RAILWAYS REVENUE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 646, 25 October 1909, Page 6

RAILWAYS REVENUE.

The North Island railway lines arc, according to the figures in the current number of the Government Gazette; starting out to show their -usual ascendancy over tne Sbiifch Island section.- ■«Thc.'first part of the financial year is usually favourable to the South Island lines,.and tho Ministerial journal' in .Chr'istchurch has been making a good-deal of this fact lately. 'At the ond of the year,'however, .the earnings of.the North Island lines, as ,wo have shown on numerous pecasioris, completely eclipse the South. For the four-weekly periods :endcd Septembor '18, 1908, and 1909, the figures are as fbllQW: — '. : '.y.' Period. Periodi . „ „ ' "' ' . 1303., 10C9. Increase. Southern lines— ■ £ . ■ £ . . £ ■ ■ Not return 15J70S 15,805 159 " Northern lines— • .'-. Not, return. _........,'20,32fi : $l,Ui 818, Buiithe relative earning power is .'best seen from tho following'table'dealing with the latest four-weekly period:— ■' '"'fcles; Net'-'Not return .■■••.-■.-opoSi'-.-rWui-hi per.mile. ■■'••.''.-'.' '•'■■ sC --'■■-i.---JB-Bi'd. North ;.........: '-U35 ..,21,141. 18 12 C South 1550 " :15;565 . = 10 ,4 t The not\r,et'urri per mile on the .Northern lines isthus ; almoßt ; 'double, for the :period under' notice, : th'e net return pSr mile on thflj Southern■. lihtas. 'It is satisfactory ,tc noto that' while-the, gross revenue Ifom the Southern: lin'Cß -has. decreased by ovei £2000, the'.gross cxpe&ditiiro' upon 'then] has also decreased byiover £21300.,' The revenue from the Northern lines for the period under rioticc-has increased by ovei £14,000, Or 15 per.cent.—due, of course, ir great part, 'to the .extra receipts from th( Manawatu lino. The expenditure on th< Northern lines increased'by over ■ We do not like this 'increase. ' '