D.—2.

The following statistical figures in connection with locomotive transportation costs may be of interest:— -: - "• »'■■ ">>"* v --' ! Averages. 1931. 1930. 1929. 1928. Cost per engine-mile .. .. .. 23-31 d. 23-98 d. 23-49 d. , 34- ; 52d. Cost per train-mile .. .. .. 31-72 d. 32-79 d. 34-20 d. 35-42 d. Cost per engine-hour .. .. .. 233-98 d. 237-31 d. 232-44 d. : 240-18 d. Cost per 1,000 gross ton-miles .. .. 160-71 d. ' 163-97 d. 163-35 d. 173-08 d. Engine-miles per engine-hour .. .. 10-04 9-90 9-90 9-80 Gross ton-miles per engine-hour .. .. 1,456 1,447 1,423 1,388 The foregoing figures show a very satisfactory trend —namely, that more work is being performed at a lower cost.

Traffic Transportation. , , , r..,/...■';,; The costs under this heading decreased by £85,429, or 4-53 per cent. Shortly after taking control of the railways I initiated a comprehensive investigation of our business, with a view to collating data to serve as a reliable basis for a complete review of our services, ; The necessary inquiries and collation of these data necessitated a considerable amount of research and investigation, it being essential that, while every effort should be made to effect economies, due consideration should be given to the traffic requirements of the country as a whole. This embraced consideration not only of the business which the Railway Department was actually securing, but also of the field of possibility that might be explored as regards transport business which was being served by other means of transport. The investigation was completed during the year and the contemplated review of the services was made. A very extensive rearrangement of the services resulted, and the principal alterations were brought into operation in July, 1930. Since that time the review has been a continuously carried on, with the result that a number of additional alterations have been made from time to time since that date, all designed to secure a due balance of economy and efficiency. The matter is dealt with in more detail under the appropriate heading later in this report, but I would mention at this stage that the proposals showed a prospective reduction of the train mileage by 750,000 miles for the balance of the year, and it is satisfactory to, note that the mileage was actually reduced by 763,511 miles. Taking the traffic transportation costs for 1926 and the train-miles as the standard, and fixing the index figure at 100, the position regarding these two items is as follows :— 1926. 1927. 1928. 1929. 1930. 1931. Transportation costs .. 100 101 101 105 108 103 Train-miles .. ..100 104 105 108 116 109 > ■:>' ■ .. y; T'sinO General Charges. ■ ■ . ' . The expenditure under this heading totalled £255,492, a decrease of £8,897. . _~.,£ :..: I■:• '. ;::iO All items under this heading show a decrease, the largest being Head Office, which showed a decrease of £4,893. Subsidiary Services. Subsidiary Service Revenue. —The revenue from subsidiary services amounted to £790,149!, as compared with £814,123 for the previous year, and an analysis of the figures is as follows :— ... " ! '" 1930-31. 1929-30. .•1928-29. -"" £ £ ' ' "... £"".. "\ '" . , r Lake Wakatipu steamers .. .. 9,166 11,447 10,941 Refreshment service ... .. 120,563 132,301 123,382 ~ '" Advertising service .. .. 49,941 53,532 53,984 , Departmental dwellings .. .. 116,256 10.9,.649 105,897-' Leases bookstalls, &c. .. .. 20,022 21,405 19,455 •'..", Road-motor services .. .. 103,348 105,702 102,385 .. Miscellaneous .. .. .. 370,853 380,087 .308,131 t! £790,149 £814,123 ''£724,175 ' ".- -

XIII

Fuel. Consumption. Cost. ■' : '*\ 1931. 1930. 1929. 1931. 1930. 1929. Per engine-mile Per engine-hour .. .. .. Per thousand gross ton-miles lb. 58-94 591-64 406-37 lb. 59-7 590-9 408-3 lb. 56-7 561-2 394-4 d. 10-45 104-92 72-07 d. 11-18 110-66 76-47 ... 10-77 106-61 74-92