The Daily News MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1. RAILWAY REPORT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 228, 1 November 1909, Page 2

The Daily News MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1. RAILWAY REPORT.

The JS'ew Zealand railways famed a nc pjolit of £814,711 last year, murniti: 3.13 per cent. on the capital uf £20,0011 000 invested iu tliem. The annual Hai! ways Statement summarises the liiuu: oiai position uf the lines as follows:Total earnings, IDUU, £2,020,520; IDOc 1 £2,701,038; total expenditure, 1001 C:U14,815; 1008, £l,040,7o0; net proli on working, 11)0!), .€814,711; 190' £812,175). Though the earnings per trai mile show an increase, it was not * as the rise in working coats. Com mouting upon the increase in the cos of maintenance, the Minister for Ha 1 ,v:ivs states that it is a natural eorul lary of tiil* demand created by the * panding trallie for engines of gveate power.%ai s and waggons of increase carrying capacity, and faster train sci vices. During the ten years intervenin between JB!M and 11)0!) the expenditur on track renewals had totalled £1,078 S-20. "I confidently anticipate." adds th Minister, "that as a result of the ex penditure incurred in connection wit Lei torments during the past few* yea: a diminution of maintenance expend i.uiv is now within mensurable distance. The inauguration of the through trai i service between Wellington and Auck itind has already had a very maike effect on the passenger traffic bctwee 1 stations in the Auckland, Wellingtoi ; Taranaki, and Hayvkc's Bay province! ! Practically the whole of the passenge j trnllic which formerly -went by the so routes via New Plymouth and Xapier ' and from Auckland now comes overlan via the Main Trunk line. The stenme service between Xew Plymouth and Oar inmaa now consists of a bi-weekly sei vice run by tjhe Xortliern Company, th Un'on Company's passenger boats ha\ in«r been withdraw)! from the trade. Tr> diversion of business has. however, eon siderablv aO'ected the. receipts of th | V.''.'!linglon-Xe\v Plymouth mail train* > the traffic bv which is practically re [ bleed to the'local business for station \ mi to New Plyinouth. The diversion o [ Irillie over the Wellington and Mann j watu line lias resulted in a material dc [ crease in the business over the IVnnutak. j Incline. i«nd a considerable saving i ! ' operating expenses will ultimately rr suit therel'mm. The Minister is of opin ; on that the time ha- arrived when i is desirable to develop set I lenient with' a reasonable di>tance ol' (he main renlrr of population V a further inaugnrafioi of motor services. Satisfactory result? ho slates, have been obtained from th ••milling of motor ear* iu connection wit various lailwav systems in dilToren parts of the world, and. in view of th ailvancenu lit that has been mnile in eon ne<-tioti with the means of propulsioi and construction of such car-, he i«s a present obtaining data respecting th result- of working the diDVrent Ivpes o railway motors used abroad, so thai th n»Ofit. efficient and economical typo o vehicle suitable for the requirement* o Vcw Zealand may shortly lie brougli into u-e on our lines. No fewer thai ten million passengers were carried r>i Hie railway- List year, an increase o 7U0.42S over the previous year. Sen-ot tickets numbered 1!)2.."i47. an increase oi 7373. The number of workers' twelvejv >j) tickets was -1").227. and of workers weekly tickets, available on suburban lines, 102202. The gross revenue fo the year amounted to £2,020,520. . It exceeded the estimate by £04,526., an I the gross revenue for the previous year by Clo7. r »BK. Vafisenircr revenue shows an inerea-e of 1!5."».037. season tickets C 12.743. cHachini: I." 10.10."). goods and live stock e-}S:i7O. miscellaneous <tnd rents t! 10'107. The amount of increased pay accruing to the railway staff a* a Jesuit of the operation of the Classification Act of 1!M)7 was C 147,000. and the additional amount involved in pavina Hie marr'.ige allowance mirier the regulation \v\A Cl 2.000 per annum.