RECORD RAILWAY LOSSES

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 25, 24 October 1938, Page 8

RECORD RAILWAY LOSSES

So much has been said in recent months regarding the losses arising from our railways that the public must be almost impervious to further shocks. Yet the latest figures—those from April 1 to September 18 of the current financial year—are startling almost beyond belief. In the past, even under the worst conditions, the railways have managed to pay their cost of running and something toward the cost of the £2, 300,000 a year interest charges on the fifty-odd millions of capital sunk in them. Now, for the period mentioned —nearly six months —an actual working loss is disclosed. They have not even paid their working expenses, and have contributed nothing to ease the interest burden.

The returns which are published in last week’s Gazette, compared with the corresponding period of last year, are as follows: —

The loss of for the six months is an actual loss .on working, and, as stated, does not include over one million pounds of interest charges which will have to be paid out of taxation. The position of the railways themselves is actually worse than is here disclosed, for the railway revenue, as has been pointed out by us on previous occasions, is assisted by returns from refreshment-rooms, advertising, and other sidelines. The loss on the operating of the railways was -£174,000, plus, of course, interest on the capital cost of their construction. It is a deplorable state of things, and indicates the. future increased losses which are being piled up by the construction of further railways which can never pay their way. The next step, we suspect, will be an increase in railway fares and charges.

Revenue. Expenditure. Loss. Net Revenue. £ £ £ £ 1937-38 ... .... 3,802,012 3,617,778 — 184,234 1938-39 ... ... 3,942,068 3,975,126 33,058 —