5th. Not to increase the number of trains beyond a reasonable accommodation of traffic.
6th. To diminish as far as possible express trains, if it be not practicable to abolish them altogether.
409. The distribution of expenses, as we have seen, is somewhat complicated, and is systematically done upon a very few roads. The classification of receipts is, however, very easy, and is properly detailed in nearly all railroad reports. Upon the New York State railroads, the following was the division for the year 1854.
Passengers, $4,074.16 Freight, 3,776.72 Extras, 427.28 ————————— Whole, $8,278.16 Whole expense, $4,710.14
or fifty-seven per cent. of the receipts.
Passengers, $1.32 Freight, 2.02 Extras, 1.67 ————— Whole, $5.01 ————— Average, 1.67 ————— Whole expense per mile run by train, $0.97
Average receipts per passenger and per ton, per mile,
Passenger, 1.95 cents, Ton, 2.79 cents, ———— Average of passenger or ton, 2.37 cents, ———— Average expense of passenger or ton, 1.38 cents,
410. Upon the New York and Erie Railroad for the year ending September 30, 1856.
Passengers, $3,397.34 Freight, 7,143.42 Express and mail, 397.84 —————————— Whole, $10,938.60 Whole expense per mile of road, 5,263.00
or forty-eight per cent, of the receipts.
Average receipts per passenger and per ton, per mile,
Average number of passengers per mile run, 57.4 Average distance travelled by passengers, 81.4 Average tons per mile run, 90.0 Average distance, whole number of tons carried, 177.0 Length, 496 miles, Freight tonnage, 150,673,997 miles, Passenger, 84,069,398 miles.
412. It is of course an object on every railroad to make the gross receipts overbalance the gross expense by the largest possible amount. The elements which determine the gross receipts are,
The charge per mile, for transport, The number of units transported, The distance carried,
of which the company’s directors can control the first only, except as adjustment of rates may attract business.
Reduction of tariff, to a certain degree, has the effect of increasing the receipts by augmenting the number of fares; but the reduction may be carried too far. So, also, for a certain distance, increased rates will increase the whole receipts; but in this case, also, the extreme must be avoided. The point to be arrived at is, evidently, that at which the difference of expense and receipt is the greatest, and this is not necessarily when receipts are the greatest.