Railways deficit $37.8M for year

Press, 12 August 1978, Page 7

Railways deficit $37.8M for year

I PA Wellington: The Railways Department Iran up an operating deficit of; 537.8 M in the year to March 31, according to its annual I report tabled in Parliament. In the previous financial year the deficit was just over SI2M. There was a loss of 539.1 M on railway services and SI.9M on road'services. This was off-set by a surplus on the Cook Strait ferry service of SI.6M and a surplus in miscellaneous operating revenue of $890,734. The Minister of Transport -I (Mr McLachlan) said in the report that the result was “satisfactory” considering the difficult trading conditions. The net loss for the year, after adding interest charges on loans, was 556.9 M. i The outstanding feature (during the year was the department's achievement, in keeping its operating expen-

diture within budget at a time of rising costs and fall-1 ing traffic, Mr McLachlan! said. “Many of the department’s major customers, especially manufacturers, reacted to the changed trading conditions by laying-off staff or introducing a short working week. This had a sharp effect on the traffic coming forward for transport by rail.” However, during a year in which the reduced economic activity was reflected in falling volumes of retail turnover and manufacturing production, the over-all volume of freight carried by rail fell only 7.5 per cent from 13.6 M tonnes to 12.6 M tonnes, Mr McLachlan said. | Very strict budgetart’ mea-| sures were continued to hold; expediture, he said. Gross ex-1 penditure at 5304.2 M was! $7.7M below the budget to I [which the department was! •working.