KMB Route 51
Encyclopedia
Kowloon Motor Bus
The Kowloon Motor Bus Company Limited , a company of the Transport International Holdings Limited, is the largest franchised bus operators in Hong Kong, and one of the largest privately owned public bus operators in the world...
(KMB) in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
's New Territories
New Territories
New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory. Historically, it is the region described in The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory...
. It connects Nina Tower, in Tsuen Wan
Tsuen Wan
Tsuen Wan is a bay in the Kowloon area of Hong Kong, opposite to Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market town of Tsuen Wan emerged for the surrounding villages and fleets of fishing boats in the area. The town is around the present-day Tsuen Wan Station of the MTR...
, with Kam Sheung Road Railway Station, running via the steep and tortuous Route Twisk
Route Twisk
Route Twisk is a steep and tortuous dual-lane road in Hong Kong, linking Tsuen Wan and Pat Heung via Shek Kong. It joins Kam Tin Road and Lam Kam Road north in Kam Tin, and ends in the Tsuen Kam Interchange of Cheung Pei Shan Road, Texaco Road North, Wai Tsuen Road and Tai Ho Road North south in...
.
History
The route was started in 24 June 1961 as Route 26, when Route Twisk, originally a military road, was opened to the public. Originally KMB operated it as a test route only, but because of the positive response received, the route became a permanent route. Due to the steepness of Route Twisk, the route was served using AlbionAlbion Motors
Albion Automotive of Scotstoun, Glasgow is a former Scottish automobile and commercial vehicle manufacturer, currently involved in the manufacture and supply of Automotive component systems....
s for a long period of time. At that time, the route ran between Jordan Road Ferry Pier
Jordan Road Ferry Pier
Jordan Road Ferry Pier is a demolished pier originally located at Jordan Road, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, Hong Kong.-History:After Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry gained the franchise to operate part of the cross harbour ferry routes, including the Central – Yau Ma Tei route, starting from 1 January 1924,...
and Yuen Long
Yuen Long
Yuen Long , formerly Un Long, is an area and town located in the northwest of Hong Kong, on the Yuen Long Plain. To its west lie Hung Shui Kiu and Ha Tsuen, to the south Shap Pat Heung and Tai Tong, to the east Au Tau and Kam Tin, and to the north Nam Sang Wai.-Name:The Cantonese name Yuen Long 元朗...
, and was initially an express route, having only two stops between Lai Chi Kok
Lai Chi Kok
Lai Chi Kok is a neighborhood in New Kowloon, Hong Kong, east of Kwai Chung and west of Cheung Sha Wan. Mei Foo Sun Chuen is the largest housing estate in the area. Administratively, it belongs to the Sham Shui Po District.-History:...
and Shek Kong
Shek Kong
Shek Kong is an area north of Tai Mo Shan, located near Kam Tin and Pat Heung, New Territories, Hong Kong.Shek Kong Airfield is located in Shek Kong. A sizable Nepal Gurkha population presents in the area even after the withdrawal of British military....
, which were at Tsuen Wan Town Centre and Tai Mo Shan
Tai Mo Shan
Tai Mo Shan has the highest peak in Hong Kong, with an altitude of 957 m. It is located approximately at the geographical centre of the New Territories....
. On 16 July 1973, as part of KMB's bus service arrangement scheme, the route was renumbered 51, and service was cut back to Tai Kok Tsui Ferry Pier
Tai Kok Tsui Ferry Pier
Tai Kok Tsui Ferry Pier was a ferry pier in Tai Kok Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It started operation in 1972, together with its bus terminus, to replace Mong Kok Ferry Pier in Mong Kok. It provided ferry service to and from Central, Hong Kong and Guangzhou, Mainland China...
.
Since Route Twisk was the most direct route between Yuen Long and Tsuen Wan, Route 51 received a high level of patronage, and at one time congestion was observed. In a 1970s report by the Works Department, a capacity deficit of 15% was recorded at Shek Kong (towards Tai Kok Tsui) during morning peak hours (07:00-08:00 hours), and the deficit towards Yuen Long even reached 30% during 12:00 to 13:00. Even so, KMB could not alter the type of bus due to technical problems, and could only increase the frequency of the route as a solution.
On 16 May 1982 Tsuen Wan Line was opened, and Route 51 was cut further back to Tsuen Wan Station, the number being changed to 51M. After 50M and 68M started service, both using Tuen Mun Road
Tuen Mun Road
Tuen Mun Road is a major expressway in Hong Kong which connects Tuen Mun in the New Territories with Tsuen Wan. It is part of Hong Kong's Route 9, which circumnavigates the New Territories...
, the role of Route 51 being a main route between Yuen Long and Tsuen Wan diminished, so the northern terminus was changed to Kam Tin
Kam Tin
Kam Tin , or Kam Tin Heung , is an area in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It is north of Tai Mo Shan and east of Yuen Long. It was formerly known as Sham Tin...
on 17 April 1983 with Tsuen Wan bound diverted via Kam Sheung Road. The northern section of the original route was relegated to route 54. On 16 December 1984 the Tsuen Wan terminus was changed to Tsuen Wan Ferry Pier with diversion via Tai Ho Road Flyover with the number changed back to 51.
In the late 1980s the Albions servicing on the route were aging and needed replacements. However, no other suitable single-deckers in the KMB fleet were available at that time. KMB turned to its double deckers, but again none was suitable for the steep inclination of the route. so KMB fitted a Cummins
Cummins
Cummins Inc. is a Fortune 500 corporation that designs, manufactures, distributes and services engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission control and electrical power generation systems...
LT10 280 hp engine and a manual decelerator into a 9.7m MCW Metrobus
MCW Metrobus
The MCW Metrobus is a double decker bus model manufactured by MCW from 1977 until 1989, with over 4,000 examples built. The original MkI model was superseded by the MkII model in 1981/1982, although production of the original MkI continued for London Transport until 1985...
. The solution worked out, and KMB bought eight more 9.7m MCW Metrobuses (M81-M88) with special air-drawing fans to serve Route 51 with special limitation of 3 standing passengers for the safety issues.
After that, the buses that serving 51 were specifically altered, so other buses cannot run on the route, and if a bus on the route needed a repair, a replacement could not be found, affecting the frequency of the route. Later KMB fitted the Cummins engine into more Metrobuses for operating on the route due to high repair frequency of M81-M88.
On 10 August 1992 a special service, 51P, was started, from Shek Kong swimming pool to Tsuen Wan. In 1996 KMB assigned two air-conditioned Dennis Dart
Dennis Dart
The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined midibus built by Dennis in the United Kingdom. More than 11,000 were built during 18 years of production....
buses (AA) fitted with manual decelerators to Route 51. In the same year the District Councils of Tsuen Wan and Yuen Long planned to divert Route 51 to Tai Lam Tunnel
Tai Lam Tunnel
Tai Lam Tunnel is a dual 3-lane Route 3 tunnel in Hong Kong. The tunnel and its highway connection itself are also known as Route 3 , which is 10.1 km long connecting Au Tau, Yuen Long and Ting Kau, Tsuen Wan...
once it had been completed with terminus relocated to Sheung Tsuen via Kam Sheung Road, but to avoid loss of bus service on Route Twisk, KMB ended up creating a new route numbered 251M. Patronage on 51 dropped so much that 51P was discontinued.
On 19 March 2000 the Tsuen Wan terminus was moved to a newly built one at Nina Tower. On 2008-09-07, the other end was relocated, after over 25 years of stationing of Kam Tin
Kam Tin
Kam Tin , or Kam Tin Heung , is an area in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It is north of Tai Mo Shan and east of Yuen Long. It was formerly known as Sham Tin...
Bus Terminus, to Kam Sheung Road Railway Station. This has improved connections for West Rail Line commuters of Tuen Mun and Yuen Long to Tai Mo Shan Country Park.
Fleet and route
The route is served by Dennis DartDennis Dart
The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined midibus built by Dennis in the United Kingdom. More than 11,000 were built during 18 years of production....
single deckers (AA) from Tuen Mun Depot (U). From mid-2011, most of the Darts have been replaced by Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Darts, owing to their age.
The journey distance for both directions is 19 km in 48 minutes time, via:
Tsuen Wan (Nina Tower) to Kam Sheung Road Railway Station
- Tai Ho Road
- Tai Ho Road North
- Tsuen Kam Interchange
- Route TwiskRoute TwiskRoute Twisk is a steep and tortuous dual-lane road in Hong Kong, linking Tsuen Wan and Pat Heung via Shek Kong. It joins Kam Tin Road and Lam Kam Road north in Kam Tin, and ends in the Tsuen Kam Interchange of Cheung Pei Shan Road, Texaco Road North, Wai Tsuen Road and Tai Ho Road North south in...
- Kam Tin RoadKam Tin RoadKam Tin Road is a road through the area of Kam Tin to the west in Au Tau in Hong Kong.-External links:*...
- Kam Ho Road
Kam Sheung Road Railway Station to Tsuen Wan (Nina Tower)
- Kam Ho Road
- Kam Tin RoadKam Tin RoadKam Tin Road is a road through the area of Kam Tin to the west in Au Tau in Hong Kong.-External links:*...
- Kam Sheung RoadKam Sheung RoadKam Sheung Road is a road in Yuen Long District, which links between Kam Tin and Sheung Tsuen . It also acts as a boundary between Kam Tin and Pat Heung . There is a MTR station called "Kam Sheung Road Station" at a short distance from the road....
- Kam Tin RoadKam Tin RoadKam Tin Road is a road through the area of Kam Tin to the west in Au Tau in Hong Kong.-External links:*...
- Route TwiskRoute TwiskRoute Twisk is a steep and tortuous dual-lane road in Hong Kong, linking Tsuen Wan and Pat Heung via Shek Kong. It joins Kam Tin Road and Lam Kam Road north in Kam Tin, and ends in the Tsuen Kam Interchange of Cheung Pei Shan Road, Texaco Road North, Wai Tsuen Road and Tai Ho Road North south in...
- Tsuen Kam Interchange
- Tai Ho Road North
- Tai Ho Road