RAILWAY REVENUE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 122, 22 April 1940, Page 10

RAILWAY REVENUE

BIG NET INCREASE. REVIEW BY MINISTER. Per Press Association. CHRISTCHURCH, April 21. “Railway financial returns/ for the year ended March 31, 1940, show a notable increase in net revenue,” said the Minister of Railways (Hon. D. G. Sullivan) to-day. “The total net revenue is £1,189,000, or within £II,OOO of the £1,200,000 provided for in the Budget estimate. Gross revenue was £10,195,000, the highest gross earning in any year in the history of the railways. It exceeds that for i. 938-39 by £853,000, which was the previous record total. Expenditure was £9,009,000, and the net revenue of £1,189,000 was £488,000 greater than in the previous year. “It is gratifying,” said the Minister, “that such excellent returns have been obtained from the railways in a year when trading has been somewhat curtailed because of conditions arising out of the war. Both revenue and cxj enditurc wore also adversely affected during the final six weeks of the year by the heavy floods in February. It seems clear that, but for the loss of revenue and the increase in expendi-' turc consequent on heavy flood damage, the Budget estimate of net revenue would have been exceeded by at least £50,000.” CENTENNIAL TRAFFIC.

Giving further details included _ m the above preliminary figures, Mr Sullivan said that passenger revenue lor the year amounted to £2,119,000, an increase of £334,000 over that lor the previous year. Factors contributing to this substantial increase were heavy traffic in connection with the Centennial celebrations and the Centennial Exhibition in Wellington, restrictions on the use ol petrol, and the luet that two Faster holiday periods fell in the financial vear just closed. Apart from the factors-mentioned, however, there had been a steady increase in passenger traffic in recent years, particularly in the last five, indicating the increasing popularity of rail travel. Passenger revenue exceeded that ol 1933 bv £912.000. “Goods revenue amounted to £G 312,000, an increase of £427,000 over that for 1938-1939,” said the Minister. “In 1933 goods revenue amounted to £3,848,000. The revenue for the. year just ended is, therefore, £2,464,000 (or 64 per c-ent.) in excess of 1933. This figure indicates a very heavy increase in the business handled by the radwavs following the emergence of the Dominion from the depression period. The increase in the general scale of charges operated for the full financial voarT939-1940 and for the latter portion (16 weeks) of the year 1938-39. This had an important hearing oil lncreased revenue from goods traffic in 1940, as compared with 1939. Nevertheless, the volume of business lias been very well maintained, despite a heavy decrease of 500,000 in the number of sheep carried.”