1954-1955 — Page 7

8. Passenger Bookings.

Local passenger traffic still shows an upward trend and it might well have been higher had not the economic conditions in the Colony and the very hot weather adversely affected picnic traffic. The rapid development of large resettlement areas where considerable numbers of squatters have been housed may also have affected the growth of the villages along the Railway. The percentage increases over last year's returns are very slight. The comparable figures are as follows:

Passenger journeys

Operating Receipts

1954/55

1953/54

3,525,225

3,456,315

$2,465,172

$2,406,235

Increase percent

1.99

2.45

9. Non-local passenger traffic suffered a big drop. The favourable conditions of 1953/54, the Coronation year, had passed. The figures of passenger journeys and receipts are shown as under:

Passenger journeys

Operating Receipts

1954/55

1953/54

342,284

657,289

$462,147

$904,951

Decrease percent

47.92

48.93

10. Passenger traffic therefore, as a whole, local and non- local, shows a decease compared with last year of 246,095 journeys or 5.98% and receipts $383,867 or 11.59%.

11. Towards the close of the year, on March 5th, the Police authorities at Lowu re-imposed immigration arrangements originally introduced in May, 1950 whereby the number of im- migrants is restricted to the number of emigrants of the previous day. These restrictions had been relaxed somewhat since the Coronation period.

12. On January 26th, 1955, the 3rd day of the Chinese New Year, the heaviest passenger traffic ever experienced on this railway was recorded. Twenty-four additional trains to and from Shatin Station, a temple resort, were run and 47,237 pas- sengers were carried. The seating accommodation of the new coaches which arrived from the United Kingdom made additional train formations possible.

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