INCREASE IN STAFF

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 230, 27 August 1938, Page 7

INCREASE IN STAFF

RAILWAYS STATEMENT. BENTS FROM DWELLINGS. " The total number of staff employed on the railways at March 31, 1938, including those on works chargeable to capital, was 22,963, as compared with 20,729 for the previous year, says the Railways Statement, presented to Parliament yesterday. Of the average number of staff at work during the year 14,482 were per'manent and 7472 were casual employees. The average number of men engaged on works chargeable to capital was 1816, as compared with 1366 during the previous year. During the year 210 members of the permanent staff resigned, 127 retired on superannuation, 56 died, ' and 32 were dismissed or paid off. Employees to the number of 1664 were engaged. The result of. the year’s "operations of the Railway Employees’ Sick Benefit Fund was a surplus of £6433, compared with a surplus of £6549 last year. During the' year a total of 483 suggestions and inventions were dealt with, as compared with 558 during the previous year. Sixty suggestions and inventions were recommended for adoption in whole or in part, 90 referred to heads of branches were already in operation or related to matters of policy, 299 were not recommended for adoption, and 34 were under trial or investigation at the end of the financial year. The loss on departmental dwellings was £52,499. Revenue totalled £130,653 (£131,187 last year); and the expenditure £183,182 (£164,746). The revenue from subsidiary services amounted to £1,042,361, as compared with £557,047 for the previous year. The items are: Lake IVakatipu steamers, £7624; refreshment service, £142,786; bookstall service; ,£76,719; advertising service, £37,397; departmental dwellings, £130,683; leases of bookstalls, etc., £20,292; road motor services, £276,527; miscellaneous, £350,333. The expenditure on these totalled £709,604. The decrease in revenue is due to the fact that ordinarily 52 weeks’ rents are accounted for in each year, with, the consequence that every fifth or sixth year the number of weeks’ rents accounted for is increased to 53. This year the receipts for 52 weeks have been accounted for, as against 53 weeks last year—hence the decline in. revenue. An additional number of houses were, however, occupied this year, thus counteracting the above influence to a large, extent. The revenue from parcels, luggage and mails amounted to £318,457, an increase of £12,931 (4.23 per cent.).

After providing for interest on capital and for writing down capital by way of depreciation, the operations of the road motor service show a net revenue of £21,974, compared with £21,698 last year, an increase of £276. The goods and livestock tonnage for the year was 7,516,049 tons, as compared with 6,813,240 tons for.the previous year, an increase of 702,809 tons (10.32 per cent).

On the Wellington-Wairarapa-Pal-merston North rail-car service the revenue for the year ended March 31, 1938, was £19,914, as compared with £8,494 for the part year of 1936-37, an increase of £11,420. Expenditure totalled £19,771, an increase of £9,841. The net revenue, added to the saving in direct cost of steam-train miles replaced during the year (43,680 at 4s 2.8 d per mile), gives a total gain from the operation of rail cal's on this route of £9,389, whilst the rail-car mileage run in this aern (253.430 miles) affords some indication of the substantial improvement in the pasesnger transport facilities provided. Revenue per mile this year was 18.86 d, and expenditure 18.72 d per mile. WELLINGTON’S NEW STATION. The first year’s operations at Wellington’s new railway station show some remarkable figures. For the year ended on June 18 the total revenue from goods and passengers was £934,915, an increase of £273,474 (more than 41 per cent.) on the aggregate of the old Lumbton and Thorndon Stations for the previous twelve months. The total increase in the passenger revenue over the combined revenue of the old Lambton and Thorndon Stations was £50,365 —very nearly £IOOO per week —an advance of nearly 46 per cent. There were 4792 goods trains inward and 4776 outwards. The revenue from the outward traffic was £387,301, an increase of £130,001 (more than 50 per cent.). The total of outward freight was 300,206 tons, an increase of 78,494 tons (more than 35 per cent.). Tlie total of inward freight was 229,855 tons (an increase of 25 per cent.). A good indication of public appreciation of the facilities at the new station is seen in the parcels business. The receipts were £50,143, an increase of £16,323 (more' than 48 per cent.). The refreshment branch had a busy year at the new station. The revenue amounted to £55.307, an average of more tnan £1063 a week. MORE ROLLING STOCK.

The greater use made of the railways for goods traffic has required a heavy rolling stock building programme, and the passenger traffic, which shows . a gratifying expansion, also calls for additional and improved rolling stock, the statement adds. The present programme includes seven electric locomotives for the Wel-lington-Paekakariki electrification and two electric locomotives for the Arthur’s Pass-Otira section. Forty-one K class locomotives are in course of construction. The construction of 92 passenger cars, 29 vans, 2848 goods wagons of various types and 40 ballast wagons is being carried out. ' Arrangements have, been made for the completion of the standard rail cars at present under construction, as well as for the provision of 10, additional rail cars and 14 internal-com-bustion shunting units. The greater locomotive power and the improved wagon supply which will be available when the present programme (now being pushed ahead as fast as possible) is completed will be appreciated by farmers, merchants, shipping companies and the business communitv generally. It will also give relief to the staff of the department who, owing to the shortage of wagons, have experienced increasing difficulty in meeting the geheral increase of traffic. This condition was intensified, by the virtual cessation of new rolling-stock construction during previous years, and by the more recent clifficulty in obtaining supplies of materials from overseas.