THE RAILWAYS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXIX, Issue 14736, 15 July 1908, Page 9

THE RAILWAYS.

.'♦,— — - ' A. PROSPEROUS YEAR. • .'. .'■ SUPPLY OP TRUCKS. ■: [Fkom Our Correspondent.] WELLINGTON,. July 14. flic Minister of Railways (the lion '.' ,\V. Hall-Jones) laid before Parliament -' to-clay hia annual statement. "The i result of the year's working," lie says, "lias been satisfactory." The result may be summarised thus:—- '■•' •" ■' , 1908. 1907. . £ £ Total'earning, '. . 2,761,938 2,634,600 Total expenditure . . IJMM» l£g.«g Ket profit on working . 812.17 J si-,iis There were 2741 miles open for traffic as against 2456 tho previous year. The net revenue is equal to a return oi 3;33 per cent on the capital invested in the open lines and 3.04 per cent on the total capital invested in opened and unopeued lines. The total number of ordinary passengers carried was 0,756,716, an increase of 155,930 over the previous year. Tho sum of £s4iß has bepn paid as compensation during tho year to members; retired from the service and to relations of members deceased. The.new stock actually completed and turned out of tho shops during the year consists of three tender engines, . four cylinder balanced compound type, one'single expansion tender enino /And six heavy tank engines, three 60ft suburban cars, one 6ft motor train car and 49 47£ffc cars, 18 brake vans, 855 goods waggons and 2889 new tarpaulins. The carrying 1 capacity of the waggon stock was, however, increased by 9670 tons, which is equivalent to 1612 ordinary 6-ton trucks, j The-whole of the new stock built oil the Auckland-Wellington-Na- , pier-New Plymouth and Hurunui-Bluff sections has been equipped with the Westinghouse brake. . The sum of £333,38(3 was expended under the head '.'Addition? to ocen lines," including £243,262 on rolling stock, tarpaulins, machinery for workshops, gas store holders and foot warmers. '.'■'. DUPLICATION ,OF LINES, j

'/< , 'On duplication works the following (/sums were charged to capital account: / Wellington-Hutt £38,830, new Htitt Roud and purchase of land £7391, toVal £-16,221; Auckland - Penrose £54,302; Addington-Rolfeston £1,1,031: Dunedin - Mosgiol £74,720.: total "3140,053, less profit on sale of debentures, 891, £139,162. RESULTS OF WORKING. v .The results, of working .for the past *"" fcwo years is thus summarised:— •"""', '"'■'•';. 1907.' 1908.

"x,:. Additions and improvements to lines tiild structures, amounting to £23,990, which might fairly have' been charged to capital; have been made during the year and. charged to working expenses. Arrangements have been made by ■which all railway, employees who have been employed in the railway service continuously, for va ,period, of five years or over,, but whose status has only been that of casuar employee, will be placed upon .'the permanent staff.. vr. ■').' '■ trucks; . ' .: • ■;, In regard to the supply of trucks, etc., .the-Minister says.:—"The waggon, capacity has been calculated on the basis of the trucks being made use of for conveyance of traffic on two days per week only, yet even on this very low basis the capacity of tho waggons , is sufficjeiit to deal with two and a quarter times the existing goods traffic. If every goods waggon was loaded to its full carrying capacity and made one trip per week i only tho present stock would still he sufficient to deal with a tonnage greatly in excess of the present-business- It is-evident that the equipment has a very large margin over normal requirements, and that mkrgin would bo ample to meet the fluctuations that occur daring tho year if u'sors of the waggons loaded them to their, full capacity and discharged them with reasonable despatch." THE FUTURE. The. Minister estimates the revenue for the current year at £2,835,000 and the. expenditure at £2,020,000. THE HURUNUI-BLUFF SECTION. The revenue drawn from the Huru-nui-Bluff section was £1,218,903, a decrease of £1563' on that of the previous year, when the . Exhibition had produced a specially largo revenue. The Christohurch district contributed £559,000 of the total revenue, a decrease of £14,766 as compared with 1907, hut an increase of £43,000 as comS a reel with 1906. Passengers show a. ecrease' in number of 230,006. Tho ' decreases were at tho stations in the vicinity of Christchurch, which showed •n unusually largo booking for the previous year on account of tho Exhibi--11 tion. School and factory excursions' Wid season tickets show an increase. With the exception of chaff, firewood and timber, the goods traffic decreased. JTho tonnage totalled 43,391 tons less than for the previous year. Grain fell off by 41,800 tons, and wool by 8800 tons,,the effect of tho very dry season last year. There was a decrease of 146,832 sheep as compared with tho f»revious year, but in the previous year arge numbers were railed from Canterbury, Wing to tho shortage of feed, due tol dry weather. The I Dunedin district contributed £393,830, a decrease, of £6170. Passengers decreased by 11,088. ■ Tho ordinary bookings increased considerably, but tho holiday excursion bookings ihowed a decrease of 44,000. Tho larger bookings of tho previous year under this hoad were owing to the Exhibition. The sale of season tickets increased by 2402. Coaching revenuo .was about the same as for the previous year. Fruit and rabbit traffic increased largely. Live stock showed decreases, owing to the previous year's traffic being increased abnormally by the dry season. Chaff, firewood, merchandise, coal and other minerals show increases. Timber,"grain and. w,ool decreased. The net increase of tonnage was 13,898 tons, duo chiefly toan increase of 14,363 tons of merchandise, •f which 11,418 tons were in shipping traffic from Port Chalmers. The Invercargill district contributed. £2'33,073, an increase of £19,373. The M'afloii was exceptionally favourable in Southland for all classes of traffic, , whioh consequently show satisfactory ' Increases. .. Passenger's increased by 12;246, but passenger, revenue decreas- »&■ by.£2087, ©wing to the shorter

journeys made. The passenger revenue for tho previous year was increased by about £IO,OOO by traffic to Christchurch to the Exhibition. Parcels show an increase of 10,106, cattle 4291, and sheep 45,487. Goods traffic increased by 29,000 tons.

fobzl miles ..open for. , • txaffio' ::\" V ■•;.;;, ~ ■ :''" ?,436 •; 2,471 Average miles open'' for -'•'-.■' -•year: .:■" .-'. .. ".'.,.'. '.. '■' -2,427 2,469 Capital cost of -'opened. ' and unopened lines : £25,488,568 . £26,735,140 Capital cost of open, . . '--'lines '. •'"'.• '"'•". £23,501,272 £21,365,017 Capital cost p&r mile of ,'. ..open lines , £9,570 £9,861 Gross, .earnings £2,624,000 £2,761,938 Working expenses . £1,812,482 £1.949,759 Neb profit on working . £8/2,118 £812,179 Percentage of profit to capital invested; V 1 ' : 3.45 3.33 Percentage of working expertises ta .earnings ".>,'' .-69.0G 70.59 Earnings, per .average .'mile' .open ,' . . . . £1,078 '' £1,114 Working expenses per ■ ■ ayprage ' mi'e open ; £741 • -. £786 Net- oarnings per averago mile open . . : £334 £328 Earnings per train mile . ... 93.00d 93.75d Working expenses per train mile ■:.';... . -.. . 61.21d 6G.18d Jfet earnings .per train mile . . , '. 28.70d 27.57d • Passengers, ordinary 9,600,7SG 9,756,716 Sea-sou tickets 165,504 185,174 , Goods,, tonnage . 4,592,099 4,834,534 jjivo stock,..tonnage. '.-. . !■ ' D."ra5n mileage ' . ". 232,461 235,642 6,755,454 7,051,274 liOcomc-tives ,-"« * . \ '." 893 420 : Passenger' cars ' 966 1,002 Waggons and brake vans • 14,603 ...15,473