NEW ZEALAND PARLIAMENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 1856, 17 June 1887, Page 15

NEW ZEALAND PARLIAMENT.

Wednesday, June 8. THE RAILWAY WORK FOR THE YEAR. The annual report on working railways was laid on the table of the House to-day. Mr Maxwell, general manager, reports : — " The length of line opened at the end of the year was 1727 miles. The Waimea Plains railway was taken over to be worked by Government on the 14th November 1886. According to the terms of purchase, the line was deemed to have become the property of the colony from the Ist of April 1886, and the revenue and expenditure of the company from that date, to the 13th November 1886 have been incorporated in the annual account. The total length of railway opened during the year, including the Waimea, was 114 miles. Thirty-six new stations have been added, and the net revenue earned represents £2 6s per cent, on the estimates of opened lines. The highest rate is paid by the Greymouth, £5 10a 2d per cent., and the next highest by the Westport line, £4 16s 8d per cent. The traffic under the heads of passengers, parcels, live stock, wool, and minerals has increased,, while that of timber, grain, and merchandise has decreased. It is to be regretted that the extensive reductions in the rates which have been carried out should have been followed by a falling off in the imports of merchandise, diminishing the most profitable railway traffic, and that the much smaller production of grain, due to the low market prices, and the lessened demand for timber, due to the cessation of building and settlement, should have occurred at the same time. The grain traffic loss has been superseded by an increased traffic in live stock, but the low rates at which the latter traffic and that of minerals is necessarily carried on do not return a revenue at all equal to the other classes of traffic, which have fallen off. The traffic was greatly affected during the early part of the year by the heavy and continuous floods in the South. A fire in Dunedin caused the loss of a goods shed and heavy losses in claims and expenses. A table is given making a comparison of traffic and revenue for the past two years, which shows that while the traffic in nearly every class and also the number of passengers has steadily increased over the whole period, the revenue has not done so at the same rate. Last year 1726 miles were open, as against 1621 in the previous year, and the revenue was £998,768, as against £1,047,419. The expenditure was £699,972, as against £690,340 ; the tonnage wa51,747,754, as against 1,812,767 tons; the number of parcels was 372,397, as against 349,428 ; the passengers 3,426,403, as against 3,362,166 ; and the number of season tickets issued was 11,821, as against 10,727." The traffic in local productions of the colony during the past eight years is as follows : —

The number of passengers has slightly fallen sff on the Auckland section, but the revenue from them has increased. The numbers have increased chiefly on the Napier, Wellington, and Wanganui sections. The live stock traffic has increased on the Wanganui, Napier, and Hurunui-Bluff sections. Live stock, chaff, firewood, timber, mineral, and merchandise traffic has fallen off on the Auckland section owing to the commercial inactivity prevailing in the district. The agricultural produce alone shows an increase. This traffic is chiefly carried from Auckland inland by rail. The rates also being lower, the losses of goods revenue is larger, amounting to £12,344. The cessation of the lai'ge outlay on works between Morrinsville, Litchfield, and Te Aroha tends to make the comparison unfavourable. The traffic on the Napier and Wellington sections has been stimulated by the outlay on the extensions. On the Hurinui-Bluff section the diminishing expenditure on extensions has tended to lessen the general traffic. The wool traffic has increased very largely on the Napier, Wellington, Wanganui and Hurinui-Bluff sections. During the year exceptionally heavy floods did much damage at Christchurch, at Addington, between Oamaru and Bluff, and on the Little River aad Otautau branches. Such heavy floods have not occurred since 1879. Great damage occurred &t the Taieri, causing a suspension of the traffic, loss of revenue, and a heavy outlay on repairs. The railway at the Taien is still liable to serious damage and suspension of traffic from floods, which it is desirable to take steps to prevent. Careful attention has been given by the local officials to economy in every department, and the gradual improvement of the works and appliances on former years had admitted of saving. But increased expense must be expected in permanent way, repairs on structure, and in general repairs for locomotives and rolling stock in the future. An agreement has been entered into with the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company for an interchange of tariff with the Government lines. The opening of this line, while it has in some respects diminished the traffic on the Wanganui section, has on the whole given it a stimulus, and it has also benefited the Napier passenger traffic, probably to a greater degree than it has the Wellington traffic. Apart from the great public convenience to the districts concerned, this railway therefore brings direct advantages in the shape of revenue to the Government lines, and there seems every prospect that the coming year will show a greater traffic than any preceding year ; while there is no.reason to expect any large or sudden increase in expenses, provided no serious casualties occur. With the largely reduced rates and the^ fares now in operation, and the extension of the line in many parts in isolated districts, it must be anticipated that the proportion of expenses to revenue will not be bo low on the

average as it has been in former years, but an improvement on the results of the past year may be expected. The alterations in rates made during the year are shown in return No. 31. They are almost entirely in the direction of facilitating traffic in local" products, and have been mado to meet the demands from various quarters. The work of adding to the stations and appliances has been carried on to meet local needs as rapidly as the funds at disposal have permitted. Many improvements have been made for facilitating traffic and for the public convenience. Extensive grade improvements have been made on the Kaiwarra line, and between Mercer and Huntley. The station goods improvement scheme has been continued in Auckland, and concluded for the present. Frankton junction has been adapted to the altered train arrangements consequent on the opening of the lines to Aroha and Litchfield. The sheep arrangements have been improved at Newmarket, Napier, Wanganui, Wellington, Addington, and Hillside stations. Siding and signal improvements have been made at Farndon, Wakatu, Pukekohe, Ngahauranga, Kaitoki, Cross Creek, Summit, Wellington, Normanby; Addington/ Timaru, Dunback, Port Chalmers, Dunedin, and Mosgiel; and numerous other small improvements, such as cattle and sheep roads, water services, loading . banks, &c. have been carried out in various parts of the colony. During the year 14 carriages and 350 trucks have been added to the stock. These have been manufactured almost exclusively in the colony. Fourteen locomotives have been added. The locomotive building contract under execution in Christchurch is not yet completed, but is expected to be so during the coming year. The railway department is now performing postal and telegraphic duties at 136 stations under the supervision of the Postal and Telegraph department, the latter contributing to the expenses. It is as well to note the strain put on the department to restrict expenses in many ways, while at the same time it is required to give reasonable accommodation and convenience to the public. The expenditure exceeds that of three years since by only £9046, while in the meantime no less than 53 new stations and 250 miles of railway have been added to the system.

Public criticism on the railway working is sometimes very severe, but allowance is seldom made for the difficulty of satisfying all demands without exceeding the means available .There are two forces always at work : the one operating directly on the department through the public demands made upon it, which tend almost exclusively either to increase expenses or to curtail revenue; the other operating through other channels, requiring that the strictest economy should be exercised) and that the largest possible revenue should be realised. During the last two years it has been necessary to curtail expenses by reducing train mileage relatively to carry on increased traffic upon a largely extended mileage of railway without practically increasing the cost. In order to keep down to some extent expenses in proportion to the diminished revenue which the public has acquiesced in, economies have been resorted to and have necessarily been attended with a certain | amount of dissatisfaction, which seems to some extent inevitable. Letters sometimes appear in the press in strong terms complaining recounting errors, &c. In such a large business as the railways, entailing from four to five million transactions with the public yearly, many personal errors must occur, though they are few relative to the work. Business men as a whole are most tolerant of such errors, but a certain proportion of persons are found in every | v community who prefer to write to the press about j their private business instead of to local district ! officers, whose business it is to deal with them. As a rule, such complaints give erroneous impressions to the general public. Another class of complaints arises from people wanting personal rates or private favours at the public expense, ' which cannot be granted, and which no private railway company working under the usual legal restrictions imposed on companies in\ most countries would allow. Such complaints are often very misleading to the public ; and there are always sure to be plenty of this nature, but it should not therefore be inferred that the Bailway department is to blame. Stringent economy is obviously necessary wherever possible, and as increased facilities have been afforded by reducing all fares, reasonable allowance should be made for the absence of luxuries which are only obtainable by increased expenses. — I have, &c, J. P. Maxwell, M.1.C.E.,

General Manager New Zealand Railways.

A large number of returns, as usual, accompany the report, in which will be found all the information which can be desired. Erom the particulars attached of the accidents during the year, it appears that 11 persons were killed and 144 injured in connectiou with all the railways. One passenger was injured from causes beyond control; four were killed and four injured from their own misconduct and want of caution; one railway servant was killed and 14 injured from causes beyond their control; while none were killed, although 30 were injured, by misconduct or want of caution. Six persons were injured at toll crossings, 6 trespassers were killed and 5 injured. In the workshops no one was killed, but 32 were injured. When it is remembered that there are 4754 persons employed, the record is satisfactory.

Wool limber Grain Minerals Horses and Cattle Sheep and Pigs Wool Timber Grain Minerals Horses and Cattle Sheep and Pigs Wool Timber Grain Minerals Horses and Oattle Sheep and Pigs... Wool limber Grain Minerals Horses and Cattle Sheep and Pigs... J.OIYI-OU. Tons. ... 41,895 ... 149,428 ... 240,144 ... 32,060 Number. ... 30,393 ... 260,816 1881-82. Tons. ... 44,681 ... 192,905 ... 375,725 ... 433.659 Number. ... 32,511 ... 319,837 1883-84. Tons. ... 62,066 ... 183,449 ... 432,223 ... 574,312 Number. ... 39,230 ... 656,512 1885-8(5. Tons. ... 74,779 ... 202,572 ... 413,847 ... 69,081 Number. ... 46,152 ... 822,028 iOOU-Dl. Tons. 42,387 169,695 421,142 406,266 Number. " 27,230 280,683 1882-83. Tons. 51,704 197,231 367,528 510,088 Number. 37,455 449,470 1884-85. Tons. 68,523 178,909 414,590 618,512 Number. 43,006 696,790 1886-87. Tons. 82,963 175,580 345,254 719.-V79 Number. 466,000 904,582