RAILWAY MANAGEMENT

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 136, 9 June 1926, Page 11

RAILWAY MANAGEMENT

CO-OPEKATION DESIRED,

The commercial side of the management of the New Zealand Railways was the subject of an address to the Rotary Club at its weekly luncheon yesterday. Mr. D. Rodie sketched the various activities of the commercial side of the railways, stressing the most important points, which included the investigation on the spot of all legitimate complaints. He appealed for the cooperation of all business men; railway business was their business, and whatever profits accrued from the railways, after paying interest on capital expenditure, was returned to the community by way of decreased freights and fares. '*

Dealing with motor-lorry competition, the speaker pointed out that wherever possible the Department endeavoured to co-operate with the transport opposition, in many cases to the advantage of both concerns, and also to the advantage of the public. Criticism, he said, was sometimes levelled at the tariff, but often that criticism was not justified when all the facts of the case were known. He pointed out that the capacity of trucks had been increased, but business men had not done their part by increasing the amount of load offering; in other words, it was difficult to fill trucks to their full capacity. Quoting facts and figures, Mr. Rodie showed that the railways of New Zealand were providing a highly efficient service, and that in v^w of the great volume of traffic accidents were remarkably few. "Tie bigger the turnover, the lower the cost to the public," said Mr. Rodie, in appealing to the public to their own railways. "Life is too short to learn by experience," he said, in conclusion; "therefore, we welcome everyone else's experience and seek the benefit of their advice."