6. Difficulties continued to be experienced in handling the in- creasing number of passengers, particularly during daily rush hours and holidays. The Railway, with its single line and the existing rolling stock, has now reached the state when it can no longer cope satis- factorily with the passenger demand and has very little capacity for additional freight. Various proposals to provide additional facilities for the travelling public and to increase the freight carrying capacity were under consideration during the year.
7. The re-siting of the Railway Terminus from Tsim Sha Tsui to Hung Hom, which was approved during the 1968-69 financial year, was still in the planning stage.
TRAFFIC
8. Traffic earnings for the year amounted to $15,424,655 showing an increase of $324,852 over the previous year.
Comparative figures for the past four years are shown below:
1967-68 $11,763,333
1968-69 $14,218,032
1969-70 $15,099,803
1970-71 $15,424,655
9. Passenger Traffic. Local passenger journeys increased by 2.11% but there was a drop of 18.05% in passengers visiting China.
10. On Ching Ming Festival Day, 5th April, 1970, and Chung Yeung Festival Day, 8th October, 1970, in addition to the normal daily service of 34 trains, 31 and 26 special trains respectively, were run to facilitate visits to the cemeteries at Wo Hop Shek and Sandy Ridge. On these two days, 118,985 and 54,115 passengers respectively (excluding season and monthly ticket
and monthly ticket holders) were
carried.
11. On Dragon Boat Festival Day, 8th June, 1970, 21 special trains in addition to the normal service were run to and from the New Territories to transport spectators to the Dragon Boat Races held at Yuen Chau Tsai in Tai Po. On that day, 56,846 passengers were carried.
12. On Mid-Autumn Festival Day, 15th September, 1970, 13 special trains were added to the normal daily train service for picnickers travelling to and from the New Territories. On that day, 25,335 passengers were carried.
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