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OUR RAILWAYS

BOARD OF EXPERTS SET UP NORTH AND SOUTH ISLAND AGENTS APPOINTED. TO IMPROVE COMMERCIAL SIDE. Had the commercial agent or board yet been appointed, which the Government recently announced its intention to eet up to put the Railway Department on an improved basis commercially, asked Mr W. H. Field, member for Otaki, in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon; and if the agent or board had been appointed, when were they going to set to work? This reform, stated the honourable member, had been recommended by Mr Hiley in 191 A, and had been urged by himself* ever since. MINISTER’S REPLY WAT?. AND POST-WAR DIFFICULTIES The Hon. D. H. Guthrie, in reply, said, that, unfortunately, the difficulties due to the war did not vanish with the termination of the war, and many grave after-war problems had arisen whlcli could only be solved by patience, a determination on the part of everybody to exercise forbearance, and an earnest desire of each to help the other. Of these difficulties the railways in Lew Zealand, as in every other part of the world, had had more then their share; but he claimed that, 60 far as the New Zealand Railway Department was concerned, the results achieved in the face of these difficulties compared more than favourably with those of any other railway system. He called the attention of honourable members to a recent review in the "London Financial Times” of the operations of the New Zealand Railway Department. This wae a paper of the highest worldwide standing, not swayed by local sentiment in the matter, and its published conclusions, therefore, could not be ignored. In that review, the New Zealand Railway Department appeared in an extremely favourable light, and he held that each independent expert opinion must be given great weight, and be plaoed to the credit of the department. He was quite satisfied that much of the criticism levelled at the department sprang from a failure to recognise the nature and causes of its war and postwar difficulties. He knew full well, however. that there were two sides to every question; and it was just as necessary in the many questions oalling for attention not onlv that the public should be assisted to a‘proper understanding of the department’s point of view, but that the department should be put in the ] best position to see the public i»mt of view. Therein, he Vas satisfied, lay the . solution of the great majority of the I problems now calling for attention in re- ! i card to the railways. The department and the public must be brought closer ' together. But the question was how this could best be done. > COMPOSITION OF BOARD. ' He knew that the general manager had himself been desirous of visiting various parts of the Dominion for the purpose of hearing representations and personally inquiring into matters on the spot; but he had been prevented from doipv so by pressure of the multitudinous duties devolving upon him. The growth of the work in the department during I recent years had been phfinomenal. and ;t was quite clear that something must be done to relieve the general manager if he was to have the opportunity to come II jnto closer personal contact with the 1 I publio The Minister was firmly con--1 vinced from his own observations that ! if phis could be done it would be to the ' advantage of all concerned. After going " carefully into the whole matter, the ' Government had come to the conclusion ■ that the appointment of the proposed board would bo the best way of accom- ' plishinv the end aimed at. The board " would consist of three members —one from [ the maintenance branch, one from the » traffic branch; and one from the locmno--1 five branch; and there would be besides, ' two traffic managers, or agents, one from f the North Island, and one from the ' South. The various matters which from • time to time engaged the attention of ' the general manager were, of course, • matters that could bo effectively dealt with OBly by persons 'having experitttec • in the operation of railways; and, in • the heads of the various branches in ■ the department, who would cou-titute the 1 board, we had men who wero possessed 5 of the experience which would enable 1 them, in collaboration as a board, to I render valuable assistance to the cm- ■ ral msmoier. In this way. it was intended I to relieve the general manager of some of the work that, now occupied his time so that he might visit the various pans of the Dominion and come into closer personal touch with the public.

DUTIES OF AGENTS.

There must, however, inevitably r*» main many matters which the general manager would be unable to deal witß personally, and which couM vet be moflfi satisfactorily dealt with by personal cussion between the users of the railways and some officer who would oome eloeel? into contact with the seen ral manager, and be directly responsible to bun. m had, therefore, been decided to appoint one such officer for each inland. whort .principal duty would be te act Urvdißt the direction of the general manager tt his personal representative. Da that capacity these officers would fsßt intfttouch with the various chamber* of ooxftfcr meree, business institutions, and the pal)*’ lie, and obtain promptly first-hand isthr formation regarding the intricate piO* blems connected with transportaftaoilfr and generally watch the requirement of the traffic, thus facilitating the adjusts ment of difficulties and the running the railways economically and eAdents and in the best interests of the public, j The Minister only desired to add theft the public must do its part. These nmN be a genuine endeavour on the part both of the public and the departmexltl to appreciate each other's difflemtias and to be reasonable. It must be rememhedr ed by the public that the general mrt ager wQ/6 their trustee, and that h# had very heavy responsibilities resting upon him in that capacity. There must in« ev it ably be many occasions when h 0 could hot accede to the requests made by those who used the railways; but Mi? Guthrie felt quite sure that, if the putt* lie would make use of the matfhinet? provided by the Government’s proposal! in the right spirit, much good would result and many of the difficulties which had given rise to criticism of the de* partment would disappear. • KEEP CLOSELY IN TOUCH.

For the purpose of keeping more close* ly in touch with the users of the rail* ways, and obtaining first-hand inform** tion relative to the intricate problems inseparable from public transport, it hall been decided to appoint a departmental tra gelling ageht for the North and South Inlands, respectively. The duties <4 these agents would be to confer as frfl* quently as possible with Chambers of Commerce, local bodies, executives at farmers’ unions, and other similar institutions and business firms, to secure thfr fullest information regarding matter© xn which tiie Railway Department was concerned, to investigate complaints, and to remedy the positions, when practicable by * local arrangement with U» district officers. Where matters UT policy were concerned the agents would report direct to the general manager, and by this arrangement it wae hoped that much greater prominence would bo given to the view* of the user© of tbo railways than had been practicaM**hitherto.

"To further facilitate the business op* erations of the department, a board <0 experts*, consisting of the heads of th* traffic, locomotive. and maintenance branches of the <!opartinent had been set up to deal with routine questions* thus relieving the general manager of many matters which at present occupied! an inordinate proportion of hie. time, anil leaving him to devote hi? attention to the greater problems arising out of tit* administration of the department. Thw board would meet at frequent intervals, at least once a week, to deal with tit* matters -mbmitted to it. and would all* confer with the general manager uith*gard thereto a* might be neceeeary frora time to time.”

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTIM19220705.2.115

Bibliographic details

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11254, 5 July 1922, Page 7

Word Count
1,338

OUR RAILWAYS New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11254, 5 July 1922, Page 7

OUR RAILWAYS New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11254, 5 July 1922, Page 7