RAILWAYS COMMISSION.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 27 December 1924, Page 5

RAILWAYS COMMISSION.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT.

(By Telegraph—Special to the Star.) WELLINGTON, Dec. 24. In releasing the report of the Royal Commission of"' Inquiry into the New Zealand railways, the Minister for Railways (the Hon. J. G. Coates) stated that he had submitted proposals- to Cabinet dealing with the whole of the recommendations arid suggestions made by the Commissioners. Speaking generally, Cabinet had agreed to adopt the proposals, and the steps taken in connection with some of the more important matters, had recently been announced. “Dealing with the summarised re commendations of the Commission, ’ ’ said* the. Minister, “it will be immediately seen that those coming, under the heading of finance are practically identical with the policy outlined in the last annual Railway Statement. A staff- of qualified railway accountants has been engaged for some weeks in formulating; full reports so that the change over to the new system of finance and accounting may be brought iiito operation at the commencement of the next financial year. STAFF RETIREMENTS. . “When taking over the portfolio of Railways one- of the first- alterations in policy was the decision tliat all railway servants should retire on completion of 40 years’ service. This policy resulted in the retirement of a laege number of officers holding senior positions, and. the generalmanager himself, having had considerably more’ than 40 .vears’ service to his credit, immediately indicated liis willingness to fall into line. At my request, however, Mr McYilly agred to the question of lawgiving notice to retire being left in abeyance until I had had an opportunity of obtaining a grasp of the Department’s operations and; thus being in a position to decide as to what form of management should be adopted. On Mr McYilly ?s retirement, after consideration I came to.the conclusion that a board of three would give the best results'/ ; • “With regard to the filling of the position of chief mechanical engineer steps have already been taken in the manner suggested by the commission, and applications are at present being invited in New . Zealand and abroad from ipen with the necessary qualifications. The recommendations dealing with the appointment of a secretary, cashier and an operating and equipment assistant and the. Appointment of general superintendents in each island are In entire accord with' my aims at decentralisation, and have been agreed to, but some adjustment in the organisation chart included in the" commission’s report will b? necessary. The reduction in the number of'traffic and and civil engineering districts and the suggested reorganisation of the mechanical department are at present being considered by the board, /and proposals will be placed before me in the near future.

“The question of reducing ‘mixed’ trains to a minimum is one that has received a. considerable amount of attention for some time, and it lias been recognised that the separation of goods and passenger .services should go a long way in popularising our railways. A scheane for the collection and delivery of goods has been formulated by the departmental officers, and will be considered by the board and myself as early as possible. EXCURSION RATES. “A careful survey of the Christmas and Easter holiday traffic over a period of years from 1913 made it clear that as excursion, fares have been increased passenger traffic lias fallen, until in 1924 the railways were carrying barely half the number of passengers they did immediately prior to the war. No action was taken, however, pending the commission’s report, which,.of course ; was not received in time to make any radical changes so far as the present holiday season is concerned, but a small reduction was given effect to. It is intended to review the matter early in the New Year and decide as to what, further reductions can be made for the Easter holidays.

MR S. E. FAY’S APPOINTMENT. “The recommendations, of the commission that a complete revision of time-tables is essential is fully concurred in, and will have immediate attention, together with the centralised control of train movement and the distribution of waggon stock in each island. To give immediate effect to. these proposals, however, it is ygty. desirable to secure the services of a man conversant with the most modern methods of train control and rolling stock distribution. Tlie matter was very fully considered, and Cabinet approved my recommendation to endeavour to secure the services of Mr »S. E. Eav, who was attached to the commission as a secretary, and who has very wide- experience in the operation side of railway work in other parts of the world. Mr Fay has accepted the position, and commences his duties early in April next. RATES AND FARES. “The commission’s recommendations in the direction of rates and fares are concurred in and are at present having close attention by the board. The necessary information will shortly b° available, and the public will have an opportunity of considering the proposals before they are finally gazetted.

THE RECOMMENDATIONS.

“The recommendations under the heading of stores are concurred in, and steps have been taken to give effect

A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT. GENERALLY FAVOURED BY CABINET. MR. S. E. FAY’S APPOINTMENT MiNISTEh’S COMMENTS. The report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the New Zealand Railways was released for publication yesterday. It is a : comprehensive document, and contains very valuable comments' and recommendations. Below we publish the official statement. by the Minister (the Hon. J. G. Coates) and a summary of the Commission’s principal recommendations. Extracts from the report will be published in later issues as space permits. N

thereto. The recommendations in connection with the mechanical department are concurred in and will be considered. in conjunction with the report of an expert who was engaged by the department) independently of -the commission some two months ago. This officer is at present engaged in exhaustively surveying they department shops, etc., and it is proposed to comprehensively deal with both reports when available.

The^need for-establishing.a modern' system of compiling essential statistics has been recognised for some time, and definite arrangements have been made wr-^ onn ? late a 'scheme- without delay/ With, this object ill view, I have been successful in obtaining the services' temporarily of Mo- J. A. Warren King, who, prior to being attached to the recent _ commission, lield the position' of statistical assistant to the general man/ ager of one of the most important Bri tish railway companies. Mr King will act in an advisory /capacity to the board, and will, during the period of Ins engagement, inaugurate a system of statistics m keeping with the best prac-'’ tice abroad, so that the actual results or the department’s operations -may be accurately gauged from time to time. . Ilie necessity of an efficient staff training- scheme is recognised as being of prime importance, and the development ot such a scheme affording the fullest measure of opportunity .to every' employee, of the, department to extend lns_ knowledge, increase his usefulness and improve his status as a railway man wtil be placed in the forefront among the many proposals that are' being brought forward for consideration/ OFFICERS TO GO ABROAD. ' Ihis was . one of’ the first recommendations made by me to Cabinet vtiien taking oyer the administration of the Railway i and authority wa.s given for officers to'be sent abroad for training as- opportunity offered. Officers from 1 various branches will be selected at an early date/ and arrangenient'S made ,for them .to leave the Dominion as soon as possible. ‘•‘The recommendations of the commission in connection with the engineering side of the department’s'. operations are of minor importance, except with regard- to improvements and new works. The commission’s concurrence in the programme submitted by me to Parliament during the recent session is a good indication of the soundness of the conclusions arrived at by the deengineering and other officers. While the commission' has emphasised the necessity of the main works, it also points out that with changed operating conditions : modifications m many of the proposals will be necessary, and this aspect will be given xull consideration.

. “ r f l i l . e recommendation that- no fentai in addition to cost of construction and renewal be charged on private sidings would, if given effect to, be a distinct departure from the present policy. Particulars are being ascertained as to the amount involved, and the-matter will then be considered and a decision arrived at.

“I have been through the reportvery carefully,” continued Mr Coates, and consider it an extremely valuable document. The recommeudatiohs' contained therein are clearly on sound and constructive lines, and will . enable the department to effect many practical improvements in its services to the public. I think the report is well worth the expenditure involved in bringing the commission to New : Zealand. It has confirmed- many'important policy proposals already adopted by the Government,., and contains valuable suggestions by men who have had wide practical-experience-of the various railway problems which are confronting us to-day. ’<

1 robably the most interesting commentary on the merits of our railways, even as they stand ‘to-day, is to be found in a remark that was passed to me by Sir Sam Fay immediately before his departure from the Dominion, when he intimated that in the railways of New Zealand we had a valuable asset, and that if we; wished to sell our railways he would undertake to find a buyer.”

Following is the summary of the principal recommendations contained in the report:— FINANCE. That railway finance be taken out of the control of the Treasury, and the Railway Department be given full control of its own funds./ That reserve funds be established to provide for obsolescence and wasting assets of permanent-way and rolling-stock. That the Railway Department be recouped by consolidated revenue for losses incurred upon development lines, less the net value of traffic contributed by such lines to main lines. That the Railway Department pay the actual rate of interest upon loans raised for railway purposes. That the railways be so worked and managed that the gross receipts shall be sufficient to cover working . expenses, reserves, and interest on capital, including sinking funds. Tn the event of any surplus, this to be devoted to reductions ol‘ rates and fares, and in tlie case of a. deficit rates and fares be increased.

That a yearly balance-sheet, showing capital, revenue, and net revenue, followed by departmental accounts in the usual company form and a forecast of capital, commitments for the