Details of the passenger and parcel carryings, and revenues earned, are given below:
Passengers.
No. Revenue UpParcels.
No. Revenue UpIn normal times it is considered that this service will prove both popular and remunerative, as the rail route is much cheaper and offers a saving of five days over the alternative route via Shanghai and the Yangtze,
27. Local passenger receipts rose from $300,760 to $486,344 or 61.71%. The improvement was due mainly to the influx of refugees into the Colony, many of whom settled in the New Territories. Another major cause was the considerable movement of villagers from adjacent Chinese territory to and from the Colony, which took place for trading purposes after the suspension of through traffic. In this connection it is interesting to note that local passenger receipts during the last two months of the year amounted to $131,660.80 or 27.40% of the total for the whole year.
In normal circumstances a proportion of this sum would have been credited to sectional through traffic, as these villagers would have booked to and from stations on the Chinese Section. In a lesser degree the removal of the uneconomic overlapping of road and rail services between Taipo Market and Fanling has contributed towards the increase. Representations made to Government in 1937 regarding the fall in revenue between these two stations succeeded in obtaining its approval to the withdrawal of the bus service between these two points, and the substitution of an equivalent rail service. On May 1st a motor rail-bus shuttle service was inaugurated. This bus runs seven trips daily in each direction, stopping at two intermediate points. Up to the end of the year 51,255 passengers were carried, the revenue earned amounting to $4,223.95. This does not represent the full value of the service, as receipts from ordinary trains between Taipo Market and Fanling increased by $3,256.95 or 389.45%. A large proportion of this gain must be credited to the new arrangement.
28. The outstanding feature of the year was the growth of through goods traffic, receipts from this source rising from $167,556.45 in 1937 to $621,787.28 in the current year.
The revenue earned is the British Section's share only and does not present a true picture of the work actually performed. (Outward tonnage advanced from 94,928 in 1937 to 339,560.02 in 1938, while inward tonnage rose from 71,509.67 to 116,585.91. The increase may be attributed primarily to the carriage to Canton and Hankow of large quantities of cargo consigned by Chinese Government purchasing Agencies in Hong Kong, and in a lesser degree to the conveyance of commercial goods. Far more outward commercial traffic could have been handled had there been no restriction in wagon allocation. The Canton-Hankow Railway was in a position to accept only 60 commercially loaded goods wagons per month, and this number fell lamentably short of requirements. Scarcity of various commodities in the interior resulted in a tremendous increase in prices, and this combined with the wagon space limitations led to considerable abuse. Wagon space selling by transport agents, war profiteers and commercial firms became rampant, and the Railway was forced to restrict wagon allotment to reputable firms who could prove definite ownership of cargo. This method was successful in reducing the malpractice. The situation was further improved in July when the quota was increased from 60 to 90 wagons per month. A factor which influenced the movement of goods to a marked extent was the difficulty experienced in obtaining a regular and sufficient supply of wagons from the interior, due to continuous bombing and the commandeering of wagons for military use.
S
Details of the passenger and parcel carryings, and revenues earned, are given
below:-
Passengers.
No.
Revenue.
Up
Down
1,435
$1,597.88
3,524
$3,298.75
Parcels.
No.
Revenue.
Up
Down
30,881
$10,062.96
3,612
$1,799.95
In normal times it is considered that this service will prove both popular and remunerative, as the rail route is much cheaper and offers a saving of five days over the alternative route via Shanghai and the Yangtze,
27. Local passenger receipts rose from $300,760 to $486,344 or 61.71%. The improvement was due mainly to the influx of refugees into the Colony, many of whom settled in the New Territories. Another major cause was the considerable movement of villagers from adjacent Chinese territory to and from the Colony, which took place for trading purposes after the suspension of through traffic. In this connection it is interesting to note that local passenger receipts during the last two months of the year amounted to $131,660.80 or 27.40% of the total for the whole year.
In normal circumstances a proportion of this sum would have been credited to sectional through traffic, as these villagers would have booked to and from stations on the Chinese Section. In a lesser degree the removal of the uneconomic overlapping of road and rail services between Taipo Market and Fanling has contributed towards the increase. Representations made to Govern- ment in 1937 regarding the fall in revenue between these two stations succeeded in obtaining its approval to the withdrawal of the bus service between these two points, and the substitution of an equivalent rail service. On May 1st a motor rail-bus shuttle service was inaugurated. This bus runs seven trips daily in each direction, stopping at two intermediate points. Up to the end of the year 51,255 passengers were carried, the revenue earned amounting to $4,223.95. This does not represent the full value of the service, as receipts from ordinary trains between Taipo Market and Fanling increased by $3,256.95 or 389.45%.
A large pro- portion of this gain must be credited to the new arrangement.
28. The outstanding feature of the year was the growth of through goods traffic, receipts from this source rising from $167,556.45 in 1937 to $621,787.28 in the current year.
The revenue earned is the British Section's share only and does not present a true picture of the work actually performed. (Outward tonnage advanced from 94,928 in 1937 to 339,560.02 in 1938, while inward tonnage rose from 71,509.67 to 116,585.91. The increase may be attributed primarily to the carriage to Canton and Hankow of large quantities of cargo consigned by Chinese Government purchasing Agencies in Hong Kong, and in a lesser degree to the conveyance of commercial goods. Far more outward commercial traffic could have been handled had there been no restriction in wagon allocation. The Canton- Hankow Railway was in a position to accept only 60 commercially loaded goods. wagons per month, and this number fell lamentably short of requirements. scarcity of various commodities in the interior resulted in a tremendous increase in prices, and this combined with the wagon space limitations led to considerable abuse. Wagon space selling by transport agents, war profiteers and commercial firms became rampant, and the Railway was forced to restrict wagon allotment to reputable firms who could prove definite ownership of cargo. This method was successful in reducing the malpractice. The situation was further improved in July when the quota was increased from 60 to 90 wagons per month. A factor which influenced the movement of goods to a marked extent was the difficulty experienced in obtaining a regular and sufficient supply of wagons from the interior, due to continuous bombing and the commandeering of wagons for military use.
A
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