RAIL-CARS POPULAR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23127, 27 August 1938, Page 16

RAIL-CARS POPULAR

; NEW TYPE BEING BUILT \ PROOF OF EFFICIENCY • NEW JOHNSONVILLE SERVICE ■ [BY TELEGRAPH SPECIAL REPORTER ] J WELLINGTON. Friday ' "The year has proved the efficiency ;and popularity of rail-cars designed and built by the department for certain 'classes of traffic in suitable localities," ptates the Minister of Railways, the ;Hnn. D. G. Sullivan, in the Annual Statement, presented in the !House of Representatives to-day. "Following the experimental stage of Wairarapa and Midland types of railcars, the first of the standard rail-cars, 'evolved to meet the general requirements of the department, designed by our own engineers and built by our own craftsmen, has been completed'at the Hutt Valley railway workshops," he adds. "Larger and more powerful than anything of the kind previously seen in New Zealand, the new Aotea type of vehicle, of which a further 15 are under construction or on order, is Striking in appearance, fast and comfortable to travel by, and is a power unit of great adaptability which promises to have an extremely beneficial effect on rail travel in New Zealand, particularly in those districts where it can be utilised to replace mixed trains or be used as complementary to existing express services." [ The report of the general manager, •JVIr. G. H. Mackley, which accompanies the statement, reveals that for the 1937-38 year, the total revenue from jrail-car services was £29,106, and the expenditure £26,043, leaving a net revenue of £3063. For 1936-37, the figures are not for a full year. They show a loss of £6l.