RAILWAY FINANCE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18193, 14 September 1933, Page 4

RAILWAY FINANCE

RETURNS FOR AUGUST SLIGHT RETROGRESSION (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, last night. The chairman of the Railways Board, Mr H. 11. Sterling, announced to-day that the preliminary figures for the working railways for “the fourweekly period ended August 19, (both expenditure and revenue, show only a negligible variation compared with last year, the figures being: Expenditure, an increase of £lB5, and revenue, a decrease of £2588, ’ making the net revenue for the period £2773 less than for the last year.

For the period of the financial year from April 1 till August 19, the revenue showed a decrease of £12,01(5, and the expenditure a decrease of £14,604, making an increase in net revenue of £32,588.

Mr Sterling observed that the decrease in the gross revenue for the period was a little disappointing, although the amount of the variation, namely £2588, on a turnover for the period of over £500,000, could hardly ■be regarded as having any great significance. Compared with the rates of decrease in revenue that had been experienced in the last two years, the smallness of the amount afforded some justification for holding that the revenue position was stabilised. The cessation of decrease in expenditure also served to show that costs had now been reduced to an approximate minimum. It was gratifying to note that for the portion:of the year to date, the net revenue still shows on the right side as compared with last year.