1977-1978 — Page 6

GENERAL SURVEY

The year showed a considerable growth in terms of volume and revenue as illustrated in the following table comparing the performance of the year with 1976/77 :

Percentage Increase/Decrease

1976/77

1977/78

Chargeable freight tonnage

1,386,865

1,505,941

+ 8.59%

Number of passenger journeys

12,210,985

14,490,912

+18.67%

Head of livestock

1,641,682

1,910,612

+16.38%

Goods revenue

$19,089,798

$21,629,290

+13.30%

Passenger revenue

$15,612,030

$18,901,324

+21.07%

Gross railway revenue

Recurrent expenditure

$38,907,789 $44,462,040 $34,797,733

+14.28%

$43,048,135

+23.71%

2.

Imports from China, which represented 99.93% of the freight carried, rose from the previous year's figure of 1,385,815 tonnes to 1,504,924 tonnes. The increase was mainly due to the improvement in relation with China and also increasing local demands. Export tonnage was 854 tonnes, an increase of 150 tonnes over the previous year. Freight carried within the New Territories. dropped from 346 tonnes in 1976/77 to 163 tonnes.

3.

The number of passengers who travelled wholly within Hong Kong rose from 10,605,010 in 1976/77 to 12,462,189 in 1977/78 representing an increase of 17.5%. The factors contributing to the increase included increased frequency of passenger train service; improved connecting public transport service at Kowloon Station and growth of population along the corridor of the Railway in the New Territories. Passengers travelling to and from China also rose from 1,605,975 in the previous year to 2,028,723, representing an increase of 26.3%.

4.

Net profit for the year declined to $1.4 million, 65.9% from the previous year's profit of $4.1 million. The decline was due to costs increasing at a faster rate than revenue. The higher cost was mainly caused by increases in salaries and on-costs, general operating expenses and payments to contractors for work on goods services.

5.

Accumulated funds rose from $63.5 million in the previous year to $64.5 million, an increase of 2%. The value of fixed assets at the end of the year was $244.0 million, an increase of 2% over the previous year's figure of $238.1 million. Balance in Treasury Current Account fell from $10.2 million to $4.6 million in 1978 as a result of the decline in the surplus.

6.

The consultancy study commissioned by the Hong Kong Government in January 1977 to investigate the future requirements of the Railway, especially in relation to the future economic development and population growth and distribution in the New Territories, was concluded at the end of 1977. The outcome of this study was a recommendation, subsequently approved by Government in mid 1978, for what is tantamount to the complete rebuilding of the Railway in situ incorporating electrification at 25 KV. Planning work is now in active progress for, inter alia, the construction of a new major servicing

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