RAILWAY GOODS RATES

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 160736, 24 August 1920, Page 5

RAILWAY GOODS RATES

INCREASES ANALYSED. (By Telegraph—Special to ‘"Herald”). WELLINGTON, August 23. The re-classification of butter, cheese, frozen meat, and flax is the most important departure from the existing freight schedule, as it involves a greater increase than 40 per cent, over pre-war rates imposed on other lines of goods traffic. The effect of classifying butter and cheese in class D instead of E, frozen meat as C' c 'instead; of D, and flax as D instead of E is shown at a glance by the following comparison, showing how the new charges will operate on one ton of any of these commodities over a distance of 100 miles. The presem rate for butter and cheese is 17s 6d, and the new rate will be J1 19s 9d; meat, frozen, £1 12s Id and £2 6s 7d; flax, 17s Gd and £1 19s 9d. Hitherto these lines have been carried at a much •cheaper rate than general merchandise, and they still have a great advantage owing to the policy of encouraging primary production, but the gap has been reduced by their fresh classification, thus the butter freight for one ton on 100 miles has been increased by £1 2s 3d per ton, while class B rates, in which in ary lines of hardware and other merchandise are placed, shows an increase of 7s Old per ton per 100 miles, the former rate of one ton for 100 miles having been M 10s 3d, while the new rate is £2 17s 9*d. The timber traffic is speiially encouraged by a limited increase, about 14 per cent, over pre-war rates, compared with a 40 per cent, advance on most classes of traffic.