First Class Compartment

MLR 1stClassSeat — East Rail Line MLR First Class Seat

First Class Compartment (頭等車廂) is a railcar compartment that provides better service and a more comfortable ride environment than ordinary cars. There are also such services around the world, but the name can vary from better seating to completely different level of service, normally found on intercity trains.

In Hong Kong, the MTR East Rail Line is currently the only railway line that offers first class service.

East Rail Line[]

For East Rail Line trains traveling between Admiralty and Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau, each train has only one first-class car, which is set on the 4th car northbound and the 6th car southbound (the previous two 12-car trains were car 3/9). ^[1] On all types of East Rail trains, each First Class car only has two pairs of doors, but only the doors on the north end of the car (middle for the two former 12-car trains) are currently used.

Similar to the Airport Express, passengers are not supposed to stand in the first-class car, however, standees are permitted and as such, standing passengers may occasionally appear during rush hour.

Ticket[]

Passengers who take the first-class car have to pay "First Class Premium", which is equivalent to the fare of a Standard Class section of the journey (The first-class surcharge for cross-harbour journeys will be calculated based on the Admiralty Station/Exhibition Centre fare).

Passengers who hold a personalized Octopus card of “Student Status” will pay the first-class surcharge based on the normal adult fare. Therefore, based on Octopus taking the East Rail Line, the First Class fare for students is usually 3 times the normal class fare (except for Lo Wu Station and Lok Ma Chau Station), while for other fare types, the fare will normally be double that of Standard Class.

Most of MTR's promotional fares and the Hung Hom-Sheung Shui Monthly Pass cannot be used to pay for First Class tickets, nor do they permit holders to ride in the First Class compartment. People holding an Octopus set to the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme ($2 Concession Scheme) or Promotional Tickets/fares associated with an Octopus will be charged extra to utilize the First Class compartment.

Using Octopus Card[]

TPM 1stClassProcessor — Tai Po Market Station's First Class Validator

ADM 1stClassProcessor — Admiralty Station's First Class Validator

MLR 1stClassProcessor — East Rail Line MLR first-class validator in the carriage

Passengers who use Octopus cards to take the East Rail Line will only be deducted the Standard Class fare when entering the paid area of stations. Passengers must tap their card on the First Class Processor to pay the surcharge before proceeding to the platform.

Passengers who use Octopus only need to tap their Octopus card to the first-class validator before entering the first-class car. When the green light turns on and there is a sound, it means that they have been confirmed to enter the first-class car and can enjoy the first-class train service.

Kowloon-Canton Railway Company, for the convenience of passengers, allowed passengers to also confirm their first class ticket on trains, on August 1 2004, they launched new measures to lock the sliding door leading to the first-class carriage from the Standard Class, and set up a first-class validation machine next to the sliding door. Passengers must use their Octopus card to enter this compartment. After confirmation, the sliding door will be unlocked, but first-class single-ride tickets or designated first-class ticket QR code passengers cannot use the valid first-class single-ride ticket or designated first-class ticket QR code ticket to open the sliding door leading to the first-class compartment from Standard Class. Passengers already inside a train who want to transfer to First Class using a paper or QR code First Class Ticket must exit the train at the next station, then proceed to the queuing area for the First Class coach. In an emergency where a train must be evacuated, the sliding doors will be unlocked and opened, allowing for faster evacuation.

In early 2004, KCRC began to install first-class validators on all 37 East Rail trains. The project cost HK$2.3 million. Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag. When the staff checks the ticket in the first-class compartment, passengers must present their first-class ticket, validated Octopus, or the QR code of the designated first-class ticket for confirmation. If the first-class passenger fails to pay the first-class surcharge according to regulations, the MTR staff will issue a Notification for Surcharge (Notification for Surcharge) to Violation] , and asked passengers to provide personal information for follow-up. If the passenger pays the surcharge on the spot, the staff will issue a receipt to the passenger immediately. If the violating passenger refuses to provide personal information after paying the surcharge, MTR will deal with it at its discretion and will not insist on recording his personal information.

MTR staff can also use their discretion to exempt offending passengers who have not paid the first-class fare from being charged surcharges. For example, Huang Yumin took a first-class car in 2010 but did not approve an Octopus card, and the staff only issued a warning letter to him. ^[2]In view of the sharp increase in independent travelers from the Mainland in recent years, if the violators are not tourists who have settled in Hong Kong, including mainland tourists, and therefore are not familiar with the MTR system, some ticket inspectors will explain to these passengers that they must pay the first-class fare And the penalties for failing to pay the fare, and require the violating passenger to make up for the fare. It may be allowed to require passengers who violate the law to immediately open the sliding door and transfer to the Standard Class car. In this case, some ticket inspectors will not impose surcharges on passengers; In the carriage, the staff will charge passengers a surcharge of HK$500. ^[3]From 2008 to 2010, a total of 22,002 passengers were required to pay a surcharge of HK$500 because they could not present a valid ticket in the first class carriage. ^[4]

If the first class car is full, passengers can wait until there is a seat/standing room or transfer to any Standard Class car, but they are not entitled to claim a refund for the fare difference. ^[5]

Enhancement Of Information on Trains and in Stations[]

P7230257 — The first-class car label plus simplified characters, this is the first time a simplified Chinese notice appears in the MTR car

The first-class carriages on the East Rail Line are often misused. In view of the MTR’s strengthening of station instructions, the first-class carriages on the Fo Tan Station platform were first tested in 2010, and a giant yellow arch was added to clearly display the first-class carriages. The locations of first-class carriages and first-class validators, and provide more comprehensive information in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and English to remind passengers how to use first-class carriage services^[6]. Later, the MTR installed relevant notices in all stations, displaying them in the above three languages.

Coincidentally, on August 16, 2009, when the Kowloon Southern Link opened to traffic, alongside the replacement of notices to meet MTR standards on suburban lines, updated stickers with text in both Traditional and Simplified Chinese were added to the interiors of all First Class coaches. This became the first implementation of notices with Simplified Chinese characters to any train car in the system. In 2010, the MTR posted first-class notices on the emergency ventilation windows and some windows of all East Rail Line trains, and simplified characters also appeared.

Airport Express[]

Under normal circumstances, Airport Express trains bound for the urban area will not pick up passengers at Tsing Yi Station and Kowloon Station. On weekdays from 7:00 am to 10:00 am, the Airport Express provides a Morning Express service, allowing passengers travelling to Hong Kong Station to enjoy an alternative "first class car" service other than Tung Chung Line "Standard Class Carriages", alongside a faster trip for passengers from the former.

When this service was launched in 2002, passengers had to purchase single-ride ticket at the Customer Service Centre to enter the paid area. However, Morning Express tickets for the Airport Express at Tsing Yi Station and Kowloon Station can be used directly at the Octopus gate during the valid time starting from 2016 November 14. As a result, there is no need to go to a Customer Service Centre to buy tickets, but these tickets did not allow holders to enjoy the free MTR shuttle service. And starting from 2017 May 2, Morning Express tickets are no longer available in cash. ^[7]

Hong Kong Tramways[]

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Hong Kong Tramways used to set up first-class areas on the upper deck of tramcars and cab cars on motor-trailer sets before 1972, charging higher fares (for example, in 1946, first class was 20¢; third class was 10¢). After 1972, the tram fares were standardized to the original first-class fares.

Peak Tram[]

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Peak Tramway used to set up first-class and second-class areas according to the seat design before 1926, and charged higher fees (for example, when it was opened, the first class was 45¢; the second class was 30¢; the third class was 30¢; etc. at 15¢). After 1926, due to the replacement of the funicular cars, except for the two seats in the first row which are reserved for the special use of the Governor and his wife of Hong Kong, the rest of the seats are designed in a uniform manner. This led to the travel class system being abolished, regardless of what seat a passenger wanted to sit in.