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COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT
With the introduction in August of a scheme allocating non-scheduled vehicle registration marks through sale by auction, members of the public were able to apply for the registration mark of their choice, if available at the time, to be put up for auction. This scheme met with a favourable response. The registration marks in popular demand were usually those with the combinations of numerals two, three, six and eight; such as 128, 136, 168 and 328.
Parking
Parking facilities are provided by the government in eight multi-storey car parks, with 5,059 parking spaces, and four temporary open-air car parks with 1,070 parking spaces. Two of the four open-air car parks cater specially for commercial vehicles.
Parking facilities are also provided by private enterprise in 38 multi-storey and open-air car parks with 9,120 spaces, mostly in the commercial-residential areas of North Point, Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, San Po Kong and Causeway Bay.
Where no traffic disruption is caused, on-street parking spaces are provided. In areas with limited spaces but where the demand is high, the spaces are metered. There are 10,908 metered spaces of which 1,195 are specially for goods vehicles. Payment is required from 8.00am to midnight. In areas like Wan Chai, Happy Valley, North Point and Tsim Sha Tsui among others, parking is controlled by traffic wardens who, together with the police, operate a fixed penalty system for parking offences.
Kowloon-Canton Railway
In May, the Governor in Council approved in principle the recommendation by a British consultancy firm to electrify the Kowloon-Canton Railway (British Section). Detailed planning for the project was immediately put in hand. Electric multiple units operated by 25kV alternating current supplied from overhead cables will be used. Tenders for the supply of the electric multiple units were invited in August from companies throughout the world and design work was put in hand for a maintenance depot for them. It will be situated next to the existing railway workshops at Ho Tung Lau in Sha Tin. The new electrified service is planned to be commissioned in mid-1981.
Work on double-tracking the main line from Sha Tin to Tai Po Market commenced in March and is expected to be completed in mid-1980. Approval was granted by the government in July to double-track the remaining section of the main line from Tai Po Market to Lo Wu.
The first phase of the installation of the associated colour light signalling system, controlled from a signal control centre at Kowloon Station in Hung Hom, started in January, 1977, and will be completed in March, 1979. The construction of double- tracking and resignalling will enable additional shuttle trains to be operated between Hung Hom and Sha Tin. The specifications for the second and third phases of the system, from Sha Tin to Tai Po Market and from Tai Po Market to Lo Wu respec- tively, were finalised in November and installation work is expected to commence in mid-1979.
The new racecourse loop line was completed in August and the first through train was run early in September. The completion of this loop line, apart from servicing the