RAILWAY CHARGES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 December 1938, Page 5

RAILWAY CHARGES

4 EXPECTATION OF ADDITIONAL REVENUE. £BOO,OOO IN FULL YEAR. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) AUCKLAND, December 4. The opinion that with a full year’s working the increase’of 10 per cent in fare and freight'charges on the railways and associated services would result in a rise of approximately £BOO,000 in the net revenue was expressed by the General Manager of Railways, Mr G. H. Mackley, in an interview in Auckland. ' For the balance of the current financial year it was estimated that the increase in net revenue would be about £250,000. It was considered, with the increases spread equally over all classes of business and in view of their comparatively small amount, that there would be little if any adverse effect on the business of the department. RUSH FOR TICKETS. BEFORE INCREASE TAKES EFFECT. DUNEDIN, December 4. The increase in rail fares from December 11 has led to an almost unprecedented rush for holiday bookings at the Dunedin branch of the Government Tourist Department, and persons who are travelling from Dunedin on dates as far distant as the middle and end of January have been buying their tickets and making bookings. No fewer than seven members of the staff were required on the counter on Saturday morning to cope with this extra demand for bookings, and they were kept working at high pressure. The district tourist manager confidently predicted a record tourist season. There is scarcely a holiday resort of any sort in New Zealand which is not almost fully booked throughout the holiday season. The only resort in Otago where limited accommodation is still available is Pembroke, so that it is safe to forecast unprecedented holiday traffic in the coming Christmas season. NO IMMEDIATE RUSH. There has been no immediate rush at the Masterton Railway Station for holiday tickets consequent on the an- ! nouncement of a 10 per cent increase in rates as from December 11. On account of the passenger trains rapidly filling up. most pre-Christmas travellers had already booked their seats before the increased rates were announced. Officials, however, anticipate a keen demand for tickets by the end of the week.