REVENUE AT PEAK

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 102, 3 May 1938, Page 7

REVENUE AT PEAK

NEW ZEALAND RAILWAYS BUT NET RETURNS LOWER STATEMENT BY MINISTER [ Par Pieaa Aaaodalion. I WELLINGTON, May 2. "The gross revenue of the railways for the financial year ended March 31. 1938. amounted hi £8,631,186. the greatest amount earned by the railways in any year,” said the Minister of Railways, Hon. D. G. SuLivu.i, in a statement to-night. •‘As a contrary to the position obtaining in regard to other services and commodities, the rates of fares and freights have not been increase*!. "The revnue earned cleaily points to the record traffic handled oy tae Railway Department during the p**bt twelve months. The gross revenue is £843.353 more than the amount earned in the year ended March 31. U 37, and £346,070 higher than that car..cd in the financial year 1929-30, whicn was the previous record. Expenditure totalled £8,001,389. leaving a net revenue of £632,797, or 127x,C3r Jess than for the year ended March 31, 1937. The increase in expenditure amounting to £1,114,596 was p.’.ncijally due to wages increases *ot all.ng £739,000, of which £412.259 waj for providing improved wages ur.u ccr.Jitions for the staff and £25'3,750 for the cost of handling the increased traffic. The remainder of tho inci eased cost was on account of the higher price of coal (£11)0,000), greater consumption of coal in hauling increased traffic (£41,000). increased material used in the repair of rolling stack (£44,000), increased cost o* expanding subsidiary services, c.g. road services, refreshment service and bojck.'Ulls (£88,000). and other exp-nditarc due to the increased traffic and increased prices of commodities (£102,596). "The 40-hour week, adopted as one of the Government’s policy measures for creating more employment, gave work to an additional 1683 men in the Railways Department durm* the pest year. The cost of the 40-i.our wceK and other improvements in staff conditions, such as restoration of wage* to the 1931 level, had the effect of reducing profit on operations by £442,250 for the year. The net revenue would have been higher by this amount, or £1,075,047, instead of £632,797. had these improvements in wages and conditions not been made, or if the cost had been passeu uti (n the users of the railways. Minister’s Comparivm “In this respect a compaii. on u <th the financial year 1929-30, tiie record year ot gross revenue, i.j p- rticularly inter*', ting. In thai <he net revenue was £u29,257. L, in i.j-9-30, the Railways Account uau ucen called upon to mec. the charges uue to additional wages ana < xciiaage taat the 1937-38 Railways Account has to bear, the net revenue of the 1929-30 year would have bJt.t only £223,007, or £409,790 less than the net revenue of 1937-38. The backwash of tne cssion policy is still affecting t.ic ncial position oi the railway.,, Oui not only has the accumulate.i of v.jrk postponed during those yc.*.., b-en largely overtaken, nece.ssa.iiy .1 considerable expense during the past . vo years, but a policy of advancement and service to the business and ..tuustrial community throughout the wnole system has been carried out. A;.uv..er factor which his auvereeiy u.fected the net revenue position tou* is the delay in the delivery irom England of steel tor constructional lequirementF. Repair ana muiii:ena..c® of the rolling stock generally have been advanced ahead of srhcoulc and purely constructional wonc has been retarded through Jack of material. “For the last four-weekly period qX the year which ended on March 31, there was a decrease of £106,492 in netf revenue compared with the corresponding period of last yer, £lOO,OOO of which was accounted for by th« provision in the March period of a sum to cover : .e cost ol the 1934 deferred regrading cf salaries for thr whole year in accordance with legislative action taken in 1036, the removal of certain anomalies created by the introduction of the 40-hour week and the improvement in wages of th® lower-paid men. The pericd was also five days less than the corresponding! period of last year. Further, there was no Easter in the 1937-1938 year. "Passenger traffic for the year! showed a revenue increase of 5 pen cent, over 1937 and a substantial increase in the total of ordinary passengers and season tickets. Goods tonnage reached the remarkably higi> figure of approximately 7,517,000 tens, an increase of 1,305,000 ow'r that of the previous year ar.d 2,500 0C) form more than the to!al carried in 1033. i "From an aspect which is mo. t portant, that is the national one, th® financial results of the railway year are very satisfactory indeed, net re-' venue being £102,000 in c icc.-s of th®, final 1937 Budget estimate. j "I cannot conclude this reference to the financial results of the year’s working without a word of thenla to the management and staff or this great organisation for the good service they have rendered during the year to the people of the Dominion, Finally, I wish to reiterate that th® State transportation system cannot be judged purely from its financial figures. The Government’s policy is that! the railways should be administered not necessarily as a profit-making institution but as a public department of State, rendering direct value to the community in social service end ’--tw terment.”