RAILWAYS & MOTORS

Hokitika Guardian, 10 August 1929, Page 6

RAILWAYS & MOTORS

MR STERLING DISCUSSES TRAFFIC PROBLEM'.

AUCKLAND, August 8

Factors to be considered in judging the value of railways to the community were dealt with exhaustively by Mr H. H. Sterling, General Manager of Railways, in an address at the Chamber of Commeice luncheon tliiA. afternoon. Reviewing parts of his annual statement shortly to be presented to the Government, Mr Sterling pointed out that it was impossible to judge tlie success or failure of the railways simply by examination of the revenue and expenditure accounts. Right /from top to bottom of the railway service tlie men knew they were doing well, but because the accounts did not show up as well as the public would like, there were some people who came to the conclusion that there was something wrong with the management. Figures did riot justify that conclusion, however. Last year the revenue increased by 2.46 per cent and the expenditure by! 1.15 per c-ent.. The revenue per goods vehicle increased from £176 to £lB3, and average net ton mileage from 22,284 to 23,429. Under every heading substantial improvement had been shown, and the railway transport officers had succeeded in getting a better return from tlieir rolling-stock. ’ The Railway Department last year carried a record godos tonnage, and the railways were certainly not slipping back. Very often a wrong conception was gained of the place occupied by. the railways in the transport industry of the community. People talked quite freely of loss on the service, and that created a psychological atmosphere that the railways were done and out df date. Nothing could be further from the truth. Last year the railways carried over 7,000,000 tons of goods, and the number of live stock carried increased appreciably. It could easily be seen how abs rd it was ij say that the railways were done and were no longer a factor in the community. Both physically and economically there was no other transport system that could give the service that the railways had given. Facts proved that railways were absolutely indispensable. He did not want to give the impression that the service was perfect, as there was room Tor improvement.

'The idea was pretty well crystallised in the minds of people, added Mr Sterling, that there should be some co-or-dination of the various transport facilities, and the problem arose as to -where to tackle the question. Tlie dividingline seemed to lie between intervention by the State anil non-intervention. There was a certain amount df chaos existing in the transport affairs of the country generally, and that seemed to arise through certain inequalities that had a serious effect on tlie railways. The fact remained that the money, in tbje railways was irretrievably sunk in tile concern, arid whatever additional transport’ there had to be, it had to be paid out ,of 1 . '■/•••

The question came down to one of total transport costs, but there was the ‘ difficulty "of securing a collated statement of costs of roads, cost of motor ‘garngei,. ('expenses of •working, etc. With’ a view to securing assessment of the total costs of transport in the Dominion, he felt that, as business men, his hearers would agree that the first necessity was to get roading figures, etc., down to a reasonable understanding. The inevitable result of motor transport was to weaken the railways, but' the traffic handled by motors was only a small fraction of that handled by the railways. The alternative to all the dislocation resulting frbnl motor transport was State intervention in the- regulation of the trfir«r>'Tt iiul'-stry- of the country, or, in other words the community applying .itSell for the- protection df community interests;- ■*'■ ' •

There was"nothing'new in State intervention.; Tiuleed, it meant the lav: itself. Coming down to'- a narrower circle, there'was nothing new in the transport industry. When it bade fair to become 'a basic industry, however, it was necessary that the State should have some say in the regulation of it. Right from their', inception, the railways had been rigorously ‘ regulated and it was an unwarranted assumption that any intervention by the Government meant obliteration of the industry. The present chaotic position of transport m New Zealand proves satisfactory to no one, and the question was how to expedite the termination df. the trouble. Personally lie’ could see nothing to be lost and very much to be gained by the State taking an active interest in the transport problem. The procedure of control by the State, added Mr Sterling, would he for .the ultimate benefit of , the motor and the railway industry, and the stability of transport general--ly. The motor industry was here to stay, arjd no one either engaged in' it or in the railways would have any room to complain if the question of interference was determined. ■ When stability was achieved, business men would turn their minds to the transport industry as never hitherto. Tire slogan opposing State interference was all right, hut it was dangerous, as all slogans were, when they began to cloud reasoning and set up a psychology that was not judicious. That was the case with the transport industry. The transport question required calm and 1 judicious handling. The railways were indispensable', and SO'were.motors, and tile question as t'o the proper place for each' class of transport had to be calmly investigated.