RAILWAY ECONOMY.

Otaki Mail, 14 June 1922, Page 4

RAILWAY ECONOMY.

The demand for railway improvement in New Zealand lias, so far, produced no tangible results. The Prime Minister and Minister of Railways have been promising important changes, but beyond the setting up of a board of officials to consult each other, and to take advice from business men, nothing has been done. The railways are still being run at an enormous loss to llie Dominion. In Australia they appear to be doing things differently. The Melbourne “Argus” reports that the Victorian Railways Commissioners have lor over a year conducted a system of co-operation between freight customers and the staff to make the best possible use of existing rolling stock, eliminate unnecessary construction, and to reduce operative costs. The commissioners congratulate the employees on the saving in mileage and reduction in costs caused by their united efforts to increase the loading of goods trains. The figures, which are for the twelve months ended April SO, show an improvement in the load per mile of goods trains for Victoria from Sit) tons in January and February to SSI tons in April, the latter tonnage being the largest since February, 1920. Every goods train which ran during April averaged two tons' greater load over every mile of journey, representing an appreciable economy. The response to the commissioners’ appeal to freight customers of the department has resulted to date in an increase in the average truckload of from eight to nine and a half tons (rising in one period of two months to nine and threequarter 'tons), and an increase in the daily truck journey of from 24 miles to 27 miles (reaching 27} miles during two months). This increased loading and improved mileage enabled better use to be made of existing rolling slock. During the period of greatest demand these advances made available, without extra expenditure, the equivalent of about 2750 trucks. Time would not have permitted the building of these trucks in any case, and the cost of construct ion, at £4OO each, would have amount!.l to £1,100,000. The commissioners claim that this remarkable result is a “triumph of co-operative effort.”