THE WORLD’S RAILWAYS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVI, 29 December 1924, Page 8

THE WORLD’S RAILWAYS

lufty thousand miles of railways have been constructed in the world in the “' s t 10 years, according to the Trade Record of the National City Bank of New York. The total extent of railways systems is now estimated at approximately 750,000 miles against about 000,000 in 1900, 400,000 in 1890, 250,000 in .1880, and 25,000 in 1850. The next duty before the world in the way of railway work, adds the Trade Record, is the building of railroads in highly productive tropical areas Jacking transport facilities from the interior to tlie coast. The need of such construction is seen in the’Uact that of the railways in the temperate zone the United States average 83 miles to each iOOO square miles of area and in Europe 62 miles of line per 1000 miles of area ; while South America, chiefly tropical, has hut 7 miles, Asia 4 and Africa 3 miles of line per 1000 square miles. Governments owned about 35 / per cent, of the total mileage in 1923, as against approximately 33 per. cent, in 1913; 28 per. cent, in 1906;'and 24 *per cent, in 1896. In Europe, as a whole, about 50 per cent, of (be railroads are State owned, in South America approximately 33 per cent., in Africa 50 per cent., and h* Asia 70 per cent. In the United •Stales and Great Britain governmental ownership of railways does not exist and this is true also of Spa hi. On the other hand, in Poland all railways are owned by the Government, in Germany about 92 per cent. ,Italy approximately /3 per cent.. Belgium 59 per cent., and in France about 22 per cent. Outside Europe conditions also differ widely. In Tndia, including the native States,. the share owned or controlled ~by the Government is about 85 per cent., Japan 67 per-cent., Canada approximately 50 per cent., British South Africa 82 per cent., and Australia and New Zealand 98 per cent.