32
The failure of the Canton-Kowloon Railway to live up to
expectations since its construction is to be explained by two
factors, (1) the unsettled political condition of the country
which gave outlaws opportunity to ravish the district served by
the line, and (2) the strong competition met with from the water
route.
a
During the year 1928 Kwangtung province made great
progress towards a state of law and order. Banditry was suppressed
and protection was afforded to enable people to travel safely by
land. As a consequence the daily receipts of the railway jumped
from an average of three thousand to five thousand dollars per day.
This is/proof that the traffic on the railway is quite capable of
rapid growth and development. The improvement in receipts
continued until May, 1929, when the Kwangei rebellion caused some
interruption to the railway, but immediately after the outbreak
was suppressed the services were resumed and the revenue soon
regained its previous level.
The province now enjoys tranquillity. The northern
expedition has come to an end and the soldiers are back from
the battlefield to their respective stations, where they are
able to keep marauders under control.
People who formerly
made use of the water route for safe travel are now able to
journey without fear by train.
In these circumstances it
only remains for the railway authorities to take hold of the
opportunity, by rehabilitating the line and initiating well
considered improvements, to place it in a position to handle
the great bulk of the passenger traffic between Canton and Hong
Kong.
The programme before the authorities falls into
three divisions, (1) rehabilitation, (2) provision of additional
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