The MTR Urban Lines Vision Train () also named MTR CRRC Qingdao Sifang EMU and also known as Q-Train, is a new rolling stock ordered by

MTR The Mass Transit Railway system, known locally by the initialism MTR, is a rapid transit system in Hong Kong and the territory's principal mode of Rail transport in Hong Kong, railway transportation. Operated by the MTR Corporation (MTRCL), ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

in July 2015. They began replacing all of the aging Metro-Cammell EMU (DC) trains starting from 27 November 2022. The order currently consists of 744 cars (93 trainsets).

Development

In conjunction with the upgrade of the existing signalling system from

SACEM The Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music or SACEM () is a French professional association collecting payments of artists’ rights and distributing the rights to the original songwriters, composers, and music publisher A mus ...

to Advanced SelTrac CBTC, MTR Corporation originally planned for 78 8-car trains to be ordered. This order was made as a replacement to the existing M-Trains, currently the oldest trains on the MTR network, having been in operation since 1979. 15 M-Trains, excluding those operating on the

Disneyland Resort line The Disneyland Resort line () is a rapid transit line connecting Sunny Bay to the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, coloured pink on the network diagram. It is the seventh line of the former MTR network before the MTR–KCR merger, merger o ...

, were planned to be refurbished. However, this was later dropped as it would be more cost effective to purchase new rolling stock. The rolling stock order was subsequently increased to 93 trainsets at HK$6.05 billion (US$779 million) on grounds that it provided "better value for money". The trains will operate on the

Kwun Tong line The Kwun Tong line () is a rapid transit line of the MTR network in Hong Kong. Starting at Whampoa station, Whampoa in Hung Hom and ending at Tiu Keng Leng station, Tiu Keng Leng in Tseung Kwan O, Sai Kung Town, Sai Kung, the route has 1 ...

Tsuen Wan line The Tsuen Wan line () is one of the ten lines of the rapid transit, metro network in Hong Kong's MTR. It is indicated in on the MTR map. There are 16 stations on the line. The southern terminus is Central station (MTR), Central statio ...

, Island line and

Tseung Kwan O line The Tseung Kwan O line () is one of the ten lines of the MTR system in Hong Kong. It is currently long, taking 15 minutes to travel throughout the entire line. It is indicated in on the MTR map. The line runs from North Point on the ...

. All trainsets were expected to be fully delivered by 2023. By the end of 2022, 19 of the 93 trainsets were delivered to MTR and of which only 3 were in service (all on the Kwun Tong line). Progress of the trains entering service has been impeded because the aforementioned signalling system replacement program was severely delayed due to a crash on the

next to

Central station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

in a test run during midnight on the new signalling system in 2019. MTR blamed Thales for the incident by making three errors during the installation, which led to data not being properly established at crossover junction near Central station. These findings were corroborated by the

Electrical and Mechanical Services Department The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD; ) is a Hong Kong government department responsible for inspection and enforcement of operation and safety of many electricity and gas installations; railways and trams; lifts and escala ...

. While a small number of Q-trains have been delivered to Hong Kong since 2018, these trains, except for a few rare test runs, have been parked at the various depots of MTR's Urban Lines and the Siu Ho Wan depot. As the contractor for the SelTrac system,

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic Philosophy, philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages, founding figure ...

, failed to deliver a proper software fix for the system, MTR announced in March 2022 that all 93 trainsets would be retrofitted with SACEM so they can begin operations and replace the oldest M-trains servicing the Kwun Tong Line, so that they can be retired on time. The Q-trains will then continue to use SACEM until it is possible to use SelTrac. On the 21st of August, the train began shadow test runs just after the last train to Whampoa departs. By the end of 2022, eight of the nineteen delivered trainsets had been retrofitted with SACEM. On 22 November 2022, MTR announced that the first Q trains will commence operation on the Kwun Tong Line on the 27 November that year. On 27 November 2022 at 8:52, Q train set A753/A754 opened its doors to the public for the first time on the Kwun Tong Line, with the first train commencing operation at

Choi Hung Choi Hung Estate () is a public housing estate in Ngau Chi Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was built by the former Hong Kong Housing Authority () and is now managed by the current Hong Kong Housing Authority. It received a Silver Medal at the 1965 Ho ...

station. On 19 January 2024, MTR announced that the Q train will commence operation on the Island Line on the 28 January that year, with the set A769/A770 starting passenger operations on the line at 9:48 at

Chai Wan Chai Wan (; ), formerly known as Sai Wan (西灣), lies at the east end of the urban area of Hong Kong Island next to Shau Kei Wan. The area is administratively part of the Eastern District, and is a mosaic of industrial and residential ar ...

Station that day.

Design

The new train sets feature an improved lighting system, new dynamic route maps, double-branched handrails, soft materials for hanging straps, colourful flooring and seats (leaning area, not the seats itself), wider doors, and rubber gangways. The trains share a similar livery to the new MTR trains delivered since 2016, namely the

S-Train The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...

, TML C-Train, and R-Train which each run on the

South Island line The South Island line () is a rapid transit line of Hong Kong's MTR metro system. This line connects the Hong Kong business district from Admiralty station to the Southern District of Hong Kong Island and the island of Ap Lei Chau, wh ...

Tuen Ma line The Tuen Ma line () is a commuter rail / rapid transit line that forms part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong. It is in length, making it the longest line of the MTR network. It has a total of 27 stations, more than a ...

, and

East Rail line The East Rail line () is one of the ten lines that form MTR, the rapid transit, mass transit system in Hong Kong. The railway line starts at Lo Wu station, Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau station, Lok Ma Chau, both of which are Border checkpoint, b ...

respectively. All train doors and coupler systems are made by Faiveley. The coupler systems are automatic and semi-permanent couplers.

References

{{MTR MTR rolling stock Electric multiple units of Hong Kong CRRC multiple units 1500 V DC multiple units Train-related introductions in 2022 CRRC Qingdao Sifang