RAILWAY OPERATIONS

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22491, 27 August 1938, Page 13

RAILWAY OPERATIONS

Financial and General Survey

tablejves a cbmpMe survey of the/-cial operat^ns little Variati ° n: - ' '* :7 *' > ' Year ended March 31.

11 RAILWAY FINANCES FOR PROFIT FROM RAIL-CARS 1937-38 -* RISING REVENUE ON Record Year; Lower Net Revenue TWO LINES SUCCESSFUL WEST COAST EXPENDITURE HEAVIER BY MORE SERVICE THAN £1,000,000 [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.] # WELLINGTON, August 26. The two rail-car services run by the Railways Department— WellingtonHigh Percentage Increase in Operating Palmerston North and Christchurch-Greymouth-Hokitika— were highly profitable to the department during the Charges last financial year, as can be judged from figures in the 1938 Railways Statement, tabled in the House of Representatives to-day. The West Coast service showed a substantial rise in [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.] revenue. The following statement shows the WELLINGTON, August 26. Revenue earned by the Government Railways Department results of the operation of these services for the full year 1937-38, compared with the part year of 1936-37:— 1936-37 • Variafor the financial year ended March 31, 1938, was the highest on record, but expenditure rose to such a high level that net 1937-38 (part-year) tion revenue decreased by a sum in excess of a quarter of a million R pa e S n .. 25§»3 U%1 +1&M pounds. These figures are revealed in the annual Railways Parcels, mails, & newspapers 3,123 1,724 + 1,39£ Statement, which was tabled in the House of Representatives Total .. 29,106 13,701 +15,40!; to-day by the Minister for Railways, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan. Gross earnings amounted to £8,634,186, an increase of £843,535 Expenditure- +122g] on the previous year. Working expenses totalled £8,001,389, an Net revenue .. 3,063 61* +3,124 increase of £1,114,596. Net revenue, at £632,797, was higher Mileage .. 362,991 201,448 +161.54J than the estimate, but represented a decrease on the previous fLoss. year of £271,061. Chrtetchurch-Greymouth-Hokitika The Minister, in his statement, attributes this decrease to The revenue for the year amounted improved wages for the staff and claims that in the latst two to £9192, as compared with £5207 foi the part year of 1936-37, an increase of £398o. Expenditure rose from years the railways have "come well out of the doldrums into the fair-trade wind of present-day He points out £3293 to £6272, an increase of £2979, that for the year under review the total increases in wages was £734,185. The revenue and expenditure a mile for 1938 were 20.14d and 13.74d respectively, as compared with 16.58 and The percentage of net earnings to capital invested showed 10.48d a mile for the part year o 1936-37. The mileage a gallon ot luei a further drop during the year.to 1.15 per ceni. (1.65 last year); consumed was L8.59, compared with 17 90 last an improvement of U.bb the percentage of railway operating expenses to earnings of a mile. This service is maintained increased to 96.05 (91.81 last year), and net operating earnings primarily for the purpose of conveying newspapers from Christchurch to the West Coast of the South Island, an average open mile decreased to £90 (£170 in 1937). "The financial.year, the second since years, and the,net revenue return inaccommodation for passengers being limited to 19 persons in each of the tvur, email Diesel units operating the I assumed the portfolio of Railways, creased correspondingly. The exLAVO olilali j_yicos..* v»****"-' t w service, the report states. has been one of marked progress in every feature of railway activity," penditure for the year totalled £8,001,389, an increase of £1,114,596 Wcllington-Palmerston North mu„ rmmmw fnr the vear ended states the Minister's own section of the upon the previous year's The | Trie revenue xui i-ah- j>*-*** **»..* MsrPh 31. 1938. was £19.914, as com report, "with, notable buoyancy in many of the classes of traffic carried by the department and with some immain items oi mis mcreabe die "■""-}- -:l h £3494 for the part year tional expenditure upon maintenance, P 2^^1 " increase of £11.420. Ex-rolling-stock, and locomotive and traf- £ "JJJI' t Xned £19.771an increase fie transoortation. which together penditure wiaiiea *«. portant developments that have been accounted for £905,163 of this fl? 1 the saving in direct cost of steam-train particularly helpful to the people of the,Dominion from hbth the business and the recreational aspects. "I think me puouc is aireauy wcii aware of the need, in the interest of safety and progress, for necessary and desirable expenditure upon the efficient mfles replaced during the year (43,680 at 4s 2.8d a mile), gives a total gain from the operation of rail-cars on this route of £9389, whilst the rail-car mileage run in this area (253,430 miles) affords some indication of the sub"More business has been done by the tailways during the last 12 months maintenance of the railways so far as track, structures, and rolling-stock are than in any previous year in the his- c °Th|™uxnmary shows that for the tory of the Dominion. This fact is at- curren t ye ar it is anticipated that the tested not only by the record gross reV enue will reach £9,211,605, and the . revenue earned, but also by the record expenditure £8,706,207. stantial improvement in the passenger transport facilities provided Revenue a mile this year was 18.80d and expenditure 18.72d a mile. total of 561,000,000 goods net ton-miles. There was an increase over the previous year of 1,205,784 passenger journeys by train, and 890,023 additional RAILWAY OPERATIONS passengers were conveyed by. railway road services, as compared with the ,■•'' year ended March 31,1937. The internal activities of the department have been equally impressive. Never preFinancial and General Survey viously have the railway workshops - been so fully engaged, their total staff - now'standing at: approximately iBOOO. The^Uowl^Ulegvga complete^^^L^Xf^cT'STi V"' -T *" '"" \ ' Year ended March 31. <nnm ,and in no other -year have so many ' /'•'-'.-: £"';Jweoffd learnings -' , : v Dealing-specifically with the finan1938. Total mifes open for traffic 3.323 Averagetniles open for year a.a" Coined lfnef nedan £63,189,260 Capital cost of open lines £56,065,187 1937. 1936. 15W R-„„„ 3 320 3,320 3,320 3,320 3,320 3,320 cial position,' the Minister states:— , "The revenue for the year ended " March 31, 1938," was £ 8,634,186, the highest amount -yet'earned by the'de£60 659 783 £59,611.834 £59,477,143 £54;696,437 £54,253,059 £54,089.190 partrdent in any financial year, representing ■', an increase of £843,535, or 10.83 per cent.,-over the gross earnings Capital cost a mile of oMiteio open lines .. •• £16,87^ Gross earnings .. •• f jj'JSHSS £16,475 £16,341 £16,292 £7 790 651 £7,004,316 £6,627,928 - £6!886,793' £5,952,839 £5,540.437 £903,858 £1,051,477 £1,087,491 £2.309,754 £2,300,051 £2,330,886 of the previous year, and £1,629,870, or 23.26 per cent., more than the earnings for the year ended March 31, 1936. Working expenses .. £ 5'2"i'2g2 Net earnings .. • • -fSi'Sa Interest charges . - ±.<J,.«o,bub This increase of 23.26 per cent, in the Percentage of total workgross revenue of the railways during ing expenses to gross earnings .. •• yz °> j 88.40 84.99 83.59 the two years of the present Adminis-, tration is a remarkable proof of the Percentage of net earn1.65 1.94 2.01 earning capacity of the railways when ings to capital invested l.io trading, and the conditions of the country generally are favourable for their Railway operating earni £6,903,604 £6,243,519 £5,908,064 ; operation, particularly as there have j Taeen no increases in the rates for pasopera - ng £W» £6,338,385 £5,523,193 £5,138,588 ? sengers or goods during this two-year t period. Bearing this in mind, it may Net railway operating „„ nnrMn earnings . - , • • ±. Juu.uw £565,219 £720,326 £769,476 reasonably be claimed that in the last Percentage of railway ■ two years the New Zealand railways have come well out of the doldrums operating expenses to .earnings .. •»■• ao,uo 91.81 88.46 86.98 ?■ intov-the fair trade wind of. presentOperating earnings an „ 0 o ns £2,079 £1,881 £1,780 day conditions, and that the Governaverage mile open .. z.z,too * ment's policy has ■ been the power Operating expenses an „,,«= £1,909 £1,664 £1,548 . Which has helped them to achieve these . average mile open .. *./,i»o results. Net operating earnings an • average mile open .. *- y w £170 £217 £232 "The gross earnings for the year— namely £8,634,186—are the true earnings of the department, no device havOperating earnings a * A0KM train-mile .. •• 142.59d 139.61d 135.60d 133.44d ing been adopted to swell the gross revenue.. This should _ be rememOperating expenses a ,„ aa(iA train-mile .. -• 136.95d 128.18d 119.96d 116.06d bered when comparison is made with, Net operating earnings a train-mile .. •• oJoma Passengers, ordinary .. 8, °52'?aS 1143d 15.64d 17.38d say, the financial years ended March 31, 1926, 1927, 1928, and 1929, when ! 8,284,956 7,963,824 7,809,035 513,063 482,146 457,546 • 21235428 20,358,524 19,654,467 therailways were provided with subsiSeason tickets ., - • • „„ /, TWnl nnnpns'pr lOUrneVS 2Z,441,^1<5 dies from the consolidated f """ amounting to £359,540 in 1926, £445,221 •in 1927, £489,568 in 1928, and £490,735 in 1929, which amounts were included in the gross revenue of the respective Goods tonnage .. . • 6 '2*M2| Live stock tonnage .. -.SSS'SK Tram mileage ... •• it, 111,00a Engine mileage .. .. 17,312,921 6 212,907 5,618,477 5,444,977 600333 570,328 578,983 11868 083 11,050,376 10,626,400 15984782 14,923,175 14,277,710