Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - X. Internal Communications - 1. Railways. By [G. Welin] T. Hamnell
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
618
x. internal communications.
stones and different kinds of earth, bricks, and asphalt 6’9 %, iron and steel
5.8 %, and grain 3’4 %.
Of låte years, the goods traffic on our lines has gTeatly increased, as appears
from the accompanying diagram. The ore traffic, especially, has increased in
Northern and Central Sweden, and the sugar-beet traffic in the south. A further
considerable increase of goods traffic is expected after the installation (in 1914)
of electric motor power on the State line Kiruna—Riksgränsen, in the north
of Sweden, the traffic on which, from the very beginning, is expected to
amount to about one-quarter of the entire goods traffic on all the railways
previously existing in the country.
The financial results of the Swedish railway industry, of course, varies
considerably for different lines, but has, on an average, during the last few years,
proved very remunerative, for the entire network of railways. In 1906 the
Swedish State railways yielded a net profit of 4’oo, but this fell in 1908 to
1*39 %, after which the returns rose once more. In 1912, the net profits were
3*73 %, and, in 1913, 3"87 %. For the private lines the net profits are (1913)
5’6i %. Such a high average is reached by only a few other European countries,
the European average being about 4 The explanation of this result, so
favourable for Sweden, is of course, firstly, the above-mentioned cheap cost of
construction, added to which also come the comparatively cheap
working-expenses, which, during the last few years, however, have increased considerably.
As to railway accidents, we have complete statistics for any great length of
time only from the State lines. During the period 1856—1905, a total number
of 8 passengers have been killed through no fault of their own, and 30
passengers have been killed through their own fault. Besides this, 24 travellers
have been injured through no fault of their own, and 92 through carelessness.
32 passengers have consequently been killed or injured through no fault of their
own, and, altogether, 132 have been killed or injured. Of railway-men 2 073
have been injured by accidents, 395 with fatal results. As to other people,
797 have been injured, 571 of whom have died.
During the year 1911 there were killed on the State railways, in consequence
of their own carelessness, a total of 3 passengers. During the same period,
13 railway officials were killed, and 94 were injured. Altogether, 12 passengers
were injured in consequence of their own carelessness, and the same number
from causes not under their own control. On an average for the years 1906
—10, the number of accidental deaths amounted to 11 passengers, 120 railway
officials, and 39 persons that should not have been on the line, or a total of
170, which is somewhat less than 8 persons per one million train-kilometers.
If we examine the statistics for the private railways, the latest returns for
which are for the years 1911, we find that 114 persons met with accidents on
them during the period in question. 10 passengers were killed and 4 were
injured. 13 railway officials were killed and 50 were injured. 27 other persons
were killed and 10 injured.
Per million train-kilometers, therefore, during 1911, the number of killed on
the private railways was l’es and the total number of injured 2’09.
The above figures for the net profit demonstrate that Swedish railways
produce a fairly large profit, from a purely business point of view. As
regards the indirect results of the Swedish railway industry, this cannot
be easily illustrated by exact figures, but beyond doubt the marked
development of the national resources of Sweden during the last few decades
is closely connected with the building and extension of the railways of
the country, which have also powerfully counteracted the economic and
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
