The Hong Kong Railway Inspectorate (HKRI) was formerly a small regulatory body within the

Transport and Housing Bureau The Transport and Housing Bureau (THB) was an agency of the Government of Hong Kong between 2007 and 2022, responsible for a range of policies such as the internal and external transportation, including air transport, land transport, maritime ...

, responsible for overseeing the safe operation of railways in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. In February 2008, it was absorbed into 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 escalat ...

as its Railways Branch, having always received substantial technical support, including most of its staff, from EMSD. The HKRI oversaw the railway lines operated by the

MTR Corporation MTR Corporation Limited is a majority government-owned public transport operator and property developer in Hong Kong which operates the Mass Transit Railway, the most popular public transport network in Hong Kong. It is listed on the Hon ...

and the

automated people mover A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...

operated by the

Airport Authority An airport authority is an independent entity charged with the operation and oversight of an airport or group of airports. These authorities are often governed by a group of airport commissioners, who are appointed to lead the authority by a govern ...

in the terminal building of the

Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong International Airport is Hong Kong's main airport, built on reclaimed land on the island of Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or ''Chek Lap Kok Airport'', to distinguish ...

. It was earlier responsible for the railway lines operated by the former

Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC; ) is a Hong Kong wholly government-owned railway and land asset manager. It was established in 1982 under the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation Ordinance for the purposes of operating the Kowloon– ...

.Legislative Council Panel on Transport LC Paper No. CB(1)263/07-08(04)
/ref> Its main functions were: (a) investigation of railway incidents (b) oversight of safety practices by the railway operators (c) assessment and approval of new railways and major modifications (d) assessment and follow up of improvement measures by railway operators. The HKRI was established in 1990 and was attached to the then Transport Branch of the Government Secretariat which is now the Transport and Housing Bureau (THB). The HKRI consisted of (at its demise) nine staff out of which 7 were professional engineers.

References

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Railway Inspectorate Established in 1840, His Majesty's Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) is the organisation responsible for overseeing safety on Britain's railways and tramways. It was previously a separate non-departmental public body, but from 1990 to April 2006 it ...

See also

References