THE YEAR'S RAILWAY EARNINGS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1745, 9 May 1913, Page 4

THE YEAR'S RAILWAY EARNINGS.

The railway figures for the year are now available, and as usual are of considerable interest. It should be pointed out at the outset that the Massey Govornment came into ofiieo early in Juno last, which means that when they took charge of the working railways of the country, onethird of the financial year had already elapsed. They, therefore, have not yet had a full year's control. Tho net profits for the past financial year on the railways, according to the figures published in yesterday's Gazette amount to £1,265,392—the highest yet obtained in the history of tho railways of the Dominion. They exceed the profits for last year by nearly £55,000. The total receipts reached the very large sum of £3,971,001, an increase over tho previous year of £294,492, while the expenditure totalled £2,705,009, an increase of £2.'!9,714. Compared with 1911 and 1912 the total earnings and expenditure are as follow: —

1011. 3H12. 1913. £ £ x Earnings ... '3,4'J1,182 3,C7G,. r iO!) II,971,(101 Expenditure... 'J,303,272 2,4C5,8!1(i 2,705,609 Net profits 1,190,910 1,210,G13 1,2053! As. lias been the ease for some time past, the North Island section of llio State Kailways shows n mucli greater earning power than the South Inland, despite the fact that the South has 1(«2 miles of open linos as against IMS) in the North. Tin* figures for the two sections arc appended Kxpmi- X,.| MJovOilllO. (lit Mi l.'. JH'olit. -s; .>: Darnings :'..U'1.1?-2 ."..iffl.Mn 3.971001 ftwlli 1 I.$7M» 1,270,7)!! .W.ico r iVii;,[ n,971,n»i 2.7(i."i.r,0n i Thus ib .will be tccu tiialj, uoUvilh-

standing the very much greater expenditure on railways in the South Island than in the North, the earning power of the southern lines is much less. The southern lines are run at a loss, and the North Island section has to hear the brunt of it. In most respects, the figures for the year are very satisfactory. There arc two blots: one the position of the South Island lines—which have been a losing proposition now for years past—and the other the, increase in expenditure over the whole system. The total capital expenditure on working railways up-to-date is not yet available. At the end of March, 1012, the expenditure on open lines amounted to £30,506,089, and on these figures the net profits earned last year would give a return of over 4 per cent, on the capital invested. During the financial year ended March 31, 1913, there has, of course, been a further addition to the capital cost of opened lines, which will reducc the percentage of profit, probably bringing it to something like £3 18s. per cent. This will pay the interest charges on the capital sunk in the whole of tho working railways of the Dominion, and leave something over.