Railway activities declined by approximately 12,000 passengers and $10,000 per day as a result of the Chinese measures.
7. Another effect of these travel restrictions has been the virtual extinction of the small travelling trader and the greater economic strain imposed on the Chinese resident of the Colony by the inability of his relatives to move freely back and forth between the Colony and their villages in South China.
8. With the introduction of a new timetable on June 1st, it became somewhat easier to deal with the hordes of passengers concentrated at the improvised border station Lowu, since the train schedules on the Chinese Section had become stabilized and an intensive passenger service on the British Section cleared those arriving from China rapidly when once on British Territory. Passengers for China were not so fortunate.
9. An opportunity occurred in June in connexion with the removal of 9,330 tons of Chinese railway material which had been stored for a long period on railway land to test the 2-8-0 austerity locomotives' capacity to haul goods trains of 700 tons up a grade of 1 in 100 through the Beacon Hill tunnel. It was found that no difficulty need be experienced in hauling such trains in fine weather.
10. Three meetings took place with officials of the Chinese Section during the year. The first one was held at Shum Chun on April 9th, 1950, and the other two were held at Canton on May 22nd and 23rd, and November 9th and 11th.
Very full discussions took place concerning the running of passenger and goods trains. A large measure of agreement was reached but certain vital differences could not be resolved. No finality was achieved at the close of the year.
11. One major improvement arising out of these meetings, however, was the working of all goods wagons through to Canton. Previously only cargo carried on Chinese Government account went through, the rest having to be transhipped at the border.
12. The first 5 covered wagons out of a total of 192 of different classes ordered in 1946 arrived in June. By the end of the year 130 covered wagons and 5 tank cars had been received and assembled.
13. Four cemetery buildings erected by the department on railway premises for the Urban Council at a cost of $310,000 were opened by the Acting Colonial Secretary, Mr. R. R. Todd, on 29th September, 1950. The funeral scheme provides for the remains of the Chinese dead
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