New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-02-04


can be for the producers and consumers"
The Belgian Chamber of Representatives at once nc
acceded to the proposals of the Government, the
low rate of passenger fares. already alluded to- was
inauqurated and the railways at this present time
return higher net profit TO the State than they nave
ever before realized. -
red ont there are 1S27 miles of line worked by the
Government producing net average proht OF o. Pea
cent though some pay as high as - per cent
nav an average dividend of 81 per cent. Bnt the
Prnssian lines have been constructed at cheaper
rate than those of any other country IN Europe tnc
cost per mile averaging fl7OOO OF only ttle noIo
than one-third Of the average cost OF construction
of the railways in England In giving his evldence
before the Parliamentary Royal Commission on hall-
ways. Mons Mulvany made the startling statement
accompanying the passing OF railway bills In England De
fore sod was dug, would amount 10 something very
nearly Eethe cost Of the whole Prussian system
In Austria the railways pay an average dlVldehu oi
per cent The 1904 miles OF line nave al peeh con
strncted by concessonaires under the lnperlai
Guarantee These railways all revert to the Govern
mept in 90 years. The tariff of fares IS hxed Dy inc
act of concession, the Imperial Government resery-
ing TO themselves the right to reduce the taT undr
certain contingencies. The 9,0l4 miles OF French
railways have been made, much on the same prih,,
eple, and the lines which revert to the Imperial
Government in 90 years nearly al snow very
surplus after paying the working expenses mo
foreign railway system may DO described ga leM
well-fed trains, running at good Dut Il9ucIalS g
rate of speed; the British system as-nuimoc1s oi
sary high rate of speed The consequence is that
while the average working expenses OF Brltsn ran
ways is so per cent of their gross earnings IN rance
they do not exceed 50 per cent? In EngIand tne
gross receipts for passenger traffic average d. 81 per
mile per train; deducting 80 per cent Tor WORKING
expenses. we have 2s. 3D. net profit per mile. IN
Franco the gross receipts los. ID per mic per
train deductng 80 per cent for working expenses,
we have U.s. Cd. per mile net profit against Is gd IN
England. 1t is not surprising theh that nearly al
discount while the EGO shares of the Eastern OF
France Railway with 1861 miles of line. are quoted
at % premium: the fl6 shares of tho Northern OF
France $50 miles at t3 premium; o iae rn ~ fiS
premium; the 600 shares of the Paris and orleans
2OS9 miles at GIG prcmium; the Southern OF france
600 shares, 10G2 miles at - premium ana ,c oe
ern and North Western of France t2O shares, l'JOo
miles. at t3 premium. nc,,
No less an authority than the late Robert Stephen
son. IN speaking at the rate ut whlch passengers
could be prOftably carried said;
Nothing is so profitable because nothing IL so cheaply
transported passenger traffic Goods trac OF WHAT.
article conveyed by railway requires handling and con-
Veyance beyond the limit OF the railway station, put
passengers take care OF themselves, and nd their own
way without cost from the terminus at which they are
set down. IL is true passengers require caascs vi
some what expensive construction than those pre-
pared for goods, but this expense is c9mpen'aeu LOT
by the circumstance that they are capable OF running
and do run, much greater NUMBER Oh a. t thS
weight Of eoods-and that consequently the cost Tor
locomotive power IS less noS COO nns have been
conveyed during the past year $50 oyer dstance ol
least as per tun per mile for the weight Of passengers con
veycd Goals conveyed IN some instances at a. per
n per mile be recolected that trains are usually
capable OF Transporting at least two or three times th
number passengers ordinarily travelling by them, auu
tremey small proportion To the gross weight oil tram
as average there viii bo IA passengers 10 every
tun and eac train will readily convey 200 passengers
The cost OF running train may he assumed IN most
to be about Is Sd per mile; therefore 100 pase
gers al 3d. per mile per passenger would give us 5s z
per train per mile which may be taken as about the aver
age of trancanugs throughout the year III "a Obvious
therefore, that anything beyond 3d. per mile per passen
ger may be rendered profitable, N the passenger
train is only half hlcd Hence all drectorates should
look TO the maximum amount OF gross revenue 20 e de
amount only be obtained by aGording large public
facilities and temptations TO travel"
If Mr. Stephenson's calculations be correct, which
we have every right TO is the case the jour
ney from London to Dover, before mentioned, would
entail the company net cost of Is for each pas
senger for tho rs miles. whereas the sum actually
charged the public is Dos rst class and 5s second
This fact combined with the statement Of the Bel
gan Minister for Public Works Jnsties the coneln-
sion-that while the tar on the Belgian llne creates
traffic the tariff on the English line discourages it.
Mr.. Airport, the Manager of the Midland Railway
one Of the few English lines that pays good avn
dend, said in his evidence before the Royal COM
For some years an opinion prevailed at the Midland
Board passenger fares could not be reduced
though they were rather high was constantly uikng
upon the Directors reduction We first abolished the
4
birmingham aud after about nye or SIX mouths We ionhd
had recovered that loss We then adopted the same
reduction upon the whole line. Again some twelve
months ago reduced our fares between Derby and
London and the whole OF our southern system by which,
on paper appeared 10 lose about 10000 year upon
that single reduction That loss recovered Itself IN about
four five months or In SIX months AT the outside The
reduction then made from 2ld per mile nrstcass
TO 2d To certain limit. believe low fares are very
beneficial both to the companies and the public We have
our line and the returns are very satisfactory"
IL would appear from these statements that the
tariff OF fares generally III vogue IN Great Britain IL
so high that II suppresses rather than encourages
passenger traffic, and yet many Of the companies are
at this day actually proposing 10 raise their scale OF
fares; one or two companies have already done So
The consequences arising from this almost prohibit
tory tariff very srikingly exhibited III some Of
the traffic returns officially published by the Board OF
Trade. In the year 1866 the British Railway Com
panies ran 314l 0SG passenger trains, necessltatng
the employment of "a rolling stock ~ 1928 covered
carriages, for the accommodation OF 24,S8CCS pas
sengers eXcusye Of season ticket holders, who num-
bered ll0s1 peTsOnsl, giving an average of 13 pas
sengers to every train But. as the average journey
of each passenger only 81 miles and the average
journey of each train 10 miles, the relative num-
Der Of passengers carried per tram would be only 81
thus showing that the scale of fares so prOhbtory
that the trains run almost empty, while. at tho same
time the average rate OF speed maintained is unusu
ally and unnecessarily high. and consequently UNI
usually costly.
Moreover the expenses of the management Of these
railways is enormous rs compared with the other
European lines. This is. however. an item OF ex-
penditure which may be considerably reduced by q
judicous amalgamaton OF several lines under one
directorate 1t has been the custom IN England for
years past 10 look upon the Office Of Railway Drec
tor az pleasant and easy way Of experimenting an
income Nearly $500 directors and managers control
the railways in Great Britain.y The expenses attend
ing this costly style of management are very heavy
dictatorship is worth from 600 TO $500 per annum
and managership varies from $1,000 up to as high
as f3 900 year And then there secretaries,
der secretaries and clerks without number all draw
ing high salaries beside station masters and station
clerks. An immense sum Of money is saved annually
by the Continental lines under this head. either from
the lines being in tho hands under the control of
the Government or from the anal gamation and
Capitalization Of several lines into
as is the case in France.
Taking into consideration tho facts and statistics