The first of Hong Kong’s latest generation of light rail vehicles began entering service on routes 610 and 751 in the Northwest New Territories on November 17.
Phase 5 LRVs have a similar exterior design and livery to the previous generations, with changes including better sightlines from the cab, improved LED lighting and revised handrail and straphanger arrangements.
One of the LRVs has been fitted with roof-mounted photovoltaic panels to test the use of renewable energy to power the interior lighting.
I’m not familiar with the MTR light rail system but from the photos it looks as though these unidirectional trams travel with the pantograph at the front. One of the “features” of OLE operation is that the surfaces immediately behind the pantograph get covered in carbon dust. As they are at the back of the LRV behind the pantograph, there will need to be a regular roof cleaning job to keep the solar cells working efficiently.