S 11
rendered train working over that Section unsafe during the hours of daylight, and trains had, on many occasions, to be kept at Kowloon Station until Shum Chun Station yard had been cleared.
36. The bombing caused frequent dislocation of the through service, and punctuality of both local and foreign trains suffered severely in consequence. In many instances, the destruction of communications precluded accurate information being received as to the availability of the track for traffic. This imposed an intense strain on the operating staff responsible for train movement and caused many stations to be kept open long after normal working hours.
37. The average number of trains per day from January 1st to October 11th was 30, after which, due to the suspension of through traffic, the number was reduced to 19.
Local goods train mileage increased from 20,000 to 35,082 or 75.41%. This was due to the running of one local goods train per day in each direction. The new arrangement was instituted to prevent delays to local passenger trains which would otherwise have had to do the work, and which had already been affected seriously by the through service.
39. A new timetable was brought into force on May 1st when the shuttle service between Taipo Market and Fanling was inaugurated. In the preparation of this timetable, paths for special goods trains were left open at times which had been found by experience to be suitable, and for which engine power from the normal service was available.
40. The bi-weekly through passenger service between Hankow and Hong Kong, which commenced on July 14th and ended on October 7th, was operated with foreign coaching stock and locomotives. Trains were scheduled to depart from Kowloon every Monday and Thursday at 4.00 p.m., and from Wuchang every Sunday and Thursday at 10.00 p.m., the overall times for these journeys being 54 hours and 57 hours 35 minutes respectively. Delays were frequent owing to circumstances beyond the control of the Railway authorities. The service was maintained except for the period between August 11th and September 19th when passenger traffic on the southern section of the Canton-Hankow Railway was suspended due to bombing.
41. In addition to the 2,034 special goods trains referred to in paragraph 35, 98 special passenger trains were run during the year, 81 of these trains catering for through traffic and 17 for local traffic.
42. On July 14th, a serious accident occurred at Mile 83 on the British Section when a partially-braked special goods train ran through Shatin Station and collided with a local passenger train. Fortunately, there was no loss of life and only slight injuries were sustained by the driver and fireman of the special goods and a ticket collector and four passengers travelling on the other train. Two locomotives, two coaches, and one 40-ton wagon were badly damaged. The accident was caused by the failure of the driver of the goods train to make adequate provision for stopping his train at Shatin Station. A speed limit of 25 m.p.h. had been laid down for goods trains which were not fully equipped with automatic brakes in proper working order, and the driver failed to observe this rule.
43. Accidents, both operating and personal, are detailed below:
Derailments 14 Collisions (4 minor, 1 major) 5 Train divided 1 Trespassers killed by trains 9 Trespassers injured by trains 6 Passengers falling off trains and injured Engine failure 4