THURSDAY, MAY 6, 1982
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+PERHAPS ONLY IN HONG KONG WOULD A GOVERNMENT HAVE EMBARKED UPON A CONTINUOUS BUILDING SITE OF 34 KILOMETRES LONG, KEEPING A RAILWAY GOING ON IT MEANWHILE, AND COMPLETING IT ON TIME,+ HE SAID.
NOTING THAT IT WAS A VERY SIGNIFICANT DAY FOR ALL INVOLVED IN THE NEW RAILWAY, MR SCOTT SAID: +NOT ONLY IS IT IN ITSELF A VERY LARGE PROJECT BÚT IT ALSO FORMS PART OF THE OVERALL TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY OF HONG KONG.+
+THE CHARM OF THE LARGELY RURAL RAILWAY WHICH SERVED THE NEW TERRITORIES SO WELL MUST NOW GIVE PLACE TO A MODERN, SOPHISTICATED, HIGH-SPEED SUBURBAN RAILWAY, THE BACKBONE OF TRANSPORTATION BETWEEN KOWLOON AND THE NEW TERRITORIES AND CHINA,
+TODAY SEES THE OPENING OF THE FIRST PART OF THE PROJECT. THE REMAINDER BETWEEN SHA TIN AND LO WU WILL BE COMPLETED AROUND THE MIDDLE OF NEXT YEAR, MR SCOTT SAID.
SIR PHILIP AND A PARTY OF GUESTS AND THE PRESS THEN BOARDED A NEW ELECTRIC TRAIN FOR SHA TIN.
THE TRAIN DROVE THROUGH A RIBBON WHEN LEAVING KOWLOON STATION AND BROKE THROUGH ANOTHER RIBBON ON ENTERING THE SHA TIN STATION PLATFORM, WHERE SIR PHILIP UNVEILED ANOTHER PLAQUE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE SHA TIN DISTRICT BOARD MEMBERS.
SIR PHILIP DESCRIBED THE 12-MINUTE JOURNEY FROM HUNG HOM TO SHA TIN AS +FAULTLESS, SPEEDY AND COMFORTABLE+.
+ IT IS AN AUSPICIOUS BEGINNING FOR THIS NEW RAILWAY WHICH IS SUCH A WORTHY AND TECHNICALLY ADVANCED SUCCESSOR TO THE OLD KCR WHICH HAS EARNED SUCH A PLACE IN THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL HISTORY OF HONG KONG AND SOUTH CHINA,+ HE SAID.
LATER, THE PARTY RETURNED BY THE TRAIN TO KOWLOON AND ATTENDED A RECEPTION AT KOWLOON STATION, WHERE A COLLECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS ON THE PROGRESS OF THE MODERNISATION AND ELECTRIFICATION PROGRAMME WAS DISPLAYED.
THE GUESTS ALSO SAW A SMALL DISPLAY OF VARIOUS KCR PUBLICITY MATERIALS, INCLUDING A CHART SHOWING THE PROGRESS OF THE MODERNISATION AND ELECTRIFICATION PROGRAMME ALONG THE ENTIRE RAILWAY FROM HUNG HOM TO LO WU.
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