RAILWAYS STATEMENT.

Evening Post, Volume LVI, Issue 17, 20 July 1898, Page 2

RAILWAYS STATEMENT.

» a Review of the past yeah. • FUTURE PROSPECTS. In his annual statement kid upon tlie table ot the House yesterday the Minister for Railways states :—: — The number of miles now open for traffic is 2055, as against 2018 last year. The revenue for '97-98 has been ... .£1, 376,008 '96-97 1,286.158 Giving an increase of .£89,850 The expenditure for '97-98 has been .£857,191 '96-97 789,054 Giving an increase of ... ... .£68, 137 The excess of revenue over expenditure for '97-98 has been .£518,817 For '96-97 497,104 Giving an increased net return of .£21,713 The rate of interest earned on the capital cost of the open railways (£15,993,903) has been £3 4s lOd per cent., as against £3 3s lOd last year, or £324 as compared with Victoria, £2-74 ; Queensland, £286; South Australia, £21)8; Tasmania, £1-16; and New South Wales, £379. The extensions from Kanohi to Makarau, 3 miles 6 chains; Newman to Woodville, 24 miles 40 chains ; llyde to Kokonga, 10 miles 2 chains — a total of 37 miles 48 chains — have been opened during the year. Additions to rolling-slock, and additions and improvements to the lines and structures, at a cost of £169,227, have been made during the year, charged as follows : £156,731 to Capital Account, and £12,496 to working expenses. Notwithstanding the largely - increased railway business of the previous fhiaucial year, the receipts for 1897-98 again show a Very large increase, amounting t0jC89,850,' as compared with 1896-97, which in turn showed an increase of £103,117 over 1895-96. Mv estimate for 1897-98 was £1,275,000, so that the actual receipts have exceeded the estimate by £101,008. Such phenomenal results following each other for two years in succession have led to urgent requisitions for additional rolling-stock, which the resources possessed by the Department have so far been unable to satisfy. The receipts per train mile are about the same as last year — viz., 7s 6d this }'ear and 7s Gid last year. The total revenue derived from the coaching department amounted to £494,302, as compared with £468,245 last year — an increase of £26,057. In the goods department 2,628,746 tons, including equivalent weight for live stock, have been carried, producing a revenue of £881,706, an increase of 167,619 tons and £03,792 over last year. The expenditure for working has absorbed G2"30 pet' cent, of the revenue, an increase of nearly ] per cent, over the rate for the previous year (0135). The increased rate is largely clue to tbe llawkes Bay and Rangitikei flood damages, necessitating mutually heavy charges for maintenance and renewals on the Welliugtou-Napier-New Ply-mouth seetiou. Tho cost of maintenance of way has advanced from £301,981 in 1896-97 to £327,987 in 1897-98, an increase of £26,006, largely due, as before stated, to the heavy maintenance charges on the Wellington-Napier-New Plymouth Section. The expenditure per mile of railway on maintenance of permanent way for the past four years has been as follows .- — 1894-95, £138-57; 1895-96, £141-45; 1896-97, £149-77 ; 1897-98, £160-53. The iucreased rate per mile h attributable to the increasing age of the lines and the less generous expenditure of the past, and is a complete answer to the statements appearing from time to time that our railways are being starved in order to oreate a surplus for the time being. The head office expenditure is less by £1186 than for the previous year. The departmental y and . district management expenses show a large increase (£3177), which, in view of the increased business and heavier expenditure both on account of working expenses and capital account, is fully accounted for. The additions to open lines charged to capital account have involved an expenditure during the year of £156,731. Further additions to the rolling stock have been put in hand, and in respect to carriage and waggon work are expected to keep the shops going till August, 1898. The locomotive work in hand cannot be completed before 1900. The Government has recognised that, in a large undertaking such as the New Zealand State Railways, ample pro\ision at the cost of working expenses should be made for depreciation, and, with this object in view, is regularly spending large sums, charged to working expenses, for renewals of permanentway, structures, and rolliug-stook ; so that the people's })roperty is in as good a condition to-day as it was three years ago, whilst during that period 85 s miles of light lines have been greatly improved by relaying 81 miles of 401b road with 531b and 561b rails, and four miles of 30lb road with 40lb rails, also charged to working expenses. In addition, £37,989 has been debited to working expenses for new work fairly chargeable to capital. Notwithstanding the increased expenditure, the interest earned by the railways for the three years ending 31st March, 1898, during which term the railways have been managed by the present Government, has been £1,447,594, as compared with £1,305,505 for the previous three years. This gives an increased profit of £142,089. In addition to this increased return the concessions in fares and freights for the same period amount to £145,000 ; from which, in order to make an impartial comparison, should be deducted the net amount (£52,096) paid by the Postal and other Government Departments for carriage of mails and other services rendered ; also the interest at 3± per cent. (£30,517) on the capital cost of mileage added to the working railways for the same period. , It 'will be seeii from the accompanying reports ■of the principal Traflio Managers throughout the colony that a fairly prosperous current year is anticipated, and that with the existing plant it is quite impossible to give reasonable satisfaction to the users of the railways. I have, therefore, to call the attention of Parliament to the urgent necessity of providing additional funds, more particularly for the purpose of increasing the number of locomotives, carriages, and waggons, but also to give increased accommodation at stations, greater stability to our lines and structures, more telegraph faoilities, and more safety appliances. In conclusion the Minister says: — I claim to have fully demonstrated to honourable members that' the time has now arrived whon a considerable expenditure of capital must be incurred on the open railways, so as to place the management in a position to cope successfully with the increasing business. When we look to the experience of other countries we find that the capital cost per nfile of railway has, in many cases, largely inoreased of late years, in i>ome£initanoeß to

tho extent of several thousands of pounds per mile. Iv England it has increased from J249.257 per mile in 1883 to £57,304 iv 1890. Jieyond providing additional funds for locomotives in course of construction at Home and in America, the Government do not propose to ask for a greater sum than can prolitably be spout in our railway workshops aud on additions to line accommodation during the current year. This sum, including the cost of locomotives ordered from abroad, I estimate at £200,000, aud Parliament will bo asked to placo that amount at the disposal of tho Government for the purposes enumerated. For the year ending 31st- March, 1890, f estimate the revenue at £1,370,000, and the expenditure at £871,000.