With reference to our Note and Comment on Tuesday entitled. ''Unpunctuality" we have received the following statement from the traffu manager of the Shanghai-Nanking Railway In spite of the limited capacity of the rolling stock and facilities available, the passenger traffic on the Shanghai-Nanking Line has increased by leaps and bounds, and already this year the Railway has carried no fewer than 4,000,000 passengers, besides dealing with a very considerable tonnage of goods traffic, In view, of the over-crowding of the trains, the Railway has been reluctantly compelled to cancel the issue of week-end return tickets, and many of the usual concession rates to picnic and other parties, but even so it is frequently found necessary to warn passengers on booking that there is "standing room" only.
The working time-table of the Railway provides for the running of 56 regular passenger trains daily, in addition to a full service of goods trains. It will be readily realized that on a single line railway, where the lengths of the sections, or distances between stations, are irregular, the arrangement of a train service consisting of express, fast, and local passenger trains, as well as goods trains, all running at different speeds, and each of relative importance, presents considerable difficulties. With such a high traffic density as obtains on the Shanghai-Nanking Line, it is almost impossible to avoid occasional delays, preference having, of course, to be given to the through express trains which connect with the northern railways. As.a matter of fact, if only one train, for whatever reason, gets out of course, or, in other words is delayed, it may so react on other trains that the whole service may easily become disorganized. That the delays to the local trains are not more frequent is due to the intelligence and ability of the Chinese staff, each member of whom has to pass a most rigorous examination before appointment, and is subject to constant foreign supervision.
But the only real cure for the difficulties, which are becoming more and more accentuated, is the doubling of the line, and the provision of additional rolling stock, respecting which the management have for some time been making urgent representations. In the meantime the most up-to-date "train control" system. which has been of inestimable service on railways in other parts of the world, is being installed; and will shortly be in full use.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.