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inhabitants had protested since they had become attached to the sounds and smells of the steam engines. Such railways in Britain were only now of interest for touristic purposes; electric railways made no sound. British railways had a great deal of advanced technology and there were many ways in which China could learn from them. Technical exchanges would certainly increase.
5. The Governor remarked that the Manager of British Rail, Mr Parker, was very good. It was a sign of how good... British Rail was that Hong Kong and China had chosen to be advised by the same people. There was excellent cooperation between the Manager of the Hong Kong section of Kowloon/Guangzhou railway and the railway authorities in Guangzhou. Was it possible for all questions to be settled with them or should approaches be made through the Ministry of Railways in Peking? Mr Wu said that in the first instance questions should be dealt with in Guangzhou. The Governor thought that people of different nationalities who work on railways invariably understood one another very well. Mr Wu agreed and said that through the efforts of both sides it had been possible to start passenger through trains; now it should be possible to negotiate through freight traffic. The Governor replied that there was some add- itional capacity at present but there would soon be a great deal more. Hong Kong would always give priority to China's freight requirements. Mr Wu said that although present freight traffic was quite substantial a direct through service still had to be negotiated. The Governor thought that the existing problems could certainly be overcome. There were
more problems in achieving space to unload the trains than arranging for their movement. Dr Wilson confirmed that trucks already passed across the border, only the locomotives were changed.
6. The Governor explained that Hong Kong's particular problem was fitting in rapidly increasing passenger traffic between Shenzhen and Hong Kong on a railway that had been designed primarily for carrying freight. That was why electrification was being carried out. He hoped the excellent cooperation between Hong Kong and Guangzhou sides would continue. Mr Wu promised that the Ministry of Railways would certainly support the work of a through train and imagined that if the Governor gave his personal support on the Hong Kong side that all would go well. The Governor would do his best but it would be a brave Governor who disagreed with his Director of Railways. The meeting ended at 3.25pm.
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