Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Means of Communication, by Bernh. Andersen, Andr. M. Hansen and J. T. Sommerschild
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further developed by extension and connection with one group or
the other. Owing to these circumstances, the gauge question in
railway technics is the one that in this country has been most
thoroughly examined into and discussed. The fight between the
partisans of the different gauges has been carried on for a number of
years. Of late, however, the normal gauge has won a decided
victory over the narrow gauge. By employing about the same
method of construction and material in both gauges, the
difference in the cost of construction has proved to be considerably
less than was originally supposed (now, on an average, only about
6 per cent). A lighter construction of normal gauge roads has
to a certain extent been adopted, by which the expenses of
construction of railways of this gauge too, can be very
considerably reduced, as compared with the trunk lines of other countries,
that are designed for great speed and heavy traffic. If the normal
gauge is to be introduced on all the main lines of the country,
reconstruction will be necessary with regard to several of them.
The traffic on the Norwegian railways, like that of other
countries, has increased considerably in the course of years, not
only with the addition of new lines, but also on the old lines.
The increase has been even on the whole, although naturally with
some ups and downs according to the condition of affairs. At
present we are in a rapidly rising period. The gross revenue from
the railway traffic in the business year 1898—99, amounted to
about 14.5 million kroner (kr. 11,753 per mile), of which 6.6 million
kroner was from passenger traffic, 7.5 million from goods traffic,
and 0.3 million from other sources. The expenses of working and
maintenance for the same business year amounted to about 9.8
million kroner (kr. 7,969 pr. mile).
The working of the railways has not given any very favourable
result from a purely financial point of view. The net surplus,
from which the expenses of interest are defrayed, and sums are
set aside for different funds, during the years in which the
railways have been in existence, has not represented a large percentage
of the capital invested. Since 1880 it has only rarely been as much
as 2 %. In the traffic year 1898—99. however, it went up to 2.9 %.
Scarcely 1 % has been distributed as dividend to the shareholders.
It is only the Kristiania and Eidsvold Line that gives its
shareholders a fair dividend. Of the other lines, some yield a relatively
small percentage, while others give no dividend at all.
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