NEW ZEALAND RAILWAYS.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 November 1921, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND RAILWAYS.

Lass OF £4700 DAILY. RETRENCHMENT INEVITABLE. The announcement that retrenchment is to take place in the Railwav Department was made by the General Manager, Mr. R. W. McVilly. ,at the social of the Locomotive Engine-drivers’, Firemen and Cleaners’ Association at Wellington on Saturday night. Mr. McVilly stated that the Department had come to a point where the revenue was falling back and was going back rapidly. Last year, for the first time for about ten years, they failed to get the return from the working of the lines that was required by the Government’s policy. This year the revenue had only_ increased by something like £79,'500, and the expenditure had grown by £670,000. The falling off in the passenger traffic was about 480,000 passengers, over 12,000 car loads for the seven months of this financial year. In live stock there had been a drop of 4500 truck loads, and general merchandise 2000. Last, month they were down £50,000 compared with October last year, and for three weeks of the present period they had gone down another £53,000. In 1914 the revenue was £4,043,328, and expenditure £2,808,000, leaving £1,200.000 to pay interest on capital invested. In 19211 the revenue was £0,908,000, but the expenditure totalled £5,630,000, which only gave them interest of £3 8s on the capital expenditure. The wages in 1914 were £1,966,625, and in 1921 £3,606,000. an increase of £1,039,475. The expenditure for 1921 was almost equal to the total revenue for the year ended March 30, 1920. The position was that the revenue had advanced by just under 20 per cent., but the expenditure had gone up 37.87 per cent. The expenditure was increasing in a faster Jatio than the revenue, and they had reached a point where overlapping of the South Island lines unfortunately was a drag. For seven months oi this financial year the figures in the South Island showed a loss as between revenue and working expenses, leaving out capital altogether, of £ll,OOO. The only line in the country that was giving a return in excess of what they required was Westport. The railways were now being run at an average daily loss of £4700, taking interest charges into account. He had to call representatives of railwaymen’s bodies together to put the position to them. He was' sympathetic, but they had to get to tintacksl There would have to be a mutual understanding, but an all-round alteration had to be made to make both ends meet. He wanted the railwaymen in time of adversity and stress to the country to give the department loyal assistance, and desired them to understand and appreciate the necessity for retrenchment that had to take peace. Before Mr. McVilly spoke, Mr. W. McArley, general secretary of the E.F.C.A., said he thought it best for the men to face the facts and meet the Government as well as they could. He believed they could make an amicable arrangement.