On 13th May 1898 the British & Chinese Corporation secured a preliminary agreement for the building of a line from Canton to Kowloon. The British Section of the Kowloon-Canton Railway (now the KCR East Rail), was opened in 1910. It was not until 1979 that a rapid transit system, the MTR, was opened. In 1982, the British Section of the Kowloon-Canton Railway began its transition towards electrification, with new EMUs providing rapid transit-like service.