D—2

1949 NEW ZEALAND

RAILWAYS STATEMENT (BY THE MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, HON. R. SEMPLE)

Mr. Speaker,— In accordance with section 9 of the Government Railways Amendment Act, 1936, I have the honour to present the Railways Statement for the year ended 31st March, 1949. FINANCIAL A new high level in gross revenue was established this year, the total receipts being £18,597,728. This amount exceeded last year's record by £1,526,856, or 8-94 per cent. The greater portion of this additional revenue came from the increase in fares and freights, which operated throughout the whole year, as against only seven months of the previous year. Passenger revenue showed an increase over the previous year. Although Armed Service travel continued to decline, ordinary passenger traffic revenue showed a slight increase, brought about mainly by the increased fares. Season-ticket journeys and revenue showed marked increases. The actual increase in passenger revenue over the previous year amounted to £71,711. The steady upward trend in goods traffic that has taken place over the last few years continued during the present financial year. This is indicated in the increased revenue and in the increased tonnage hauled. The goods revenue has shown an increase of £1,260,385, or 12-02 per cent., reaching a new record of £11,747,129. The tariff increase brought an additional revenue of £891,050, while it is estimated that additional traffic increased the revenue by £369,335. The goods tonnage moved during the year amounted to 9,666,130 tons, being 142,087 tons in excess of the previous year, whicK was a record achievement at that date. The Subsidiary Services Account showed an excess of revenue over expenditure of £346,508. The main item in this section is the road motor services, which showed a profit of £27,336, from a record revenue of £1,910,251. This was an increase over the previous year of 9*67 per cent. The expenditure in this branch, £1,882,915, also showed an increase which amounted to 12-99 per cent. This increase was due chiefly to the higher wage-rates now in force and the higher depreciation charges, fixed charges, and licence fees resulting from the purchase of additional vehicles.