MANAGEMENT OF RAILWAYS

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27011, 10 April 1953, Page 10

MANAGEMENT OF RAILWAYS

POWERS OF CONTROL COMMISSION EXTENSION ADVOCATED BY MR E. CASEY “The Press" Special Service AUCKLAND, April 9. Unless the Railways Management Commission had the power to do what it thought was right, instead of merely a power to recommend, it would get nowhere, said a former General Manager of Railways, Mr E. Casey, in an address to the Auckland Junior Chamber of Commerce. Mr Casey was speaking on his recollections as a railwayman. He expressed this opinion during remarks on railways organisation, but said he did not wish to comment further on the working of the commission. e “Many people say that the railways have never paid,” said Mr Casey, “but I presented a balance sheet in 1943 which showed a profit of £200,000. This was during a period of war-time labour shortage. Every penny had to be earned, and it showed that if the business was thpre the department could handle it and make a go of it.” In 1952, when the railways showed a loss of £1,200,000, the goods revenue was £17.000,000, the passenger revenue £2,840,000 and the revenue from roads services £2,400,000, said Mr Casey. Had the department been able to use New Zealand coal instead of fuel oil and imported coal, it would have saved £730,000.

Between 1951 and 1952 wages increased by £1,750,000, the cost of imported coal rose from 114 s to 221 s a ton, and fuel oil from £9 10s to £2O 19s a ton, he said. With a staff totalling 25,200, the railways had a wage bill of £14,800,000, and this meant that the average wage was £6OO a year when overtime and penal rates were taken into account, Mr Casey said. In spite of this, the department found it hard to recruit staff. The main reasons were that employment with the railways entailed shift work and liability to transfer. The new underground railway for Auckland would be one the mam* factors in solving the city’s traffic problem, said Mi* Casey. In 1924, as Auckland district engineer for new works, he had objected to the two-level plan for the present station, and had been responsible for the one-level plan which would make the underground railway possible. A station on one level gave access to Beach road, and also meant that station work could be carried out with greater ease, he said.