— S 8
II. TRANSPORTATION.
1. Traffic.
16. The general business depression referred to in the last annual report continued throughout the year. Adverse factors affecting the railway were the high rate of exchange, the further decline of sericulture, and the almost entire failure of the fruit crop in the province of Kwang Tung. This latter occurrence impoverished the agricultural community and reduced their spending power, the results of which are readily apparent in the decreased through sectional receipts. Such conditions gave rise to an epidemic of petty smuggling both by river and rail, and the system was assisted materially by the fortuitous cheap fares in force between Canton and Kowloon.
17. Terminal through passenger traffic was as follows, and is compared with the figures of the previous two years:—
1933 1934 1935 Terminal passengers (Up) 479,779 547,194 644,199 Terminal passengers (Down) 511,449 521,721 657,840 Total terminal passengers 991,228 1,068,915 1,302,039Receipts of the combined sections totalled $1,300,296.97 as compared with $1,480,580.85 for 1934, a drop of 12.2%.
18. The most outstanding feature of the year has been the record number of passengers travelling between the two terminal stations during each festival. The previous uni-directional peak figure of 5,290 passengers per day, obtained on April 4th last year on the occasion of the Ching Ming festival, was exceeded on three occasions. On April 5th, 6,007 passengers travelled from Kowloon to Canton on five expresses. On May 5th, the day preceding that of H.M. the King's Silver Jubilee, 10,004 passengers were transported from Canton to Kowloon in seven expresses.
Even these remarkable figures were overshadowed on the occasion of the "Double Tenth" festival (October 10th), when 12,710 passengers were conveyed from Kowloon to Canton in one day in eight expresses.
During this latter festival, 64,702 passengers were carried between the terminal stations in seven consecutive days. This figure exceeded considerably the previous weekly passenger peaks of 43,131 obtained during the King's Jubilee celebrations, and 30,923 during Ching Ming festival last year.
One final incident may be of interest. The morning express train from Canton on May 5th, consisting of 12 coaches with a normal carrying capacity of 1,174, brought down 2,237 passengers. In doing so, it is believed to have established a record for a single-engined express.
- S 8
II. TRANSPORTATION.
1. Traffic.
16. The general business depression referred to in the last annual report continued throughout the year. Adverse factors affecting the railway were the high rate of exchange, the further decline of sericulture, and the almost entire failure of the fruit crop in the province of Kwang Tung. This latter occurrence impoverished the agricultural community and reduced their spending power, the results of which are readily apparent in the decreased through sectional receipts. Such conditions gave rise to an epidemic of petty smuggling both by river and rail, and the system was assisted materially by the fortuitous cheap fares in force between Canton and Kowloon.
17. Terminal through passenger traffic was as follows, and is compared with the figures of the previous two years:—
1933
1934
1935
Terminal passengers (Up)
479,779 547,194
547,194 644,199
Terminal passengers (Down)
511,449 521,721 657,840
Total terminal passengers
991,228 1,068,915 1,302,039
Receipts of the combined sections totalled $1,300,296.97 as compared with $1,480,580.85 for 1934, a drop of 12.2%.
18. The most outstanding feature of the year has been the record number of passengers travelling between the two terminal stations during each festival. The previous uni-directional peak figure of 5,290 passengers per day, obtained on April 4th last year on the occasion of the Ching Ming festival, was exceeded on three occasions. On April 5th, 6,007 passengers travelled from Kowloon to Canton on five expresses. On May 5th, the day preceding that of H.M. the King's Silver Jubilee, 10,004 passengers were transported from Canton to Kowloon in seven expresses.
Even these remarkable figures were overshadowed on the occasion of the "Double Tenth" festival (October 10th), when 12,710 passengers were conveyed from Kowloon to Canton in one day in eight expresses.
During this latter festival, 64,702 passengers were carried between the terminal stations in seven consecutive days. This figure exceeded considerably the previous weekly passenger peaks of 43,131 obtained during the King's Jubilee celebrations, and 30,923 during Ching Ming festival last year.
One final incident may be of interest. The morning express train from Canton on May 5th, consisting of 12 coaches with a normal carrying capacity of 1,174, brought down 2,237 passengers. In doing so, it is believed to have established a record for a single-engined express.
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