OUT OF THE CITIES

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 35, 10 August 1923, Page 6

OUT OF THE CITIES

An important policy issue was raised by the deputation which yesterday asked the Minister of Railways to extend the suburban area on the Manawatu line, so that workers might travel to Plimmerton as cheaply as they do to Upper Hutt. This would involve considerable fares concessions; and the Minister was asked also to improve the service so that persons working in the city might reside in the Plimmertou-Porirua area. It was not argued that the service would be a payable one for the Railway Department until the effect of the concessions became evident • but it was submitted that cheaper fares and more convenient trains would enable people to leave the congested city area, so that in time a traffic would be built up which would return a profit to the Department. The Minister quite fairly admitted that the Railway Department would consider a proposition which would build up a payable traffic iv years to come. He did not ask for immediate profits, nor did he Bay that initial losses would put the proposals out of court. This was eminently reasonable. Even if the railways were not State-owned, it would be good business on their part to assist in creating traffic. How much farther the State-owned railways may go is the essence of the problem. At present the policy of the Government is that the railways shall earn sufficient profits to pay the average interest upon their capital cost. But in the practical application of this policy it is not demanded that every line, every passenger train, or every article of freight shall pay its proportion. Substantial concessions are made to farmers so that settlement and production may be encouraged. In time the railways will earn their return from the carriage of the increased produce. Similarly,workers upon the suburban lines are carried at a loss in the expectation of building up a payable service.

In the application of this policy, how far is it possible for the Railway Department to go in giving service to the community without demanding a full return? The answer must depend largely upon the value of the service rendered. When there is a drought in a producing area, it is reasonable to carry fodder and starving stock free of all charges./ The relief given to the community is compensation for the railway loss. In the proposition now under consideration the community benefit would be great. There is laud on the West Coast line eminently suitable for suburban settlement, and if the workers can be induced to reside upon that land, they and their children will be better in health and more contented. The Minister of Railways and the General Manager both showed their willingness to take this important factor into account. We do not suggest that it is a factor that will outweigh the arguments of distance and sparse settlement to the extent of making it possible to concede all that the deputation asked. But we hope it will be possible to grant some improvement in the service and some concession in the fares which will hasten the time when a full suburban service will be justified. It was suggested by Mr. Field that blocks of land should be bought and subdivided for workers' settlements. This can scarcely be undertaken by the Railway Department; but we should like to have the suggestion examined by the Government to see if it is possible to apply it. In private railway-building it is an accepted principle that a comi),ony_ shalj. acquire; _lan.d. ajojjg J&e

proposed route and obtain compensation for its initial running losses from the sale of the areas which have derived greater value from the railway. A speedier and cheaper service adds value to the land, in the same way as does the initial railway construction, and that value should not be made a gift to speculators.