze Wui Road was added instead.
- 28 November 2010: Special trips between Tuen Mun Station and Golden Beach (Golden Beach Path) were first introduced on the Tuen Mun Beach Festival in 2010; MTR Bus provides special trips on Tuen Mun Beach Festival every year thereafter, please refer to the relevant section of this article for details.
- 2 December 2019: In response to the suspension of service of Light Rail Route 614P towards Siu Hong, and Light Rail Route 614 to Yuen Long omitting Pui To Stop to Fung Tei Stop, a special ftrip was added during weekday morning peak hours from Prime View Garden to Siu Hong Station (South) via LR Fung Tei Stop, until the end of December of the same year.
- 21 December 2019: Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) Enquiry System was added to this route.
Historical route information[]
Details of the past service hours and headways, fares and other route information of this route are set out in the "Historical route information" sub-page of this article.
Service Hours and Headways[]
The latest update is on 8/2022, please refer to the link below for the official route information.
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During certain festivals, such as Christmas Holidays, New Year's Day, Lunar New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival, MTR lines will operate overnight and the service hours of this route may be extended, please refer to passenger notice for details.
- This route provides Real-time Arrival Enquiry Service.
Fares[]
| Fare Remarks |
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Octopus Interchange Concession Scheme
Interchange Concessions are offered when interchanging between this route and MTR Urban Lines, Light Rail or some MTR Bus Routes when using Octopus cards. Details are as follows:
- Interchange to Railway
| 1st leg | 2nd leg | Amount saved | Suggested Interchange Stop for Light Rail/Designated Interchange Stop for MTR Urban Lines |
|---|---|---|---|
| ' | Light Rail | equivalent to bus fares | Fung Tei Stop/Town Centre Stop/Sam Shing Stop |
| MTR Urban Lines | Siu Hong StationTuen Mun Station | ||
| Light Rail | ' | Fung Tei Stop/Town Centre Stop/Sam Shing Stop | |
| MTR Urban Lines | Siu Hong StationTuen Mun Station | ||
| Remarks: The interchange time limit is 1 hour; rail to bus journeys are counted from the time the card is tapped upon exiting the gates (MTR Urban Lines) or upon exit validation (Light Rail); whereas bus to rail journeys are counted from the time the card is tapped upon boarding the bus. The interchange time limit is 2 hours for bus journeys from a confirmed Light Rail entry point. The interchange discount is not applicable to the same Light Rail stop or the entry/exit gate of any Tuen Ma Line stations. Besides, holders of Disneyland Monthly Pass riding free rides on MTR network or paying only the First Class fare of East Rail Line are not entitled to interchange concessions. | |||
- Interchange to Buses
| 1st leg | 2nd leg | Amount saved | Suggested Interchange Stop |
|---|---|---|---|
| ' | 506 | Free for 2nd leg | Any overlapping bus stop on both routes |
| 506 | ' | ||
| Remarks: The time limit for interchange is 1 hour, counting from the first tap. | |||
Bus deployments[]
Currently, the Enviro500 MMC 11.3m (504-545) and Volvo B9TL 11.3m (319-386) are the main vehicles operating on this route.
This route is served by 18 buses and has the highest number of vehicles in full day use of any MTR bus routes.
Bus deployment evolution history[]
In the early years of the opening of LRT, when this route terminated at Tai Lam Tsuen, the road surface of Tai Lam Chung Road could not accommodate double-decked buses, and this route was operated by Toyota Coaster 24-seater minibuses.
In 1990, the route was changed to use Castle Peak Road near Tai Lam Tsuen as the terminus, and double-decked buses could be used since then. For more than a decade, the main vehicle used on this route was the MCW Metrobus 9.7 metres (1XX).
In December 2003, air-conditioned buses were added to this route, mainly Dennis Tridents (6XX) purchased by KCRC, and in late 2004, KCRC buses purchased a large number of Dennis Tridents 10.6-11.3 metres (701-747/748-753) from NWFB to replace the aged MCW Metrobus, the two models mentioned above then become the ,mainstay of this route. After the rail merger, Dennis Tridents (6XX) remained the mainstay of the route.
With the retirement of second-hand Dennis Tridents purchased from NWFB in 2015, Enviro500 MMC (504-545) were deployed on the route, followed by Volvo B9TL (319-386) in the following year.
Routing[]
The distance of this route is approx. 10.7km, and the journey time is approximately 45mins. (The average speed is 14.3km/h.)
To Tai Lam[]
Via: Tuen Kwai Road, Castle Peak Road - Lingnan, Siu Hong Station South Public Transport Interchange, Castle Peak Road - San Hui, Tseng Choi Street, Castle Peak Road - San Hui, Tuen Mun Heung Sze Wui Road, Tuen Hing Road, Castle Peak Road - Castle Peak Bay, Castle Peak Road - So Kwun Wat and Castle Peak Road - Tai Lam
| MTR Bus Route K51 (Fu Tai → Tai Lam) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Area | Road | Bus Stop Name | Remarks |
| 1 | Fu Tei | Fu Tai | ||
| 2 | Tuen Kwai Road | Beneville | ||
| 3 | Castle Peak Road - Lingnan | Lingnan University | ||
| 4 | Brilliant Garden | |||
| 5 | Siu Hong | MTR Siu Hong Station (South)  
|
Designated interchange stop for Tuen Ma Line Suggested interchange stop for Light Rail | |
| 6 | Tuen Mun San Hui | Tseng Choi Street | Tseng Choi Street | |
| 7 | Tuen Mun Heung Sze Wui Road | ACME Shopping Arcade | ||
| 8 | Tak Ching Court |
Designated interchange stop for Tuen Ma Line | ||
| 9 | Tuen Mun Town Centre | Tuen Mun Town Centre |
Suggested interchange stop for Light Rail | |
| 10 | Tuen Hing Road | Tuen Mun Government Secondary School | ||
| 11 | Chi Lok | Castle Peak Road - Castle Peak Bay | Handsome Court | |
| 12 | Harvest Garden | |||
| 13 | Sam Shing Hui | Sam Shing Estate | Suggested interchange stop for Light Rail | |
| 14 | Castle Peak Bay | Castle Peak Beach | ||
| 15 | Sea View Garden | |||
| 16 | Cafeteria Beach | |||
| 17 | So Kwun Wat | Golden Beach | ||
| 18 | Castle Peak Road - So Kwun Wat | Hong Kong Gold Coast | ||
| 19 | Kar Wo Lei Tsuen | |||
| 20 | Siu Lam | Castle Peak Road - Tai Lam | Siu Sau Tsuen | |
| 21 | The Aegean | |||
| 22 | Siu Lam San Tsuen | |||
| 23 | Siu Lam Tsuen | |||
| 24 | Ching Lai Road Siu Lam | |||
| 25 | Tai Lam | Tai Lam | ||
To Fu Tai[]
Via: Castle Peak Road - Tai Lam, Castle Peak Road - So Kwun Wat, Castle Peak Road - Castle Peak Bay, Sam Shing Street, Sam Shing Public Transport Interchange, Sam Shing Street, Castle Peak Road - San Hui, Tuen Hing Road, Tuen Mun Heung Sze Wui Road, Castle Peak Road - San Hui, Siu Hong Station South Public Transport Interchange, Castle Peak Road - Lingnan and Tuen Kwai Road
| MTR Bus Route K51 (Tai Lam → Fu Tai) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Area | Road | Bus Stop Name | Remarks |
| 1 | Tai Lam | Tai Lam | ||
| 2 | Siu Lam | Castle Peak Road - Tai Lam | Siu Lam | |
| 3 | Ching Lai Road Siu Lam | |||
| 4 | Siu Lam Tsuen | |||
| 5 | Siu Lam San Tsuen | |||
| 6 | The Aegean | |||
| 7 | Siu Sau Sheung Tsuen | |||
| 8 | So Kwun Wat | Castle Peak Road - So Kwun Wat | Pearl Island | |
| 9 | Hong Kong Gold Coast | |||
| 10 | Castle Peak Road - Castle Peak Bay | Golden Beach | ||
| 11 | Castle Peak Bay | Cafeteria Beach | ||
| 12 | Bayview Terrace | |||
| 13 | Castle Peak Pier | |||
| 14 | Sam Shing Hui | Sam Shing Estate | ||
| 15 | Hanford Garden |
Suggested interchange stop for Light Rail | ||
| 16 | Castle Peak Road - Castle Peak Bay | Mrs Aw Boon Haw Secondary School | ||
| 17 | Chi Lok | Tsing Sin Playground | ||
| 18 | Chi Lok Fa Yuen | |||
| 19 | Tuen Mun Town Centre | Tuen Hing Road | Tuen Mun Government Secondary School | |
| 20 | Tuen Mun Heung Sze Wui Road | LR Town Centre Stop |
Suggested interchange stop for Light Rail | |
| 21 | Tuen Mun San Hui | MTR Tuen Mun Station |
Designated interchange stop for Tuen Ma Line Suggested interchange stop for Light Rail | |
| 22 | SKH St. Simon's Lui Ming Choi Secondary School | |||
| 23 | Castle Peak Road - San Hui | Prime View Garden |
||
| 24 | LR Fung Tei Stop |
Suggested interchange stop for Light Rail | ||
| 25 | Siu Hong | MTR Siu Hong Station (South)
|
Designated interchange stop for Tuen Ma Line Suggested interchange stop for Light Rail | |
| 26 | Fu Tei | Castle Peak Road - Lingnan | Brilliant Garden | |
| 27 | Lingnan University | |||
| 28 | Tuen Kwai Road | South Hillcrest | ||
| 29 | Fu Tai | |||
Ridership[]
Route K51 carries residents along the route to interchange with Light Rail or Tuen Ma Line. Even though the route is competed by a number of green minibus routes[7], the patronage is still not bad, with the section between Fu Tai and Siu Hong Station (South) having the higher patronage. Therefore, the MTR has introduced special short-distance trips during peak hours and public holidays, and has also arranged for Route K58 to relocate the intermediate stop of the "MTR Siu Hong Station" from the North PTI to the South PTI, in order to ease the burden of passengers in the Fu Tei area.
Related incidents[]
Traffic accidents[]
- 20 February 2007: A Fu Tai-bound Dennis Trident (610/JS6410) collided with a taxi on Tuen Hing Road, Tuen Mun, injuring two people.[8]
- 12 June 2018: A Volvo B9TL (377/UY4870) heading towards Tai Lam was approaching Castle Peak Road near Cafeteria Beach when the private car in front of it suddenly slowed down, this vehicle braked in time, but a KMB Route 61M MAN 24.310 (AMN28/JV2129) heading towards Lai King at the rear failed to retract its brakes and crashed into the rear of this vehicle[9]. The latter of these was eventually not repaired due to its age and was retired early.
- 11 August 2019: At around 12:00pm, a Volvo B9TL was about to turn right opposite Tai Lam Terminus when it crashed into a Dennis Trident (ATS73/KC8489) on KMB Route 53 towards Tsuen Wan (Nina Tower), damaging the front of the bus.
Special trips for 2009 Tuen Mun National Day Fireworks Display[]
- The main article of this section is Special Traffic Arrangements related to the 2009 Tuen Mun National Day Fireworks Display.
To tie in with the National Day Fireworks Display in Tuen Mun on 19 September 2009, MTR Bus would operate an additional short-haul express service from 2:00 pm to 7:30 pm, departing from Tuen Mun Station of the West Rail Line and heading for Tai Lam, passing through a section of Tuen Mun Heung Sze Wui Road at On Ting and a section of Hoi Wing Road opposite Light Rail Sam Shing Terminus, instead of passing through the vicinity of Chi Lok Fa Yuen; and the return trip would be made directly via Tuen Mun Road to return to Tuen Mun Station, with or without passengers at the discretion of the regulator. The express trips are mainly operated by the 10 Leyland Olympians leased by MTR from the Non-Franchised Division of Citybus, and are supplemented by MTR's own bus fleet.
Special trips for Tuen Mun Beach Festival[]
The Tuen Mun Beach Festival was held for the first time on 28 November 2010, and MTR Bus had introduced special trips from Tuen Mun Station to Golden Beach during the midday period and from Golden Beach to Tuen Mun Station before the end of the event. The onward journey would turn around at the car park and then drop off passengers outside the Golden Beach Path. The stopping arrangement followed the section of this route from Tuen Mun Town Centre to Cafeteria Beach.[10]
For details of the special trips, please refer to the "Historical Route Information" sub-page of this article.
Gallery[]
Related Articles[]
- KCR Bus Route 521P (Cancelled)
- MTR Bus Route K51A
- MTR Bus Route K53
- MTR Bus Route K58
- New Territories GMB Route 43A
- New Territories GMB Route 43B
- New Territories GMB Route 43C
- New Territories GMB Route 46
- Resident Bus Route NR770
Notes and References[]
- ↑ "輕鐵接駁巴士 大欖綫明加強 全部改用雙層" (LRT Feeder Bus to Tai Lam strengthens service, all trips served by double-deckers), Wah Kiu Yat Po, 25 August 1990.
- ↑ KCRC Publication, December 2006.
- ↑ Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation Limited, "輕鐵接駁巴士521線擴展服務至富泰邨" (Light Rail Feeder Bus Route 521 extends service to Fu Tai Estate) [Press Release]
- ↑ See "輕鐵快訊" (Light Rail News) publication on January 2001.
- ↑ Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation Limited, "九廣輕鐵接駁巴士521線延長服務時間" (Extension of Service Hours of KCR Light Rail Feeder Bus Route 521) [Press Release].
- ↑ Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation Limited, "三條九鐵巴士線改道經西鐵站" (3 KCR Bus Routes to reroute via West Rail stations) [Press Release], 12 December 2003.
- ↑ For example, the Hong Kong Gold Coast to San Hui section overlaps with New Territories GMB Route 43 and its extensions, and the Tuen Mun Town Centre to Fu Tai Estate section is competing with New Territories GMB Route 46, which is making use of vehicle-wave strategy to attract passengers.
- ↑ 屯門一輛巴士同的士相撞 (A bus collided with a taxi in Tuen Mun), ATV News.
- ↑ "九巴 AMN28 (JV2129) 撞向港鐵 377" (KMB AMN28 (JV2129) crashed onto MTRB 377), hkitalk.net.
- ↑ "屯門沙灘節特別班次討論" (Discussion for special trips during Tuen Mun Beach Festival), hkitalk.net.
External Links[]
Template:Ref-MTR
- Information of Route K51 on MTR Official Website (PDF route sheet) (archived August 2014)
- Route information on KCR Official Website (PDF route sheet): 521 (archived December 2003)
- Light Rail Internet Customer Service Centre: Information of Feeder Bus Route: K51
Template:MTR Bus Routes
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KCR Bus Route 521