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Taking these at 300 - 3rd class at 14 cents for 13 miles
and 200 - 4th class at 1 cent the figures work out as follows:-
3rd class 4th class Total Gross Earnings 45.75 26.00 71.75 Working Expenses 19.50 11.70 31.20 Profit 26.25 14.30 40.55The local market traffic between stations in the new territories
can only be taken as 4th class. This traffic is enormous on
certain days, but it is doubtful if much will come to the Railway.
Taking a very small proportion of the figures before me I
would estimate an average of 500 passengers per day travelling 6 miles each at 4th class rates of only -/0075 cents.
Gross Earnings 22.50 Working Expenses 13.50 Profit 9.00An Estimate for the goods traffic on the line is much more
difficult to make. I do not think that it will be possible to
complete with the boats for any through traffic to Canton.
present rate to Canton by steamer is from -/68 (sixty eight cents)
to one dollar per ton. This is very much less than one cent
per ton per mile of Railway. This is less than cost price for
the Railway. It is to the goods traffic to the intermediate
stations like Shek Lung and Sam Chun that the Railway must look
for any paying traffic. It will get a certain amount of traffic
to and from Canton for valuable cargo like silk, but that will
only be in comparatively small quantities.
Messrs. Butterfield and Swire send up about 4000 tons per
month to Canton on behalf of the Hole Line. All this will be
stored in the first instance in their new Godowns, From the se
godowns it will be much easier to transfer into Railway trucks
than into lighters from them into steamers. but even so it will
be some time before the Railway can be so well organised as to
compete with river traffic even with the rails along side the
godowns.
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