TNAG-0772-FCO40-976-Modernisation-and-electrification-of-the-Kowloon-Canton-Rail-1978 — Page 11

CONFIDENTIAL

British Trade Commission in Hong Kong

9th Floor, Gammon House, 12 Harcourt Road, Hong Kong. Mail Address G.P.O. Box No. 528 Hong Kong

Telex HX 73031 Cable Address Uktrade Hong Kong Telephone 5-230176

55

Dr. D.C. Wilson, Political Adviser,

Government Secretariat.

Our ref. C173/1

4 December, 1978.

HKK 173/2014/1

NO. 51

OFFICER

INDE

RE

Y

Actio. fawren

d

~Javid.

ear

BRITISH RAIL MISSION TO CHINA.

No

Chris Hayward kindly sent me a copy of his letter of 10 November to you about the circumstances in which British Rail were invited to make outline proposals for the modernisation of the railway from Shum Shun to Kwangchow.

2. Ken Smith, Managing Director of Transmark is currently in Hong Kong and I took the opportunity to ask him about the sequence of events. It appears that during dinner with the Minister of Railways in Peking, reference was made to Transmark's study of the Hong Kong section of the Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR). When the Minister asked whether he could have a copy of the report, Campbell ducked the question because he recognised that:

(a)' it was a confidential report to the Hong

(b)

Kong Government and

it was not really relevant to railway requirements the other side of the border.

At a subsequent formal meeting with the Vice Minister of

Communications, the topic came up again and the Chinese asked whether it would be possible for Transmark to do a similar study on their section of the route. This time Campbell responded positively and arrangements were made for him to meet the appropriate provincial authorities in Canton.

3.

In Canton, Campbell commented that the Chinese section of the route was more modern than the Hong Kong section.

CONFIDENTIAL

/Barely.....