TRANSPORT
container port and is equipped with a Closed Circuit Television system and efficient communication links. During the year, it operated three times.
The Director of Highways heads the Highways Department, which is responsible for designing and building all highways, their repair and maintenance, and also for studying new railway proposals.
Planning
The updating of the Second Comprehensive Transport Study was completed during the year. This facilitates the planning of territorial transport networks and the managing of the demand for road use up to the year 2011.
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A freight transport strategy, to meet the projected freight demand and improve the efficiency of goods movements up to 2011, is being developed through the Freight Transport Study.
Meanwhile, the railway development strategy is being formulated, taking account of views expressed following public consultation on the Railway Development Study.
The Travel Characteristics Survey, which provides up-to-date information on house-hold trips and socio-economic data, was completed in early 1993. The results are being used for transport planning purposes, including updating the existing transport planning models.
A Parking Demand Study has commenced, to update the parking inventory and to forecast future demand, so as to identify the shortfalls in parking provisions for the territory.
Cross-Border Traffic
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There are three road crossing points between Hong Kong and China at Sha Tau Kok, Man Kam To and Lok Ma Chau. The total capacity of the three crossings is about 40 000 vehicles per day. The crossings open at 7 am each day and while the Sha Tau Kok crossing closes at 6 pm, the other two close at 10 pm.
Cross-border vehicular traffic increased by about 12 per cent during the year, compared with 1992. The increase was registered mainly at Lok Ma Chau. The average daily traffic figures at the three crossing points in 1993 were about 1 700, 9 400, and 9 000 at Sha Tau Kok, Man Kam To and Lok Ma Chau, respectively. Goods vehicles accounted for 96 per cent of the traffic, reflecting the rapid growth in trade and industrial links with China. At the end of the year, 25 companies operated tourist coach services across the border.
The Kowloon-Canton Railway continued to play an important role in carrying freight and passenger traffic between Hong Kong and China. Some 2.28 million revenue tonnes of freight were brought into Hong Kong by rail, compared to 2.81 million tonnes in 1992. Exports to China by rail accounted for 1.21 million revenue tonnes, an increase of 2.5 per cent from the 1.18 million tonnes carried in 1992. There are five goods yards at Hung Hom, Ho Man Tin, Mong Kok, Sha Tin and Fo Tan, and a marshalling yard at Lo Wu. Freight trains are hauled by a fleet of 12 diesel locomotives. A Hung Hom-Daleng railway container shuttle service was commissioned on December 7, 1992. Some 41 million rail passengers crossed the border in 1993, compared to 38 million the previous year. A further extension of the terminal building at Lo Wu is being constructed to cope with growth in rail traffic. The project is scheduled for completion in early 1995.
Ferry services between Hong Kong and China carried 6.5 million passengers, compared with 5.1 million in 1992. At the end of the year, there were 29 ferry routes between Hong Kong and China, operated by eight companies.
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