The World's Railway Mileage.

Some interesting statistics concerning the railway mileage of the various countries of the world are given in a recent Bulletin of the International Railway Congress Association. The figures are for the year 1924. At the end of that year the total railway mileage of the world is set down at 758,319 miles—an increase of about 7,000 miles over 1923. America (North and South) heads the list with 372,913 miles of track, whilst Europe comes second with 237,669 miles. Europe, however, has the highest ratio of railway per 100 square miles of area—6.9 miles. Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand combined, have 147,737 miles of track. Australia has the highest ratio per thousand inhabitants—22.4' miles. The British Empire possesses slightly less than a quarter of the world's total railway mileage, its quota being 165,401 miles, while the United States possesses almost one third of the total in its 250,971 miles. New Zealand's 3,164 miles of track open for traffic looks small in comparison.

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