A RESPITE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 253, 25 October 1932, Page 6

A RESPITE.

In deciding that the East Coast railway shall continue open for the present, the Railway Board has had to make up its mind on a borderline case. Here is a branch line, opened four years ago, on which the loss last year, including interest, over a mileage of 111 miles, was £145,000. This was the largest individual loss for branch lines, and the Railways Board, in its efforts to achieve economies, has watched it closely. The decision reached shows that the interests of the settlers and users on the East Coast have been given full weight, and the Board apparently has preferred to stay its hand at this stage, in view of the impending changes that will be brought about in land transportation generally within the next few months. The area served by the East Coast branch has been peculiarly vulnerable to the attacks of motor competitors, to say nothing of carriage by sea. Of the loss recorded last year, £38,000 was on actual working, and that indicates the possible saving that would result from closing down. The balance would have to be found, in any case, to pay charges on the capital invested. To ask the taxpayer to find more than this is not justifiable, ■except as a temporary expedient to tide over the period of early development. This applies to branch lines generally. The immediate aim must be to balance the operating account. Non-paying lines have caused much of the drift in railway finance during the past few years, and the Railways Board has been making adjustments in an effort to check the downward movement. As a part of its policy it has quite rightly endeavoured to impress upon settlers the need of supporting branch lines.