HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1954
The activities of Government, Classification and private surveyors are related to the volume of work done in the dry-docks and repair yards of the Colony, parti- culars of which can be found on page 78, and to the services offered by the many maintenance and engineering firms in the Colony who specialize in radiotelegraphy apparatus, radar, depth-indicators and other modern devices.
For the greater safety of the port, Government has provided a modern firefloat. A local salvage company and both the large dock companies, the Taikoo Dock- yard and Engineering Company and the Hong Kong and Whampao Dock Company, maintain ocean-going salvage tugs. There are also a number of companies who operate small tugs in the harbour and adjacent
waters.
A list of the principal shipping companies using the port is given in Appendix XVII.
The Railway
Kowloon is the southern terminal of a railway system extending to Hankow with connexions to north, east and south-west China. The British Section of the line which is 22 miles long is owned by the Hong Kong Government and is operated between Kowloon and Lowu on the southern bank of Shum Chun River which forms part of the Colony's frontier with China. Through services were formerly operated to Canton and to the north, but since October, 1949, when the Central People's Government took over the administra- tion, through passenger train services have been suspended. All passengers proceeding to and from
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