THE RAILWAY “CUT”.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 August 1921, Page 4

THE RAILWAY “CUT”.

BIG SAVING INVOLVED. SCHOOL TRAINS AFFECTED. By Telegraph.—Press Association Wellington, August 5. Details of the amended railway timetable will be announced in the various districts this week. In reply to the criticism that the reduction in the daily trains will be a serious business for school children, the Hon. s D. H. Guthrie, Acting Minister of Railways, states that the requirements of school children had been fully considered by the Government before the reduction in services was finally approved. The Department is doing its best to reduce the interference with education to a minimum. There are cases where the withdrawal of trains used by children attending schools could not be avoided, but he was satisfied that the least possible inconvenience was being inflicted upon young people. The saving to be effected up to the end of November by the reduction of services is estimated at £lOO,OOO, or at the rate of roughly £350,000 a year. Recent returns show that the traffic i« still declining, and the Department cannot know when this decline will be checked. Then the reduction of service* will involve some loss of revenue, though probably not very much, since the traffic will tend to accommodate itself to the new time-table.

It is not anticipated that the amended time-table will involve a reduction of the railway staff. It will involve some reduction in the earnrngs of the railwaymen, since the amount of overtime worked on many lines will be very much reduced. The savings will consist largely of the reduced coneumption of coat and stores and the reduced wear and tear. The reduced train mileage will mean reduced maintenance charges and other savings.