Freight blamed for rail loss

Press, 9 August 1980, Page 11

Freight blamed for rail loss

PA Wellington A virtually unchanged I freight volume was the main] factor in the Railways De-j partment’s loss for the year! to March 31, 1980, according to the ■ Acting ofj Railways (Mr Cooper).; The department’s annual; report shows it ended . the year $89.9 million in the red.) This included a working deficit of nearly $56 million, f The over-all volume of, freight carried by rail in-! creased 33,343 tonnes, or 0.28 per cent, to 11,7.54,879 tonnes. Mr Cooper said this marginal increase was somewhat misleading: the domestic market had continued its decline of the last two years because of low business activity and competition from other transport I

The small rise was a . direct result of increase of I export traffic in dairy and I log and paper products. ■, i | More reliable indicators of 1 the trend were a decrease of, 6km in the. average haul, land a decrease in net-tonne-kilometres of 1.7 per cent to •3226 million, Mr Cooper said. '. ’ - . ■■■-■ i .. budget reviews and firm control ■. measures, “although set against’a back- ■ ground of rising wages .‘and I costs, -had enabled gross exipenditure to be held- to '5404.9 million, an increase of 16.7 per cent, or $58.1 million over the previous year’s figure. ' The financial result was a working deficit for the year of $55.8 million against last year’s deficit of 447.3 milliton?. ’ .