Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1871.djvu/424

 3 88

RUSSIA.

the reign of Nicolas, three lines were constructed by the initiative of the Emperor, being the short line from St. Petersburg to Zarskoje- Selo and Pawlosk, first of Russian railways, opened in 1838, the more important one from Warsaw to the Austrian frontier and Cracow, and finally, the line from St. Petersburg to Moscow, called the Nicolas railway, commenced in 1842, and opened Nov. 1, 1851. Under the successor of Nicolas, the present Emperor, the construction of railways, both directly by the state, and by private companies — the latter, in every case, receiving more or less considerable Government aid — was continued more actively than before, and at the end of 1866 the following lines were opened for traffic : —

Average receipts in 1866

Names of lines

Length in versts

Per verst

Per Engl, mile

State railways : —

Eoubles

£

Nicolas ......

604

18,098

4,324

Grouschevki to the Don ....

66

1,613

386

Odessa-Balta .....

200

2,419

584

Private railways : —

St. Petersburg- Warsow ....

1,206

5,162

1,233

Moseow-Nijni-Novgorod

410

9,759

2,332

Riga-Dunaburg .....

204

4,397

1,050

Moseow-Eiazan .....

196

7,262

1,734

Don-Volga

73

2.003

478

Zarskqje-Selo .....

25

14,303

3,411

Peterhof ......

51

7.105

1,705

Moscow- Yaroslaw .....

66

7,479

1,787

Additional lines, of a length of more than one thousand versts, were opened for traffic in the years 1867 and 1868, and on the 1st of January, 1870, the total length of the railways of Russia open for traffic was returned officially at 7,0-44 versts, or about 4,700 English miles, to be increased to 14,500 versts, or 9,500 English miles, on the 1st of January, 1874. From the official returns of State of the railways in Russia in the year 1869, it appears that at the end of the year there were 27 lines open for public traffic, 2 belonging to the State, and 25 to private companies, while of the total mileage of 7,044 versts, or 4,700 English miles, there were 1,142 versts of State railways. The aggregate receipts of the year 1869 amounted to 64,949,974 silver roubles, against 51,235,617 in 1868, thus showing an excess of 13,714,357 roubles, or nearly 27 per cent, in favour of 1869. All the lines excejit two showed an