Railway Reforms.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17451, 11 May 1922, Page 6

Railway Reforms.

By no ineans the leyst interesting portion of the important speech delivered by the Prime Minister last night was that in which he outlined some of the features of the Government's new rail-, way policy. The scheme of reform is as yet incomplete—Mr Massey adnjitted that. a good deal, still remained to be done—but ao far as it was unfolded,

it affords gratifying proof that the Government has paid attention to the complaints and suggestions 'that users of the railways have been making for some time past, and offers ground for the belief that it intends to make a serious effort to bring the management of our ! railways iuto line with the Dominion's requirements. Criticism of proposals which are still in an unfinished stage would be out of place, but we may remark tliat the board of experts from the traffic, maintenance, and locomotive departments, which the Government intends to set up to assist the general manager, acceptable though it is, would be much more so if it included 0110 or two business men of enterprise and ability. The advice of the Board will doubtless be of value, but it will only bo 'the advice of officials, looking at matters from the Departmental standpoint, to their superior, who could presumably have had the benefit of it all along, if he had invited it. It may be, of course, that the Government intends to endow this Advisory Board with some degree of responsibility and authority, in which case the management of cur railways will pass out of the hands of one individual into those of the new Board. Even if this is brought about, we believe the benefit resulting to the community from the appointment of a Board would be much greater if the ideas of the members were leavened with some non-official vie.wß. It is true, however, that to some extent these should be supplied to the ruling authority by the business agent who is to be appointed in each island, for the purpose of conferring with users of the railways who may have "grievances to .ventilate or improvements to sug- " gest." These officials, if of the right type, which is to say if they are sympathetic and receptive of ideas, should prove most useful, if only because they will constitute a much-needed direct channel of communication between the Public and the Department. Hitherto, the Department's attitude towards both complaints and suggestions has been the reverse of sympathetic, indicating a belief on the part of the officials concerned that they were never in the wrong and that 'whatever was, was best. That belief the public has never shared and it will be the duty of the business agents to show to customers of the railways that the Department is not opposed to reform of any kind. Mr Massey's promise that it will be the Department's policy to see that where it is possible and desirable to give effect to suggestions they will be carried out opens up possibilities which hitherto railway-users have hardly dared to dream of. The revision of the railway tariff, accompanied by the removal of anomalies, and a number of reductions in freight rates are also among the good things which Mr Massey promised us. We must hope that the reductions in rates will not be planned on to® niggardly a scale, for lower transport charges would be of distinct benefit to industry, which just now needs all the help it can get, and would also draw back to the railways some of the traffic that they have lost to private enterprise in the shape of motor services. Regarding these, the Government wisely proposes to try to use them as feeders for the railways instead of, as now, suffering them as competitors. Mr Massey also indicated that in some parts the Government might establish motor services of its own for collecting and delivering goods,' another desirable step in advance. Altogether the new railway policy, so -far as it was disclosed!, is certaiiJly in the direction, of reform. It shows that the udvernment is not so obstinately prejudiced in faivour of the methods of the past as not to be ablei to recognise that they are capable of improvement. That is a great point gained and if promise does not outstrip performance we may look to the railways regaining such a measure of,, prosperity as will at least enable them to pay their way and also to meet the interest on the cost of construction.