THE RAILWAY STRUGGLE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21248, 30 July 1932, Page 8

THE RAILWAY STRUGGLE

With only 12 weeks of the present railway year covered by the accounts which have appeared to date, it is too early to estimate with any certainty what results 1932-33 is likely to produce. The working profit so far is £19,500 less than for the corresponding period last year, but since Easter holiday traffic was included in the returns for April, 1931, and were not this year, too much cannot be made of that loss of ground. One feature, however, is fairly well apparent, that the struggle to reduce working expenses is virtually the only way in which the railways are continuing to show a margin of revenue over expenditure. It is true that the first period covering April produced a rise in revenue of £BOOO compared with 1931, while expenses remained almost the same. In both May and June a loss of ground was shown. Had the outgoings not been substantially reduced, the net result would havo been far worse. The lower level of working expenses is by comparison with 1931-32, which, in its turn was characterised, return after return, by smaller outgoings than in the year preceding it. Even before the Bailway Board assumed control the policy of saving was in active operation, though it did not prove adequate to stop the retrogressive movement in net revenue. After the board's arrival on the scene, gains began to be secured, the outcome being that the year showed a net revenue higher by £149,265 than that for 1930-31. The policy of saving on expenditure is one to be warmly commended. But so long as it appears the only means of keeping the profit from railway operation from dwindling to the vanishing point, the outlook for this great State transport system cannot loe regarded hopefully. The time must finally come when no further economics are possible if services are to be maintained. Since a steady fall in revenue has continued almost unabated during the period considered, the prospect at that point is not pleasant to contemplate. The only conclusion is that the community, which owns the railways, should be awakened to a spirit of greater co-operation with the system which is struggling for existence against extremely adverse conditions.