THE RAILWAY REVENUE.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 20 April 1901, Page 4

THE RAILWAY REVENUE.

A Satisfactory Year.

It is announced by the Minister for Railways that the linos of the colony' have produced exceedingly satisfactory' results for the year which has just closed.

The revenue, Mr "Ward stated, amounted to "£1,575 967 7s del, which is an increase over that for the proceeding year, of £95,2(37 16s Id. From the Ist April, 1900, to the 2nd of March, 1901, £1,028,58:1 was spent in working expenses alone, which exceeds the appropriation by £14,715, but the revenue also exceeds the estimate by' £1:19,913.

The expenditure per cent, of revenue is 65.45 tor the corresponding period of the previous year. Mr Ward is of opinion that the repuction in rates which came into operation last June has largely contributed to tire favourable results, as from that time to the end of the financial year, as compared with the corresponding period of the previous year, 758,110 more passengers were carrid, and 17,178 more season tickets were issued.

Tiie Christmas and New Year holiday traffic, from the 19r,h December, 1900, to tbe 2nd January, 1901, was as follows ; Ordinary passengers, 157,799 ; revenue, £9588 13s 9d. Exclusion passengers, 215,330; revenue, £89,857 18s 2d. Total passengers, 373,199 ; total revenue, £43,446 11s lid. Tho totals equal IGOO trains of 370 passengers each, and show an increase of 49,388 passengers and £1519 in money over tho remits for the corresponding period of the previous year. Tho development ot tho goods traffic has also been exceedingly satisfactory, and the railway workshops of the colony have been hard put to it to keep pace with the demands for additional rolling stock. Incidental to this, Mr. Ward remarks that ho hopes at a not far distant date to see the whole of the rolling stock for our railways manufactured in tho colony. It is not intended at present to establish more workshops, but rather to add to those now existing as required. Mr. Ward also pays a tribute to the efficiency of the railway staff, which, he says, is one that tho colony lias every reason to be proud of.