1950-1951 — Page 11

29. The frontier was open only for passengers from 7.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. daily, and it was therefore necessary to work passenger trains so as to arrive and depart from Lowu within these times. One up and one down train were worked later for New Territories residents and the last arrivals from over the frontier, but it became evident early in the year that the service would have to be increased within the hours referred to by a more intensive use of existing rolling stock. This was achieved by shortening the turn-round time between trains and carrying out all cleaning and minor repairs while a train was standing in Kowloon Station. Coaches were only taken out of service when major repairs or matters affecting their safe running was obligatory. The time available was not always sufficient for the work to be completed efficiently, especially during peak periods when trains were very overcrowded, and the turn-round time too short for anything more than a cursory examina- tion and cleansing to be carried out. It was, however, the best that could be done under the circumstances, and by these means, the average daily train service was increased from twenty to thirty.

30. The difficulty at Lowu was, as has been previously stated, the absence of any facilities for dealing with passengers and goods traffic except in small quantities. Since October 1949, it has become the British Section terminal and the transhipment point for all passengers entering or leaving the Colony by train. All goods traffic to and from China by rail passes through this point, considerable shunting and rebooking of down goods being carried out there. The terrain in the area did not permit of any large scale extensions without heavy capital expenditure and this was out of the question in view of the uncertainty of the period during which the station would be a terminal point. It was therefore necessary to make the best of the limited facilities available, and effect minor improvements where possible.

31. A fence was erected round the area in April. This enabled all ticket checking and collection to be carried out there, and reduced the long delay to up trains at Sheung Shui which had previously been neces- sary owing to ticket collection. Train punctuality was thus improved and train turn-rounds speeded up. Minor structural alterations were then made to old quarters which were used as a booking office; a refresh- ment shed was erected and small improvements were made to siding accommodation to increase the facilities for shunting and receipt of trains. Even so, it was impossible to add to the siding accommodation to any extent, and shunting had to be carried out in a restricted space often with hundreds of passengers standing in queues across the tracks waiting to cross the frontier into China.

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