COST OF RAILWAYS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20959, 24 August 1931, Page 10

COST OF RAILWAYS.

TOTAL NOW £68,679,000.

THREE MILLIONS INCREASE.

RECORD SUM IN UNOPENED LINES. Capital expenditure oil tho New Zealand Railways, according to the annual return furnished by the Public Works Department, amounted 'at March 31 to £68,679,025. The increase during last year was £3,152,936, and in 1929-30 it was £3,249,875. The record increase was £3,478,759, in 1928-29.

Tlie capital cost of lines in operation by the Railway Department shows an increase of £2,757,483, this sum representing expenditure under the heading of "additions to open lines," and the transfer from the Public Works to the Railway Department of tho Auckland-Westfield deviation and part of the extension northward from Napier. As a result, tho North Island main line system has increased during the year from 1413 to 1449 miles. The South Island main line system comprises 1626 miles, one mile less than a year previously, and isolated sections complete the total of 3322 miles. The increase in the capital cost of open lines in 1929*30 was £1,219,073, no addition to the mileage having been made in that year; in 1928-29 there was made the unprecedented increase of £5,381,222, one of several large items in that amount being the East Coast Main Trunk line. Expenditure on both opened and unopened lines in the North Island amounts to £42,163,436, which is £2,308,382 more than a year ago, and that in the South Island to £26,412,575, an increase of £1,005,472. Miscellaneous items, including the Lake Wakatipu steamer service, account for the balance of £103,014, this showing a decrease of £160,918, chieliy in the stock of permanent way material, which has been reduced from £123,104 to £1477. Following is a summary of. the return showing the expenditure on the various divisions of the system:— North Island— Opened. Unopened. Kaihu .. £193,176 Gisborne .. 86-1.921 £1,325,787 Main lines and branches 34,245,318 ■ 5,533,731 £'35,303.915 £6,859,521 South Island— Main lines and branches 23.180.938 216,229 Westport . . 722,314 437,826 Nelson .. 58G.420 2(58,013 Picton .. 690,631 213.604 25,186,303 1.226,272 Miscellaneous. 54,936 48,078 Total . . £00,515,151 £8,133,871 Total expenditure on tho railways at March 31, 1920, was just under £40,000,000. Nearly £11,000,000 were added in the next five years, and nearly £18,000,000 since 1925. Following is a summary for the last live yearn, showing tho expenditure on opened and anopened lines:— Opened. Unopened. Totals. 1027 . . £49.183,916 £6.814,561 £56.028,477 19-28 . . 51,187,376 7,610,082 58.797.158 192'J . . 56,508,598 5,707,616 62,276,211 1930 . . 57.787,671 7.738,418 C 5.526.039 1331 . . 60,545,151 8,133,871 68,679,025 Expenditure on unopened lines was just over £3,000,000 in 1919; the total increased annually until 1928, being reduced in tlie following year by the transfer of 107 miles of completed lines to the Railway Department. The total has again been increased to a new record.

The return presents the actual cost. By legislation last year and again in this year's special session, the capital liability of the Railway Department has been reduced by £10,400,000 by the writing off of capital no longer represented by tangible assets.