Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 20.djvu/247

Rh RAILWAY 229 Country. First Class. Second Class. Third Class. Totals. England and Wales Per cent. 4-9 Per cent. 9-7 Per cent. 85-4 100 9-2 5-4 85-4 100 Ireland 8-8 2V6 69 6 100 Total 5-3 9 '7 85 "0 100 The number of passengers conveyed in the year 1883 per mile of the mean length of railway open during the year was, in England 46,340, in Scotland 17,550, and in Ireland 7710. The receipts from passenger traffic in 1883 are given in Table XII. (see below). The decided preponderance of third-class traffic shown in this table is the outcome of the work of years. In 1854 upwards of 111 million passengers travelled by railway, of whom 13 per cent, travelled by first, 34 by second, and 53 by third class and parlia- mentary carriages. In 1873, the year before the Midland Railway Company ceased to carry second-class passengers, upwards of 455 million passengers travelled by railway, of whom only 8 per cent, travelled by first, 15 by second, and 76 J by third class carriages. In 1881 upwards of 623 million passengers travelled by railway, nearly six times as many as in 1854. Of these only 6 per cent, were first and 10 second class passengers, whilst the third-class and parliamentary passengers rose to 83|. Finally, in 1883 (as already stated in Table XI. ), 85 per cent, of the passengers were third class. The same movement is exemplified in the receipts, the mass of receipts gravitating towards third class, as shown by the following abstract per mile open for the years already men- tioned (Table XIII.): Year. First Class. Second Class. Third Class. 1854 349 416 382 1S73 274 250 737 1881 209 190 846 1S83 196 178 913 These figures show that in 1854 first and second class receipts together made up two-thirds of the whole receipts from passengers, but that they steadily declined in succeeding years, not only proportionally but absolutely, the third-class receipts, on the con- trary, exhibiting a rapid increase, insomuch that, whereas in 1854 they were exactly one-third of the whole receipts, in 1883 they amounted to more than two-thirds of the whole receipts from pass- engers. The reaction in first-class receipts is all the more remark- able because the number of first-class passengers in 1854 14^ millions was nearly trebled in 1873 ; that of 1873 was almost exactly the same as in 1881, about 38 millions ; whilst in 1883 there were nearly 36^ millions. The explanation is probably to be sought partly in the fact that first-class fares have been reduced in many cases and express fares have been almost entirely abolished, and partly to the increased habit of taking third class for long journeys, so that first-class journeys, being shorter on the average, have become less remunerative to the companies than before. The third class is by far the most remunerative portion of the passenger traffic of railways ; and it is difficult to understand the policy still pursued by railway companies in France, of discouraging third- class traffic. On those railways where fast trains do not take third- class passengers, or third-class carriages are deterrently uncom- fortable and repulsive, only those travel who travel by necessity, or to whom money is no object. On the contrary, low fares and comfortable carriages invite traffic ; they may almost be said to create it, a fact which has long been recognized by the more in- telligent of railway managers. The high speed of express trains from 45 to 50 miles and upwards per hour is, of course, an additional inducement to travel. On certain lines there are only two classes of carriages, first and third. The Caledonian Rail- way Company was the first to adopt, about thirty-five years ago, the system of two classes only for local main-line passenger traffic. The Great North of Scotland Railway Company opened its line in 1854 with only first and third class carriages. The Midland Rail- way Company, as already noticed, ceased in 1874 to run second- class carriages, at the same time readjusting and lowering the fares, the revised rates being l|d. and Id. respectively per mile for first and third class. The result was that in 1875 27| million passengers travelled on this railway, nearly 5 millions more than in 1873, before the change was made ; whilst in 1881 there were 29 million travellers, of whom -27 millions were third and only 2 millions first class passengers; and in 1883 upwards of 31 million passengers were carried, of whom 29 millions were of the third and a little over If millions of the first class. The gross receipts for passenger traffic on the Midland Railway were, in round num- bers, 1,660,000 in 1873, 1,787,000 in 1881, and 1,904,000 in 1883, whilst the percentage of working expenditure remained the same. On the whole, it appears from the results of this grand experiment that the change has succeeded financially, whilst there is no doubt that it has stimulated the provision for and develop- ment of third-class travelling on other railways. The gravitation of traffic to the lowest level is unquestionable ; and it is aided by the fact that third-class carriages have been (1885) for some years run with nearly all trains, fast as well as slow, and that the largeness of the number of third-class passengers has forced upon the management of the companies improvements in the popular class of carriage. As the downward movement of the classes con- tinues the outcome will most likely be a general reduction of the number of classes to two, nominally first and third, practically first and second. On 1st May 1885 second-class carriages were abolished on the branch lines of the Great Northern Railway ; and, if the experiment answers expectations, second-class carriages will be abolished on the entire Great Northern system. The returns to the Board of Trade do not supply material for Goods close analysis of goods traffic. The quantities of minerals and traffic, goods or general merchandise conveyed in 1883* were as follows (Table XIV.): Country. Minerals. General Mer- chandise. Total. Total per aver- age mile open. England and Wales Scotland Tons. 160,522,029 27,767,095 Tons. 65,387,354 8 692,433 Tons. 225,909,383 36,459,528 Tons. 17,100 12 300 Ireland 1,196,488 2,817,569 4,014,057 1 600 Total 189,485,612 76,897,356 266,382,968 14 260 The receipts from mineral and goods traffic in 1883 are given in Table XV. :- Country. Mer- chandise. Live Stock. Minerals. Total. England and Wales 18,028,587 2 267,685 787,642 175,996 14,057,188 2,062,223 32,873,417 4,530,8691 Ireland 952,215 208,808 136,010 1,297,033 Total 21 248 487 1,172,446 16 255,421 38,701,319' Total per mile open .... Proportion per cent, of total 1137 55-0 63 3'0 870 42-0 2070 100 These statistics of merchandise and mineral traffic show that upwards of 266 million tons were conveyed in 1883 in the United Kingdom, seven-tenths of which were minerals. In 1857 71 million tons were conveyed, of which only two-thirds consisted of minerals ; whence it appears that a more rapid development of mineral traffic than of general merchandise took place in the interval. The whole of the receipts directly earned on the railways in Receipts. 1883, with the miscellaneous receipts derived from rents, tolls, navigation, steamboats, &c., are brought together in Table XVI. (see below). The receipts per train mile from passengers and from goods and mineral traffic are reckoned exclusive of the receipts on railways working mixed trains ; but all the receipts per train mile for passengers and goods together are divided by the total mileage run by all trains. In the last column the gross receipts, including miscellaneous receipts, are divided by the total train mileage. 1 Including 24,965 from goods-traffic receipts not classified. TABLE XII. Receipts from Passenger Traffic in 1883. Country. Eeceipts from Passengers. tc ^ S/; * *^ Hfl! Mails. Gross Total. First Class. Second Class. Third Class. Season Tickets. Total. Kit-land and Wales Scotland 2,908,005 450,010 221,138 2,859,017 147,085 323,642 14,702,697 1,661,281 68(3,086 1,498,554 146,038 47,999 22.059,173 2,404,414 1,278,865 2,562,166 336,742 126,447 483,542 144,021 113,363 25,104,881 2,885,177 1,518,675 Ireland . .. Total 3,670,053 3,320,744 17,050,064 1,692,591 25,742,452 3,025,355 740,926 29,508,733 A vpr.ie per mile open . 196 12-4 178 11-3 013 57-8 91 5-7 1378 87*2 162 10-3 40 2-5 1580 100 Proportion per cent, of groM total
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