Building a railway is definitely a significant expense, especially if at least 57,000 kilometers of railways will be built in 20 years.

Some hilly areas also need to be detoured, after all, the current technology can not do tunnels up to tens of kilometers long, or detours are more realistic.

Of course, there is another way to solve the problem, that is, digging mountains and filling pits in the mountains, which is also a common way in the construction of railways in various countries.

However, this will increase the cost of manpower and time, unless it is the only option, or try to avoid it.

The good news is that Australasia is currently well funded, and there are many ways and means to raise it.

Even if you are facing a number of major projects, including the construction of the Grand Canal, you don't have to worry too much about funding.

No matter how bad it is, it can issue government bonds, raise enough money from the private sector, or borrow from other countries, anyway, many countries will have to give up their gold position in a few years, and their currencies will experience a big depreciation in a few years.

In fact, the matter is far from being so serious, after all, countries around the world are still very keen on building railways, and the people's desire to build railways is also very strong.

It is entirely possible to adopt the method of sectional contracting, and contract some railways used for commercial purposes to the private sector, so as to reduce government expenditures.

Most of these commercial railways can still make money, and as long as someone tastes the sweetness from the contracted railway, there will be no shortage of funds for the next railway construction.

Of course, some mountainous railways still have to be built by the government, after all, the railways in these areas lack the so-called sweetness and cannot make any profits.

Perhaps Minister Martin had been prepared for the National Day, and a new plan for the construction of the railroad had been freshly prepared and delivered to Arthur's desk before the National Day.

In Minister Martin's construction plan, the first five years of rail construction will be carried out around the Capital Territory and Northern Australia, complementing the railways of the two newly added state administrative regions.

Together, at least 7,000 kilometres of railways will be built in these two regions, which is just enough to bring the total length of Australasia's railways to more than 50,000 kilometres.

At the same time, some deficiencies in the current railway range will be modified, as well as the railway construction in south-east Australia will be improved.

It is expected that at least 12,000 kilometers of railways will be built in total within five years, with an average of 2,400 kilometers per year.

According to the cost of railway construction in Australasia in recent years, the cost of each kilometer of railway is about 4,000-6,000 Australian dollars, which also means that at least tens of millions of Australian dollars are spent on railway construction every year.

However, considering that Australasia's annual revenue was already as high as 208.7 million Australian dollars last year, the cost of railway construction of more than 10 million is not a big number.

Referring to last year's $8 million in financial funding for the transport sector, it should be raised to at least $20 million this year, and the fiscal can still maintain a surplus.

Although the loans of the Germans, led by the British, have been lowered, and even in the last two years they do not need to be repaid.

However, because of the compensation of the Americans, the Australasian government still has a lot of extra income, which is completely enough for the construction of the railway.

Of course, if the railway construction can be contracted out, it is still necessary to contract it out as much as possible, and there are still many places where the government's funds are consumed.

After determining the feasibility of this railway construction plan, Arthur waved his hand and ordered the Ministry of Transport to immediately start bidding and external offering for the construction of the railway.

Yes, the construction of the railway this time is not just a tender, but also the corresponding sale of shares.

To this end, Arthur set up the Northern Australian Railway Development Corporation and the Capital Territory Railway Development Corporation to sell their initial shares in exchange for funds to be used as start-up capital for the corresponding railway projects.

When the railroad built by these companies is completed, the profit they make is the return for all those who buy the shares.

For example, in this tender, the railway is expected to be built for five years, plus ten years of dividends, and the principal will be returned after ten years.

For the public, buying shares in railway companies is almost a sure deal. And because the background of the railway company is the government, there is no need to worry about the bankruptcy of the company.

In this context, a large number of people enthusiastically bought shares in these companies, and soon raised up to $30 million in start-up capital.

According to statistics, a total of 472,000 people bought railway shares this time, with an average of $63.5 per person.

In fact, most of the shares bought by civilians are around $40. Because they haven't had time to buy more shares, the big ones have already been snatched up by those aristocrats and capitalists.

These people also know that such a railway is sure to make money without losing money, and it is naturally impossible to let go of such an opportunity to make money.

Of course, in general, the construction of railways can be regarded as the participation of the whole people. As many as 472,000 people have paid most of their work income for half a year, which is enough to show the level of trust these people have in the government.

It is precisely because the construction of the railway is almost participated by the whole people, and the masses will always keep an eye on the progress and situation of the construction of the railway, which can also greatly reduce the quality problems of the railway.

Arthur didn't even have to worry about the follow-up construction of the railway, hundreds of thousands of people would keep an eye on him, and it was also in their vital interests.

Even some of the capitalists and aristocrats who bought the shares were more anxious than Arthur, because they were waiting for the dividends after the construction of the railway, and naturally they expected the construction of the railway to be completed as soon as possible.

At the urging of many people, exploration teams organized by railway companies have begun to explore in Northern Australia and the Capital Territory to explore the most suitable routes for the construction of railways, and at the same time connect as many cities as possible to improve the transport development within the state.

The construction of the railway is actually complicated, and after the main line is clarified, the route of the branch railway must also be determined.

There can never be only one railway, multiple railways are staggered, and there is also the difference between single-track and double-track railways, which is still difficult to design.

Often, there will be certain differences between the construction and design of the railway, and the actual construction distance of the railway is even farther than designed, because some problems are unavoidable.

Because a large number of people have bought shares, the quality of the railway construction has also become a hot topic among the people.

The public was very interested in the progress of the construction of the railway, and also interested in the railway companies responsible for the construction of the railway, as well as the previous construction of the railway by these companies.

This also led to the fact that many companies did not dare to be careless in the construction of this railway.

Because these hundreds of thousands of "overseers" find out their problems in railway construction, especially quality problems, it will be a fatal blow to the reputation of the railway company.

The $30 million raised by the shares is also good news for Australasia, which means that the construction of the railway will be contracted by the people for three years with little to no cost.

This will also save the government's budget for more projects to be launched.

The transportation sector raised enough budget to the relief of other departments. After all, the government's annual budget for fiscal expenditure is limited, and if a department increases its budget, it also means that the budget of one department will be lowered.

Everyone is in the Australasian Cabinet Department, and some people want their budget to be lowered, after all, it is related to the importance of their department and their own performance.

In particular, Secretary of State for Defense Raul directly brought a military expenditure statement to Arthur to ask for a budget.

"$50 million?" Arthur frowned, looked at Minister Raul, and asked puzzledly: "I remember that last year's military expenditure was only 42 million Australian dollars, right?" How did it grow to $50 million this year? ”

Australasia's military spending has consistently accounted for the largest proportion of all fiscal spending. Even the education and medical care that Arthur attaches great importance to add up to only the same proportion as military spending.

However, the annual military spending of more than 40 million Australian dollars is already quite exaggerated, and if it grows to 50 million Australian dollars, it is close to a quarter of last year's total fiscal revenue.

"Your Majesty, this year we have three battleships to be launched for testing, and a large number of small and medium-sized warships to continue to build. Coupled with the training costs of the navy, land and air force and the salaries of the soldiers, 50 million Australian dollars is really not much. Minister Raul cheekily fought for himself.

The total number of Australasian army, army, and air force is about 250,000 people, and the average salary of each army is about 70 Australian dollars, which is 17.5 million Australian dollars.

And this is just the salary of the soldiers, if you include the soldiers' food costs and logistics, etc., it will be at least about 30 million Australian dollars.

The rest of the money is the cost of materials for the training of various armies, as well as the maintenance of many equipment.

Especially those gold-devouring beast navies, the cost of maintaining battleships is simply a burning money, which also makes the navy cry poor in front of Minister Raul.

No, the annoyed Minister Raul decided to put aside his face and fight for an additional $8 million in military spending.

The first is to deal with the more exaggerated size of the navy, and the second is to increase the cost of food and training for the soldiers.

"The size of the army is three more battleships than last year, and the construction of the navy is going on every year, and not only this year." Arthur said angrily: "Other departments also need enough funds, so let's increase military spending to 47 million Australian dollars, and we have to set aside some reserve funds for the government." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Minister Raul replied with an excited look on his face.

Although it was cut by $3 million, the $47 million funding also met Minister Raul's expectations.

Even Minister Raul was only hoping for about $45 million at the beginning, and said an extra $5 million, just to keep it for bargaining.

It can only be said that the desire of all departments for the budget is unanimous, and after sending off Minister Raul, the Minister of People's Livelihood Philippe was ushered in in the afternoon.

As an old man who has also been a cabinet minister for two consecutive terms and has served for nearly 11 years, Philip is not so restrained in the face of Arthur, but he still respectfully handed in his schedule and put forward his own budget requirements.

"$30 million?" Arthur rubbed his brow, exhausted by the budget demands of these ministers.

At this time of year, there is a battle for the budget, and it is also the fiercest time of the year when ministers quarrel over the course of the year.

"I remember that the Ministry of People's Livelihood spent only $17 million last year, right? 30 million Australian dollars is about to double, what is the big move of the Ministry of People's Livelihood? Arthur asked, frowning.

"Your Majesty, in addition to maintaining the previous policies, there are still a large number of policies that need to be implemented. These policies also require considerable costs, and $30 million is already a practical consideration. Philip explained.

"You should go and talk to Prime Minister Kent about that." Arthur said: "Ten departments and many units are asking for more budgets, you better fight for it yourself, how much you can fight depends on your ability." ”

Arthur would not have intervened in the budget competition between various departments, but this year he took a fancy to Martin's proposed railway construction plan, so he directly designated the construction tasks and funds of the railway department.

Unexpectedly, the ministers of various departments came to the door one by one like a fishy cat, and tried to get Arthur to agree to more financial budgets.

In addition to the Ministry of Defense, which Arthur needs to control, Arthur is still willing to give power to the Prime Minister of Kent and let the government fight for itself.

Moreover, I really don't have the heart to listen to the competition between these ministers over the budget. One by one, they behaved like those businessmen, in order to compete for more budgets, they were not red and their hearts were not beating when they said a word.

Hearing that Arthur did not plan to manage the budget of the Ministry of People's Livelihood, Philip could only nod and retreat.

Originally, he planned to rely on Arthur to get more budget directly, but it seems that he can only join the battle with other departments like before.

The last person to ask to see Arthur was Chancellor of the Exchequer Kevin Noble, and Arthur did not refuse to receive Minister Kevin.

After all, defense and finance are the two departments that Arthur controls in the government, and Arthur still needs to know about the situation of these two departments.

Minister Kevin's report was nothing more than two points, the first was the government's financial situation and this year's general budget, and the second was the request for instructions on the financial budgets of various departments.

Naturally, Arthur would not take the initiative to express his opinion, and let Secretary Kevin make certain improvements according to this year's plan on the basis of roughly maintaining last year's budget.

Last year's total revenue has exceeded 200 million Australian dollars, which also makes the total budget share of the Australasian government this year around 195 million Australian dollars, an increase of 5 million Australian dollars compared to last year.

At present, 47 million Australian dollars have been allocated to the military budget, and with 10 million Australian dollars in the transportation department, the budget that the departments can compete for is about 138 million Australian dollars.

Among them, medical care and education account for a relatively large proportion, as well as the livelihood issues that Arthur is most concerned about.

Together with military spending, these four expenditures accounted for 57 percent of the total fiscal expenditure last year, while the remaining six departments and the government's operating expenses accounted for only 43 percent.

Of course, the remaining 43% is not a small number. According to this year's total fiscal expenditure budget, it is almost 84 million Australian dollars.

4000 words for the third update, ask for a monthly pass, ask for support!

(End of chapter)