Railways Not Built To Pay Dividends

Chronicle (Levin), 2 November 1949, Page 6

Railways Not Built To Pay Dividends

WELLINGTON, Nov. 1. "We liave decided to electrify our main trunk lines when we liave suliicient power, and that will not be long, " said the Minister of Works (Mr. Bomple) in an electiou address at Masterton tonight which was broadcast. "It will niean a cleaner serviee, a better serviee, and it will also mean that we will no longer depend on iinported coal." New Zealand depcndence on coal from overseas was dangerous. It' trouble came the supply might be cut off overnight and the railways could not operate. It was Commonscnse not to be dependent on other paris of the world for power but to geiferate our own, and that was what the present Government would do. Advice was being souglit overseas

and the Government was hurrying up. A noted British expert on the electriJication of railways was ut present in. the country giving advice to the Government. This was in addition to a tour abroad by three New Zealand officials in connection with the scheme. The loss on the railways of nearly £800,000 in a year had been caused largely by the ncccssity for importing coal and oil. Although New Zealand was producing more coal than cver before it was not producing enough. No coal was available from Australia as in years gone by, and it had to be brought from more distant places. Expensive imported coal was being used by the railways only, leaving New | Zealand coal for other Dominion indus- ■ tries, so that in olfect the railways. | were subsidising those industries. The ' Government was blamed because the railways did not pay dividends, but they were not built to pay dividends. They were built to serve the country.