A14
CHINA
J
Hofei to Chaohsien, was formally inaugurated on the 1st September; and construction work on the last section, from Chaohsien to Yukikow, was com- pleted at the end of the year. With the arrival of eight locomotives from Czechoslovakia, the whole line of 220 kilometres will be opened to passenger and freight traffic during 1936. In the near future the Hwainan Railway will link up with Pengpu when the projected line to Chengyangkuan is completed. On the Tatung-Puchow Railway, which traverses the province of Shansi from north to south, the line has been completed from Tatung south to Yuangping, a distance of 117 kilometres, and again from Taiyuan south towards Linfeng for further section covering 200 kilometres. Road-beds from Linfeng south to the Yellow River have been also completed during the year. Completion of the Zakow-Tsao-o section of the Shanghai--Hangchow-Ningpo Railway will be proceeded with after completion of the bridge over the Ch'ient ang River, the work upon which is making good progress. When completed, this bridge will be 3,500 feet in length, with 16 spans, and will a two-story highway and railway bridge. The highway will cross the river at an elevation of 70 feet above water-level and the railway track will pass through the spans at a level 40 feet below the highway deck. The following are the import statistics for rolling-stock, and for such railway materials as are specifically quoted as such in the Returns, during the past three years:-
1933.
1934.
1935.
Quantity.
Value, Quantity. Valuc. Quantity. St. $
St. $
Value.
St. $
Crossings and Turntables for
Railways
Rails
Quintals
1,811 270,045
102,708 10,328 570,905 3,787,998 1,115,065 13,996,023
8,396
243,560
751,035
8,498,769
Locomotives & Tenders
Railway Carriages and
Wagons
2,501,800
977,872
3,950,991
:
1,715,050*
1,840,053
1,962,725
Railway Materials, n.o.r.
1,614,411*
2,820,745
3,509,901
"
Sleepers Pieces 1,953,176
4,610,766 2,451,154
5,637,896 3,702,067
8,524,812
Total
14,362,733
25,843,494
26,690,757
* Including Tramway Carriages, Wagons, and Materials, not otherwise recorded.
ROADS
Progress in road construction has been equally satisfactory. Coming within the Interprovincial Highway System of the provinces of Kiangsu, Chekiang, Anhwei, Kiangsi, Hupeh, Hunan, Honan, Fukien, and the Northwest.. there were, as on the 1st October 1935, according to statistics furnished by the Bureau of Roads of the National Economic Council, 20.289 kilometres of road opened to traffic as compared with 18,071 kilometres on the 1st December 1934. Of these roads, 9,695 kilometres are surfaced and 10,594 kilometres are earth roads. The length of roads under construction within the same system is 3,622 kilometres, and of roads projected, 5,282 kilometres. Outside the interprovincial system there are in the eight provinces named a further 10,735 kilometres of road open to traffic, 4,306 kilometres under construction, and 13,380 kilometres projected. Among other provinces, Kwangtung is particularly advanced in road construc- tion, with 11.288 kilometres of road open to traffic. Other provinces, such as Shantung, with 5,569 kilometres, Kwangsi, with 3,828 kilometres, Szechwan, with 3.146 kilometres. Hopeh with 2.353 kilometres. Kansu, with 2,394 kilometres, Shansi, with 2,056 kilometres, and Yunnan and Kweichow, with approximately 1200 kilometres each, are all indicative of the progress being made in the opening-up of the country vehicular traffic hy read. By utilising the network of the various national highwavs a traveller can easily drive his car from Shanghai, via Yushan, on the Chekiang and Kiangsi border, Nanchang, the
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