5.
Freight tonnage shown above and elsewhere in this report is in metric tons. Passenger figures are based on the number of tickets sold at stations and on trains. As no charge is made for children three years old or under, the total number of passengers actually carried is greater.
6.
Imports from China, totalling 1,537,697 tons, formed 99.92% of the freight carried, an increase of 371,722 tons over the previous year's figure. Export tonnage was 786 tons, which is a negligible increase over the 1974/75 figure of 778 tons. Freight carried within the New Territories dropped slightly from 539 tons in 1974/75 to 475 tons.
7.
The number of passengers who travelled wholly within the Hong Kong Section was 11,868,132, compared with 12,255,513 in 1974/75. Passengers who travelled to and from China also dropped slightly from 1,645,820 last year to 1,530,112, a decrease of 7.03 per cent.
8.
Net profit for the year reached a record of $11.74 million, twice the previous year, which was $5.6 million. The increase is attri- butable to higher passenger and freight revenue and greater income from renting shop and advertising spaces. Freight charges were increased by 33% at the beginning of the year and this was partly responsible for the sharp rise in freight revenue. Accumulated funds rose from $45.4 million last year to $60.6 million this year. The value of fixed assets at the end of the year was $40.8 million, an increase of 4.35% over last year's figure of $39.1 million.
9.
The most important event during the year was the opening of the $150 million new Kowloon Station at Hung Hom, which was built on land reclaimed from the sea about 1 kilometre from the old terminal at Tsim Sha Tsui. The Terminal has modern facilities and a spacious booking and waiting hall large enough to accommodate more than ten thousand passengers. Facilities in the station include a restaurant, bar, mini-bank, book store, travel agency, escalators, electronic arrival and departure boards, closed circuit television, and a public address system for more efficient station control and better service to passengers. Construction work on the station building was completed in April, 1975, in time for Her Majesty the Queen to unveil a plaque commemorating the building of the terminal during Her visit to Hong Kong in 1975 on May 5th.
10.
The Terminal was officially opened by His Excellency the Acting Governor, Sir Denys Roberts, K.B.E., Q.C., J.P., on 24th November, 1975 but did not start operating until the morning of Sunday 30th November, 1975 when the first passenger train pulled out of the station at 08:26 hours. The old terminal at Tsim Sha Tsui, having opened in 1916, was closed the previous day at 16:00 hours after the 14:55 hours passenger train left for Lo Wu and the arrival of the 14:25 hours train from Lo Wu at 15:48 hours to the sounds of the tune Auld Lang Syne over the public address system.
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