The Star. THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 1921. REDUCED TRAIN SERVICES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16495, 4 August 1921, Page 6

The Star. THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 1921. REDUCED TRAIN SERVICES.

Tlie reduction in train services may not be as drastic .as that achieved by the war-time cut, but it is sufficiently comprehensive to cause serious misgivings. It wiii be seen that the pruning iimlo* has been specially applied to tile bouth Island l.nes, and that Canterbury is the principal sufferer. T&e excuse 1 tor the cut is absence of proper proportion between revenue and expenditure. The working expenses over a period of twelve weeks were Db. 74 per i cent, against 73.21 per cent for the cor- , responding period last year. This is : a staggering increase, and it is not I surprising that the Department lias decided to make an attempt, however crude, to stem the tide of extravagance. Wage increases and the high cost of imported coal are blamed fo-r | the inroads on the revenue, but the public would like to have some guarantee that there has been a proper and prompt effort made by the management Lo accommodate the finances of tlie service to the changed conditions. The expedient of raising freight rates and passenger fares was tried sdme time ago, hut it is admitted that the revenue was unable to keep pace with the expenditure. The Department dare not give the screw another turn because the industry and commerce ol the country cannot stand it. The only alternative, therefore, ivas retrenchment, and the Department has been forced to adopt it. The returns show that the railways, which should at least pay interest on capital and provide for a. sinking fund, are losing money, and it is the duty of the Government to place them on such a footing tha* they will not he a charge on the Consolidated Fund. The reduction of services is the most obvious way out. but the lull fliww-dsd benefit will not be secured unress thei** is also a reduction in personnel. Will the Department retain its Btaff at its present dimensions to run the considerably reduced service, or will it add to the unemployed difficulty by dismissing some hundreds of railway casuals? Unless there is a reduction in personnel the only saving which the Department will make will be in the consumption of coal, and that saving will not be a sufficient compensation for the inconvenience which 1 is going to be imposed on the community. A suggestion was recently made that economies eoufil be effected in the public service by superannuating officers who had reached the retiring age, and possibly the Railway D< partment will adopt this | useful hint. The country districts are going to be hard hit. One train per day to every station is a modest enough allowance, but nearly every rural district in the South Island is to be reduced to one train for two days. r lhis will inflict a positive hardship on some districts, whose passenger, goods and mail services will be reduced by half. The latest cut really represents a somewhat crude attempt to make ends meet, and we are afraid that the results will be disappointing. -With fewer trains there will be 1/ess revenue, and the drop in receipts may approximate the saving cn coal. It seems to us that the policy of the Department should be reviewed, with a view to securing more revenue by enterprising methods, rather than scheming to save by indulging in doubtful economies. The only hopeful feature nbopt the affair is that the cut ; has come late in the winter. "V\ ith the j advent of spring there should be a revival in trade, which should assist to place the railway services on a better footing.