RAILWAYS FINANCE

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIV, Issue 969, 19 March 1924, Page 4

RAILWAYS FINANCE

Certain of the Commonwealth railways are in a bad way financially. They are so far from paying their way that they are becoming a big drag upon the taxpayers. The Federal railways are a dead loss, the working expenses of the 1733 miles in existence being in excess of the revenue to the extent of £138,000, not a penny being reckoned in by way of interest on the capital outlay. The New South Wales and Victorian railways alone pay their way, returning 4.89 and 4.39 per cent, respectively, on the capital investment. All the other systems are run at a loss. The Queensland railways pay only 0.81 per cent, and the Tasmanian only 0.87 per cent, on the capital cost. The West Australian railways are in rather better case, returning 2.72 per cent., and the South Australian lines pay 3.85 per cent. The Tasmanian Government requisitioned the services of. an American expert recently to inquire into and report upon the conditions obtaining in the island railway services, and to suggest how the lines could be best made to pay. There were 637 miles of railway open in Tasmania at the time, constructed and equipped at a total cost of £5,753,000, the _ gross earnings for the year amounting to £588,000 and the working expenses to £533,000, £50,000 thus remaining to meet an interest bill of certainly not less than £250,000. This year the working expenses will exceed the receipts (so it is stated) by at least £30,000, and, as the deficit will thus amount to close upon £300,000, the Government is casting about for ways and means of increasing its revenues. The receipts are falling off owing to competition with motor lorries, and the consequent increase in heavy traffic over the highways of the State is damaging the roads to such an extent that more money is required for their upkeep. The American expert, Mr A. Webb, who is the new commissioner for the South Australian railways, after visiting Tasmania and looking into the position, lias furnished the Tasmanian Government with a report which lias caused no little consternation both in the railway service and amongst motorists. The official staff is, he declares, far too large for the mileage (lie inspected 570 out of the 630 miles of railroad), and there is too much over-lapping in the several departments to permit of cheap and efficient working. He emphasises the need for freeing the service absolutely from political control or influence, and urges the appointment of a sole commissioner in the person of an experienced engineer, who must be free from any interferences in his management of the lines hv either the Appeal Board or any other body, so that discipline may he maintained on tlie railways. Sueli commissioner, he says, should “proceed to take the same action for the State that any privately owned business would take if it were confronted with your present situation of expenditure being in excess of income. . . . Efficient Governments

(lie goes on to point out) can no more violate economic laws without coming to grief than can individuals or privately-owned business firms.’.’ The most startling suggestion he makes, however, is that affecting the motor lorry traffic, which is cutting so badly into the railways revenue. To prevent that traffic from destroying railway transportation he recommends that “tlie carriage of all goods and passengers by road shall he placed under the railways commissioner” ; that motor cars and motor lorries should “be licensed and pay at least a fourth of their earnings to tho commissioner and that the commissioner should be empowered to add road motor ears to his equipment.” The tabling of the report in the Tasmanian Assembly caused a tremendous sensation, more especially as the Government failed to indicate in any way how it regarded its recommendations, or whether it intended acting upon any of them. The remedies proposed are drastic enough to satisfy tlie most zealous advocate of business principles being applied to the management of State railways, but it is very doubtful if the Tasmanian Government will have the moral courage required for the adoption of such conditions, and it is questionable whether any democratic Government faced with similar conditions would jeopardise its political fortunes by accepting such measures as Commissioner Webb suggests. The political element is, unfortunately, so mixed up with State railway management that businesslike principles seem to be the last thing to be considered.