HC Deb 13 February 1908 vol 184 cc198-9
*MR. REES

I beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he can give the House any information regarding the progress of the railway from Pekin to Kalgan.

THE SECRETARY or STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Sir EDWARD GREY,) Northumberland, Berwick

As stated in my reply to the hon. Member on 3rd June last, trains are running as far as Nank'on, a distance of over thirty-four miles, out of a total of 125 miles to Kalgan. Last September the following additional particulars were furnished by the engineer-in-chief. Beyond Nank'on, three miles of rails had been laid and two tunnels completed, besides which a third tunnel (1,200 feet long) and two-thirds of the remaining one (3,450 feet) had been driven through. On the north side of the Nankow Pass work had been begun and about two-thirds of the earthwork to Huailai (about half-way between Pekin and Kalgan) had been finished. The line was to be opened to traffic as far as Huailai as soon as the rails reached that place. It was estimated that the whole line would be opened in a semi-finished state in 1909, and would be completed in 1910.