10.
As an extension of the policy to use all available resources to earn revenue, advertising on trains was introduced during the year. The public address system installed in the coaches by an advertising agency was also used to advise passengers when to alight from a train and disseminate official information. The leasing out of the Southern Concourse of the Kowloon Terminal for exhibitions continued during the year and was used by Government and private organisations.
11.
Six power operated ticket printing and issuing machines ordered in the previous year to cope with the expected increase in passengers when the new Race Course station opens and the double track to Shatin is in use arrived at the end of the year and work began in March 1977 to install them in the Booking Office of Kowloon Station. When installed these machines will be able to issue tickets at twice the rate of manually issued pre- printed tickets. The higher issuing rate of these machines is expected to reduce the waiting time in buying tickets at peak travelling periods and on holidays when passenger traffic is particularly heavy.
12.
Work on double tracking the line from Hung Hom to Sha Tin continued during the year and was expected to be complete at the end of 1977. Approval was sought during the year to commence work on the second phase to extend the double tracking to Tai Po Market when the first phase has been completed. Eventually, it is intention to extend the double
tracking to Lo Wu.
13.
The double tracking of the line is part of a programme to modernize and expand the services of the Railway. With the shift of the population to the New Territories and an expected increase in freight shipments from China, the existing single track will be incapable of meeting future demands. To cope with this, Government has approved expanding the service by adding a second track, which will eliminate many of the limita- tions inherent in single track operation and so enable the operation of faster and more efficient train services.
14.
A tender was awarded during the year for installing a colour light signalling system on the double tracked section between Hung Hom and Sha Tin to replace the existing mechanical semaphore system which has become obsolete and incapable of coping adequately with the higher frequency of trains being operated. As double tracking is extended to the north, the mechanical system north of Sha Tin will also be replaced by colour light signals and which will allow a higher frequency of trains to be operated than the existing system can accommodate.
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15.
As train frequencies and speeds increase the time available for carrying out maintenance work on the track will diminish whereas the rate of wear will increase. To counter this, approval has been given to introduce mechanised maintenance and improve the quality of the track. increasing the depth of ballast, replacing the existing wooden sleepers with concrete sleepers and substituting heavier rails welded into long lengths, it will be possible for a tamping machine to maintain the track in future more rapidly, consistently and economically, and enable rail renewal to take place less frequently.
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