Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Peak Tram
Peak Tram
The Peak Tramway is a funicular railway in Hong Kong. It carries both tourist visitors to the upper levels of Hong Kong Island as well as residents of those levels.
| Contents |
Route
The Peak Tram's route is from the Central business district to Victoria Peak, and it has four request stops in between to serve local residents. The track is about 1,365 metres long and the tram takes seven minutes to reach The Peak.
The lower terminus station is located in Central, on Garden Rd. The original building was rebuilt into St. John's building, with the tram terminus at the ground level. The upper terminus is located as part of the Peak Tower complex at Victoria Gap.
The stations of Peak Tram route are:
- Cotton Tree Drive Terminal (St. John's Building)
- Kennedy Road
- Macdonnell Road
- May Road
- Barker Road
- Peak Terminal
History
- 1888 - first served the public, powered by a steam engine
- 1926 - replaced with an electric engine and a cable of 5000 feet to hold two cars - one going up and one going down - at the same time.
- 1989 - system was computerized and the passenger capacity was increased from the original 32 to 120 by using two cars per tram.
Technology
The Peak Tram is quick and safe since the tram is computer-controlled with an automatic system check on all safety devices before its journey begins. It is environmentally friendly as well due to its microprocessor-controlled electric drive system.
At the track's steepest point, the cars run at an angle of 27 degrees to the horizontal. Few self-powered vehicles can climb such steep incline if not pulled by a cable.
The rail gauge the Peak Tram is using is 1520 mm.
Touristic interest
The Tram takes the shortest route up to The Peak and has the best views, including the skyscrapers of Hong Kong.
See also:
External link
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details