COMMUNICATIONS
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The volume of air traffic continued to increase steadily during the year and passenger, freight and mail figures showed increases of some 23.6 per cent, 27.1 per cent and 3.01 per cent, respectively, over the preceding year.
KOWLOON-CANTON RAILWAY
The British section of the Kowloon-Canton Railway runs from the southern end of the Kowloon peninsula to the Chinese frontier at Sham Chun where it joins the Chinese railway system. The northern bank of the Sham Chun river forms part of the inter- national boundary. Since 1949 passengers travelling to and fro have had to change trains at the border between the Colony and China, and to walk the 300 yards between the two termini. Mail and goods traffic in wagon loads, however, travel through without transhipment.
There are 12 daily passenger trains each way on the British section at present, and also an average of about two goods trains. Passenger traffic is normally heavy at week-ends and on public holidays, especially in winter. Special trains are often run between Kowloon terminus and Sha Tin station which is a popular picnic resort. The running time, including stops, between the terminal station in Kowloon and the border station at Lo Wu is about an hour.
The greatest number of passengers carried in a single day during the year was 71,050. This was on 5th April (the Ching Ming Festival) when many passengers went to visit their ancestors' graves in Wo Hop Shek Cemetery at Fanling and Sandy Ridge at Lo Wu.
The fares are very reasonable. Third class from Kowloon to Sha Tin, a distance of 7.14 miles, is only 50 cents; children under 12 pay half. Second class fare is 50 per cent more than the third, and first class is double. Quarterly and monthly tickets at cheap rates are available at all stations. For a quarterly ticket the fare is only the sum of 75 ordinary single fares; for a monthly ticket, 30 ordinary single fares. The holders may use their tickets on any train and as many times as they like on any day.
Passengers carried within Hong Kong were 6,231,789 or 88.97 per cent of the total. Passengers to and from the frontier station of