The Hawaiian gazette., 1907-08-27
COLONIAL KING
Of RAILROADS

Thomas TAFT, formerly assistan
general manager of the Canadian Pa
cific r. R. and at present one of tn,
| three members of the board of rail
way commissioners operating and
managing the government owned lines
of Victoria, Australia, passed through
Honolulu last night aboard the S. s
Manuka for Australia. Mr.. TAFT has
been visiting his relatives in Montreal
for the first time since he assumed
control of the government railways in
the state of the commonwealth. It is
largely due to the efforts of the Cam
adam railway man that what was a
losing proposition and an eyesore to
the people of one portion of the anti
podes is now paying proposition.
Speaking of the government owned
roads, Mr.. TAFT says:
The railway system Of Victoria, as
you know, is owned by the govern
ment. Its total mileage is slightly
over 3400 miles and cost in the neigh
borhood of two hundred million dol
lars. This sum represents about four
fifths of the total loan debt of the
state. The operation of the railway
system is vested in board of railway
commissioners, consisting of three men.
They are elected for term of four
years and can be removed only for
misconduct and then only through a
majority vote of both houses. The
railroads are administered now abso-
lutely Independent of any political in
huences and they are operated strictly
on commercial basis, paying for ev-
erything that they buy and getting
paid full value for everything that
they give out.
An interesting example and proof
of this is that since the present COM
missioners took charge they have COL
lected from the government of Victoria
the full value of the annual passes
issued to the members of parliament
over the government railway.
THE financial results for this last
year, ending June 80, 1907, have been
most encouraging. The total revenue
has been over twenty million dollars
and the working expenses have been
$40, ,416,S60. Net revenue is thus nearly
ten million dollars.
There are from fourteen to fifteen
hundred trains a day arriving and
leaving Melbourne, the vast majority
Of which run a less distance than ten
miles. One hundred and forty thou
sand people q day go in and out of
Melbourne station, and If I am not
this makes it, with Liver
pool station, London, one of the busiest
if not the busiest passenger stations
in the world. We carry about sixty
million passengers per annum on the
suburban trains and the average dis
tance is about SIS miles. The average
fare per passenger mile is about one |
cent. The average fare apart from the |
suburban traffic is about IA cents |
per passenger mile, but this includes |
both first and second class fares and
also cheap excursions and holiday
fares
'on the double tracks the trains are
governed entirely with the switches
which are, in the majority of cases,
nterlocked with the signals. The
Whole thing is run on an absolute +
block system.
Il have just been making a tour of
Great Britain, the continent and Amer
ca inquiring as to the best methods
~ which we might electrify some of
he Melbourne suburban lines.''
Mr.. Trait and party left Melbourne
bout the middle of last March and
ave made a rather extensive trip for
he last five months.