COMMUNICATIONS
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information service, aircraft registration and certification of air- worthiness, personnel licensing and, in conjunction with the Royal Observatory, an aeronautical meteorological service.
There are two flying clubs in the Colony. The Hong Kong Flying Club operates a Beechcraft Musketeer and the Aero Club of Hong Kong a Cessna 172E Skyhawk. The Far East Flying Training School offers full time courses of training in aeronautical engineer- ing and electronics. Aircraft maintenance in Hong Kong is provided by the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited. Over- haul and repair facilities are offered for a wide range of aircraft including the latest jet airliners. Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's own airline, uses Convair 880 aircraft and offers services to India, Japan, Malaysia, Sabah, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Korea. During the year passenger, freight, and mail figures showed increases over the previous year of 10.7 per cent, 22.1 per cent, and 15.4 per cent respectively.
The year was marred by two tragic accidents. The first occurred on June 30 when a Thai Airways 'Caravelle' crashed into the sea, short of the promonotory, while attempting to land. The second accident occurred on November 5 when a Cathay Pacific Airways 'Convair' crashed into the sea while taking off. There were 56 survivors from the first crash and 116 from the second.
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 Lo Wu where it joins the Chinese railway system. Since 1949 passengers have had to change trains at the border between the Colony and China and walk the 300 yards between the two termini. Mail and goods traffic, in wagon loads, travel through without transhipment.
There are 17 daily passenger trains, each way, operating on the British Section and an average of five goods trains per day. Passenger traffic is normally heavy at weekends and public holidays, especially in winter. Special trains are often run between the Kowloon terminus and Sha Tin Station, which is a popular picnic resort. The running time, including stops, between the terminal station in Kowloon at Tsim Sha Tsui and the border station at Lo Wu, is about one hour.