FURTHER RAILWAY CUT

Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 206, 30 August 1921, Page 7

FURTHER RAILWAY CUT

LOCAL EXPRESSES AFFECTED. CHE - SECOND" TRAIN. THREE DAYS A WEEK. ,'Ry Teiograph.— Special to "Star.") WELLINGTON, this day. A further cut in the railway service, artecting the Auckland-Wellington express, is announced by the ActingMinister of Railways" (Mr. D. 11. Kutbrie). "Wn have," he said, "been watching the railway returns very closely, and although they have all along shown a serious tendency to fall, we hail been hoping that with the advancement of the season receipt* might recover, but apparently they are still on the downward grade. Consequently Cabinet lias approved a further reduction of expenditure by cutting out on three days a week (he second express between Auckland and Wellington. The trains affected are tltQse leaving Auckland at midday and" , Wellington at night, the change commencing on Monday next. It is with reluctance this lias been decided on, but strict investigation shows that these ir.cond expresses are not justifiable, and it. is really questionable whether they should run even three days weekly, but they will run Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. ■' The Minister showed your correspondent a detailed return of passengers on all the Auckland-Wellington expresses for a considerable period. The capacity of the second express is 350 passengers, hut the return showed that, excepting at the week-end, nothing like the full accommodation was taken up. the usual number being one-third of the full possible total. The total number of passengers carried by the two trains each way amounted in the aggregate to only one irain-load each way- The midday Auck-land-Wellington express seldom carried more thun two car-loads of passengers from Auckland. Frankton, and Taumarunui, while the night train was also run with half a load, except on Sunday nights, when a considerable number of passengers travelled from Auckland to l'ukekohe and Frankton. The total number of passengers by the two trains was not more than a load for one. The same position obtained right through the journey to Wellington, where the first express arrived with two carloads of passengers, find the second express seldom more than half full. Going north to Auckland, the midday p\press leaving Wellington .was only half filled, and this position remained practically unchanged to Auckland. The night tTain from Wellington was also poorly patronised. The total traffic could bu dealt with by one train. The cost of running an express between Wellington and Auckland, said the Minister, was £511 a day, or £30(j(i a week, over £160,000 per year. A very considerable portion of the passengers who used (he Auckland-Wellington expresses were short-distance travellers only, and for these people other trains were available. "It is beyond question," said the Minister, "that at the present time the passenger traffic between Auckland and Wellington can be fully catered for by running one train each way daily, and the 'second' express, that is. the midday train from Auckland to Wellington, and the night train from Wellington to Auckland, on three days a week only. This Teduction will be made, and will effect a saving of £1500 a week, without imposing any serious inconvenience on legitimate travel/ "There is only one line in New Zealand at present showing a profiti," continued Mr. Guthrie, "allowing for interest charges. If the present service was continued without increase in business the North Island main lines would be making a deficit at the rate of £118,000 per annum, while the South Island would show an annual loss of £250,000. However, it has to be borne >• mind that just now is the slackest possible period of the railway year, and the management is fully justified in expecting an improvement in the'near {future. In anticipation of improvement the present proposal ia only till the end of November. On the other hand, if the business does not extend it may be necessary to still further reduce the services to bring the expenditure into line with receipts." Inquiries elsewhere show that the railway staff will not need to be reduced as a result of the cut in the services, for the reason that employees on the permanent staffs have been much below the normal for several years. All that the cuts will do is to eliminate overtime, which, as a result of the last agreement with the Second Division, had been paid for all work over 44 hours a week. " INTERFERENCE BY POLITICIANS." ♦By Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Monday. The Wellington Chanrber of Commerce to-day resolved "that this chamber deprecates interference by politicians and others with the Railway Department in itd efforts to curtail expenditure, and requests that the influence of chambers of commerce throughout the Dominion be directed toward helping the department to carry out its arrangements for profitably working the railways." m