SOUTH ISLAND RAILWAYS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20241, 29 April 1929, Page 10

SOUTH ISLAND RAILWAYS.

The proposal to construct more railways in tho South Island has never been expounded by the Government: it was advanced by Sir Joseph Ward and confirmed by the Cabinet, but neither its author nor any of his colleagues has presented any reasons for spending so many millions on projects with such meagre prospects. An attempt to remedy this omission has been made by tho Minister of Railways in a statement at Blenheim. Ho says the South Island has been neglected, and lias not had a fair sharo of developmental expenditure, but that tho completion of Hie Main Trunk railway would do much to put it on the man. Even this does not answer the essential question whether the proposed railway is warranted. The preliminary complaint is actually quite irrelevant, though if it is to determine political policy, Mr. Taverner should define tho basis by which shares of expenditure ought to be measured and then prove his case by concrete illustration. It certainly cannot be established by a mere assertion of neglect. The only standard by which railway projects can be judged is their effect upon the development of the country, their prospective value in transportation and consequently their capacity to earn a reasonable profit. The Government has not yet demonstrated, or even claimed, that the completion of the South Island railway can be justified by that test. Nor, in fact, can it plead the "fair share" argument in support of its programme. There are already 1790 miles of railway in the South Island, as against 1197 miles in the North Island, so that the distribution is certainly not proportionate to population, of which 62 per cent, is in tho North Island. It has, moreover, been notorious for many years that the railway .equipment of the South Island is excessive, since it earns very little more than working expenses. The latest accounts, covering 48 weeks of the financial year, show that the gross earnings of 1627 miles in its main line system were only £2,579,000, of which all but £167,000 was absorbed by operating expenses. In tho same period, the revenue from 1413 miles in the North Island was £3,998,000, and the working profit no less than £758,000. At present, the South Island railways earn less than 1 per cent, on a capital cost of about £13.,000 a mile. By what process does Mr. Taverner expect to earr the full capital charges on the new section which is to cost £2,500,000 or over £30,000 a mile? As Minister for Railways, he should be more concerned with that practical aspect than with considerations of political neglect.