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1913. NEW ZEALAND

RAILWAYS STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, THE HON. W. H. HERRIES.

Mr Speaker,— The presentation of the Railways Statement for the year ending 31st March, 1913, imposes on me the pleasing duty of having to announce that the result of the year's operations has been satisfactory. The revenue has maintained the buoyancy that has characterized it during recent years, and the actual earnings have exceeded the estimate by £226,002 and the earnings of the preceding year by £294,493. The results may be summarized thus : — Year 1913. Year 1912. jg jg Total earnings ... ... ... ... 3,971,002 3,676,509 Total expenditure ... ... ... ... 2,705,609 2,465,896 Net profit on working ... ... ...£1,265,393 £1,210,613 GENERAL. The mileage of line open for traffic on the 31st March, 1913, was 2,860 miles, as against 2,808 miles for the previous year. The average miles operated during the year was 2,840 miles. The following extensions were opened during the year : — M. oh. Westport-Te Kuha ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 61 Waikohu-Otoko ... ... ... ... ... ... 7 79 Te Wera-Pohokura ... ... ... ... ... ... 8 51 Mina - Parnassus ... ... ... ... ... ... 8 51 Kiwi - Glenhope ... ... ... ... ... ... 12 45 Te Hana-Kaiwaka ... ... ... ... ... ... 8 67 52 34 The capital cost of lines open for traffic, including plant and steamers on Lake Wakatipu, has increased from £30,506,089 to £31,611,220. The net revenue (£1,265,393) is equal to a return of 4-04 per cent, on the capital invested in the open lines, and 3-74 per cent, on the capital (£33,831,783) invested in opened and unopened lines. The number of train-miles run during the year was 9,016,224, being an increase of 644,537. The increased train-mileage represents additional facilities to meet the requirements of the business and public convenience, and has cost over £193,000.

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