5
TRANSPORTATION.
22. Traffic earnings for the year under review showed an increase of 9.97% over the figures for the previous year and were a record for the Railway.
23. The principal event leading to this was a suspension of the River services between Hong Kong and Canton owing to the Nationalist blockade of the Pearl River after the change of administration in South China. This blockade resulted in a diversion of passengers and goods traffic to the railway. Although through train services were suspended, and passengers and goods were transhipped at the frontier at great incon- venience, the railway became the principal means of communica- tion with not only with Kwangtung but the areas further north. Other important and contributory causes were a steady growth in the population of the Colony due to unsettled conditions in China, and a rise in goods revenue owing to the conveyance of a greater tonnage for which the higher tariff rates were applicable. The re-inforcement of the garrison during the year also resulted in additional revenue from both passenger and goods traffic carried on behalf of the military authorities.
24. Until October 14th 1949, all British Section local trains terminated at the frontier station of Shum Chun in Chinese territory, and all through trains operating between the Colony and the interior at either Kowloon or Canton. Passengers hold- ing through tickets in respect of which there was a division of receipts with the Chinese Section, were included in the statistical returns for terminal or sectional through traffic, and passengers booked to Shum Chun were accounted for as local passengers. After October 14th, all British Section trains terminated at Lowu in British territory, and all bookings were included in the figures for local passengers although the great majority of people travelling via Lowu proceeded to and from China. It will therefore be realized that although the figures given in para. 25 of this report show a decline in through, and a large increase in local, passengers a considerable proportion of the latter would have travelled to and from the interior by through trains or river steamers under normal conditions.
25. In an attempt to illustrate more clearly the features referred to in para. 24, the local figures are shown in greater detail than usual in the summary of passenger traffic given below:-