RECORD RAILWAY INCOME

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23001, 22 April 1940, Page 8

RECORD RAILWAY INCOME

Earnings Exceed £10,000,000 NET REVENUE ALSO HIGHER Gross revenue from the New Zealand railways in the year ended March 31 was a record, it was announced by the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, Minister for Railways, yesterday. Mr Sullivan said that the figure at .£ 10,198,000, was higher by £853,000 than the previous record set in the 1938-39 year. “The railway financial returns for the year ended March 31, 1940, show a notable increase in net revenue,” said Mr Sullivan. “The total net revenue is £1.189,000, or within £II,OOO of the £ 1,200,000 provided for. in the Budget estimate. “The gross revenue was £10,198,000. the highest gross earnings in any year in the history of the railways. It exceeds that for 1938-39 by £853,000, which was the previous record. The total expenditure was £9,009,000, and the net revenue of £1,189,000 was £488,000 greater than, in the previous year. . “It is gratifying,” said the .Minister, “that such excellent returns have been obtained from the railways in a year when trading has been somewhat curtailed owing to the conditions arising out of the war. Both revenue and expenditure were also adversely affected during the final six weeks of the year by heavy boods in February. It seems clear that but for the loss of revenue and the increase in expenditure consequent on the heavy flood damage, the Budget estimate of net revenue would have been exceeded by at least £50.000.” Giving further details included in the preliminary figures, Mr Sullivan said that the passenger revenue for the year amounted to £2,119,000, an increase of £334,000 over that for the ■previous year. Factors contributing to this substantial increase were the heavy traffic in connexion with the centennial celebrations and the Centennial Exhibition at Wellington, the restrictions on the use of petrol, and the ‘fact that two Easter holiday periods fell in the financial year. Apart from the factors mentioned, however, there had been a steady increase in passgnger traffic in recent years, particularly in the last five, indicating the increasing popularity of rail travel The passenger revenue exceeded that of 1933 by £912,000. "Goods revenue amounted to £6,312,000, an increase of £427,000 over that for 1938-39,” said Mr Sullivan. “In 1933, the goods revenue amounted to £3.848,000. The revenue for the year just ended is therefore £2,464,000 (or 64 per cent.) in excess of that for 1933. This figure indicates the very heavy increase in business handled by the railways following the emergence of the Dominion from the depression period. “The increase in the general scale _of charges operated for the full financial year 1939-40, and for the latter portion (16 weeks) of the year 1938-39. This had an important bearing on the increased revenue from goods traffic in 1940, as compared with 1939, and nevertheless the volume of business has been very well maintained, in spite of a heavy decrease of 500,000 in the number of sheep carried.”