Opened in 1979, the Hong Kong MTR (Mass Transit Railway) has a very clean, easy to understand map that visually owes a debt to its previous colonial owners – the UK – via the London Tube map.
Have we been there? No (the airport by itself doesn’t count).
What we like: Clean and elegant, even with the bilingual requirements of the map. Some unusual but lovely colours for some of the routes, especially the teal used for the Airport Express line.
What we don’t like: The light rail network, which comprises some 69 stations, is relegated to a few random-looking lines with only stations that interchange with the MTR shown. I’m not sure what the meaning of the coloured marks inside interchange stations is: some are straight, others are curved, others cross over each other. An indication of platform layout, perhaps… but it all seems a bit unfathomable to me without any indication in the map’s legend.
Our rating: Simple, clean, effective. An excellent map. Four stars.
Source: MTR website
The curved/slached coloured marks inside the interchange station means that’s a cross platform interchange, and it represents the flow of directions for interchanging between lines. A normal straight dash line means is a interchange station via concourse or requires going up/down floors, or some walking