The Sun.
London, England, 1860-05-03 00:00:00

AILTVAY EVTELLIGENCE.

MADRAS.
The directors of this company stated in their re-
port that the progress n rade in the construction of
the r Tilway during the. past half-year had been
satisfitetory, and would bear a favourable compa-
rison with the results of any previous half-year.
The increase of traffic on the opened portion of the
line was considerable, and the working had been
conducted with its accustc med regularity, care, and
freedom from accidents. The total quantity of
materials, stores, and plant for the railway shipped.
during the past half-year had amounted to 40,000
toils. The lice was opened on the 16th of January
lasi- from Goriattum to Amboor, a distance of 17
miles, and on the Ist of the following month to
Vaniv.mbody, ten miles further. Advic.s of the
13th of March announced a further opening of 14
miles to 'Tripatore, making the entire distance now
open from Madras 137 miles. Those extensions
had brought the railway into connexion with
some of the principal roads of the interior. From
Tripatore westward to Salem little more was
required to be done than to finish the laying
of the permanent way. The Board hoped to ba
able before long to annouree the opening of the
rai; way on that important point, which was half-
way across the Peninsula, being 207 miles from Ma-
dras. Tae engineer was confident that before the
end of the year the road would be laid through to
Paulghau t. The works on all the district west of
Salem were expected to be very near completion by
the end of this year, and that but little would then
remain to be done before opening the railway
throughout from one coast to the other. The length
of the Bangalore branch as now surveyed and set
out, was 842 miles. A great part of the land had
been handed over by the Government to the com-
pany's engineers, and the works had been com-
menced in several places. An early opening of
eight miles of the Bellary line from Arconum junc-
tion to Trittany was anticipated. In the course of
the year the engin,eer hoped to open further to Nag-
gry, and soon after further to Curcumbady. On the
completion of the present issue of debentures, the
amount of capital r wised under the contract for the
main or south-west line would be £4,000,000. A
cull of £5 per share 'was made on the 16th January
last'on the million of share capital, " 4th Exten-
sion," is.sued under the contract for the Bellary or
north-west line. The working of the traffic on the
south-west line during the six months ending the
31st of December last had produced for conveying
357,757 passengers £14,357, against 151,300 pas-
sengers conveyed and £10,994 received during the
corresponding half of the preceding year. The first-
class fares were reduced by one-third, and the third-
class fares to one-half the previous amount since
the Ist of Aug ust last. The receipts for goods traffic
amounted to £9,597 against £6,823 in the correspond-
ing half of the preceding year . The total receipts
for the half-year amounted to £31,837, and the
working charges to £12,166, or 38.21 per cent.,
against £21,760 and £8,740, or 40.21 per cent. re-
spectively for the half year ending 31st of December,
1858, showing an increase of £10,078, or 461 por
cent. on the reeeiptir, and of £3,416 in the expenses.
The traffic receipts per mile had gradually risen
from £3O per month at the first opening of the line,
in 1856, to nearly £57 per month in the five last
months of 1859, being an increase of 90 per cent. in
three years. The payments into the Government
treasury, at Madras, or., account of net traffic earn-
ings to the 31st of December last, in reduction of
interest advances, had amounted to £60,139 ; to
which a further sum would be added on the adjust-
ment of the maintenance charges for the last 18
months. The rolling stook of the railway continued
to be maintained in good and efficient order. The
passenger trains travelled at 20 miles per I:lour, and
the goods trains at 15 miles per hour. The total
expenditure on capital account to the 31st of De-
cember last amounted to £3,426,076.