RAILWAY REVENUE

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 625, 30 September 1909, Page 9

RAILWAY REVENUE

"HIGHLY SATISFACTORY" SAYS THE MINISTER. ANOTHER EXPRESS BETWEEN AUCKLAND AND WELLINGTON. (By Tclccrapb-Prris Association.) . . Auckland, September 29. The- Hon. J.' A. Millar, Minister for Railways, in an interview to-day,: made some interesting remarks upon the subject of railway administration and the arrangements which his Department have in. hand for the immediate future. "Notwithstanding the tightness of the money market," said the Minister, "the' railway revenue has kept up wonderfully well. - The returns for the past five months of this year show. _a satisfactory increase oyer the corresponding five months of the previous year. The increase in revenue reaches ,£153,000, while the increase in expenditure has only been so that we have a net profit of .£70,000 over and above the previous year. It will.be seen that the cost of earning this increased revenue was only 61 per. cent., and I think that after. taking everything into consideration this in railway revenue for the past five months is to be regarded as highly satisfactory." '. , Speaking of his determination to ' make the railways pay, Mr. Millar said: , "I . am getting in all the information, that is required ,in connection with further economies. . These economies • will not'extend to the Auckland Province to, any great extent-H not at any' rate in the way of reduction of train, services. The economies in question will have reference to many of the small stations where trains stop daily for little or no trade. In such, cases our endeavour will be to compress the whole of the traffic into two or three stops per week, and so, considerably, shorten up the time.occupied in makinff the journeys. The new time-tablo will come into _ operation on November. 1. In connection with the Main Trunk. service I am \ thinking of. putting on another express, leaving Auckland ,in the morning and leaving Wellington at night. This will also start in November."