DEPOLITICALISING.

Waikato Times, Volume 108, Issue 18140, 3 October 1930, Page 7

DEPOLITICALISING.

THE RAILWAY SYSTEM.

TO SAVE £628,000 PER ANNUM.

COMMITTEE’S IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATIONS.

(Times Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, Thursday,

Important reoommendatlons for the more economical working of the New Zealand Railways are made In the report of the Railway Commission—the Hon. R. Wasters, M.L.C. (chairman), \ and Messrs J. Marchbanks, J. D. Hall, and R. W. McVllly—which was laid on the table of the House of Representatives this afternoon.

The principal recommendations are as follow: That the existing departmental organisation with two Divisional Superintendents superimposed thereon be abolished, and full divisional control instituted, the chief engineer, maintenance branch, and the. chief mechanical engineer, locomotive branch, to retain full responsibility for the maintenance of track, structures, and buildings, and of locomotives, rolling stock and workshops respectively. That the rates for passenger traffic, concession fares, and rates for goods traffic be amended in terms of detailed prpposals submitted. That 1 arrangements be made for colP lection and/or delivery of. parcels in ( the larger towns and elsewhere where a satisfactory service can be arranged, whether by agreement or contract is -a matter for determination by the department. The commission does not favour special departmental service for this work. That the collection and delivery of goods carried or to be carried by rail be undertaken by the department between towns where It is'desirable to oombat motor competition, local rates being made use of where necessary, •and the department to co-operate as far as possible with or make use of • existing carrying services or companies at agreed rates or by contract rather than establishing departmental road services. . « That the railway be paid for services rendered to the Postal Department for conveyance of mail matter at the rate of Is 4d per mile for. postal sorting Vans on mail and express trains, 9dper mile for bogey waggons, 6d per mile for four-wheeled waggons on mixed or goods trains, and half parcels rates for all mails carried in guards’ vans 1 of mail, express, mixed or goods trains. i City Booking Offices. That the city booking offices at Symonds Street and Karangahape Road Auckland, be closed, and leases held by the department be disposed of. j Thai Rotorua booking offloe be closed and oloser co-operation established between the Government Tourjist Office and the Rotorua railway stallion. _ , ) That the Napier booking office be dosed. „„ , That Courtenay Place, Wellington, booking office remain open meantime, and kept under observation for a period of six months, and be closed unless there is a substantial increase in business. That a review of the staffing of each booking office be made, and costs reduced where found practicable. Dwellings. That the dwellings be classified and ''rates fixed on the basis of a rate per square foot, to give a better return on the outlay.; Lake Wakatlpu Steamers. That the organisation and sceduling of the Lake Wakatipu steamer service ' be closely investigated and placed under more efficient management, with authority to reduce staff as required •and adopt the most economical method .of working the. service. That, before any final commitment is made in respect of the purchase of < a new steamer for the lake, a definite (assurance be obtained by the Railways (Department that the road now partly constructed between Kingston and Queenstown will not be further proceeded with, otherwise the commission cannot recommend the building of the boat. Railway Magazine. That, unless arrangements can be [definitely made to ensure that the [Railway Magazine can be printed and distributed free of cost to the department, it be discontinued. Road Motor Bervice. That unless the Napier-Hastings bus shows better financial results and pays' its way within the next six 'months, it be discontinued, and the • ‘buses transferred or otherwise disposed of. Advertising. That the Advertising branch be thoroughly reorganised and placed under control of a competent and experienced man. Refreshment Service. That the staff be reviewed and reduction made in the supervisory staff at headquarters and at various refreshment rooms. That a charge of half per cent, be made by the refreshment branch on all Government Departments in res--pect of services rendered in - arranging contracts and purchase of stores. That the charges for catering In workshop dining-rooms be reviewed and adjusted to obviate present loss, and inquiry made to ascertain the reason the rooms, erected at a cost of £16,806, are only being patronised by 469 out of 3773 men. Staffing. That a close investigation be made of the whole staffing arrangements in all branches, and personnel reduced to a minimum, regulations be reviewed and as far as practicable brought into line with the economic needs and circumstances now prevailing. That grading of positions be abolished and promotions be made solely on merit, efficiency and suitability for the positions to be . filled. That the Brown system of discipline be abolished. That the Appeal Board be reconstituted, and the final decision In all cases be with the Minister or other authority on whom for the time being rests the burden of responsibility for the efficiency of the service and safety of the public.

That the permanent head of the department be invested with full powers to effectively control the staff, and authority to appoint, promote and discipline. That staffing be reduced by disposing of all surplus labour. Flnanoe. That a General Reserve Fund of £2,000,000 be built up 1 by setting t aside an additional sum of £1,100,000 out of the revenue of the department, and for that purpose charging to the working expenses a fixed sum not exceeding £200,000 In any one year and crediting same to the General Reserve Account annually.

That accrued depreciation of '■ssets be provided for by writing down the capital account of the department by £10,000,000. This sum includes the £8,100,000 capital on which the department has by section 20 of the Finance Act, 1929, been relieved of liability to pay interest. To give effect to the recommendation a further, appropriation by the Treasury of £l,900,000 is necessary; but, in any case, we recommend that full effect be given to what was apparently .the intention of the Legislature when 'the Finance Act, 1929, was passed by writing off the £8,100,000. i Organisation. That in respect of railway and road combined bridges, the arrangements are not satisfactory. The Railways Department should receive from the local bodies an additional sum of £ll,193 annually through the Main Highways Board. Tallies of the traffic should also be taken as the basis for determining what additional further sum the Railways are entitled to receive in respect of interest, depreciation, and maintenance chargfes on the main structures. Legislative authority should be given to enable an equitable charge to be made in this latter regard.

That care be taken not to carry the system of pooling engines beyond the limit within which economic results are combined with efficiency, and staff kept to the minimum necessary to meet requirements. That the system of costing in workshops be re-organised to show more accurately the cost of the work done and more equitably distribute the overhead rating for each department. That the Railways Department be allowed to t.ender for any work for other Government Departments on the same terms and conditions as all other tenderers. That, to ensure efficiency, disciplinary authority be given to the management. That a Chief Mechanical Engineer be appointed immediately and made responsible for the running and maintenance of all locomotives and rolling stock and the workshops and establishment of the Locomotive Branch.

That the staffing arrangements he reviewed, and costs of same reduced. That careful consideration be given to the cost of handling coal at the larger depots, and, in the event of further experience with the Elmer Lane mechanical coaling appliances being satisfactory and economical, the advisability of extending the use of such appliances to other depots be gone into. ' That the quality and suitability of lubricants used be given close attention. That bin-cards be transferred to the stores offices, and the work on the cards be carried out -by the clerical staff, and stocks checked mionthlyt’ with snap checks by responsible officers at frequent and irregular intervals. That closer co-operation between the Chief Mechanical Engineer and Stores Branch be established, and that the Engineering Branch should satisfy itself, before requisitioning for the purchase of stores, that the alterations in design, etc., will not render useless stores which have been put on order as the result of prior requisitions. ' Train Services. That a comprehensive review of train services on all lines be made, and train mileage reduced to the minimum required to provide a reasonable service for the business to be catered for. Trains running at a loss should be discontinued, and goods trains be loaded up to full capacity. That train services on branch lines be reduced to the limits required to provide reasonable facilities for the carriage of goods traffic, and passenger services be discontinued on some of the branches. That in respect of each line a careful review of the operating results'be made each period, and any line which fails to pay the operating costs for a period of three months be closed. That road and rail traffic be co-ordinated, legislation to be enacted to provide for the establishment of a suitable authority to make regulations for the license, control, and regulation of motor transport throughout the Dominion. That where new lines are constructed for the purpose of developing settlement or assisting industries they should be regarded as “developmental lines," and full and accurate accounts of all costs and earnings be kept separately and altogether apart from the general Railways Account, and any losses should be met out of the Consolidated Fund. That the Department be depoliticalised, and the railways be administered by a board of directors with full powers to control the operations and staff and be responsible for the results obtained. That a proper adjustment of the financial position be made as between the Railways and Treasury, and the order in which charges against the Railways revenue are made be— (1) Payment of all operating expenses; (2) Payments to Railways Reserve

Fund fixed amount per annum; (3) Payments to build up Insurance and Workers’ Compensation Funds; (4) Payment of interest charges. The Reserve Fund to take precedence over payment of interest, and be paid to the Treasury annually/in reduction of capital liability. That a reasonable charge be made, annually in the accounts to provide for renewals, the amount to he based on experience of past years, and so adjusted as to avoid any violent fluctuations in the expenditure each year. The amount so charged to be kept in a separate fund and invested, the cost of renewals being met by drawing on the fund as circumstances require. That the Fire and Workers’ Compensation Insurance Funds be strengthened, and the amounts invested outside the working accounts, and drawn on from time to time as liabilities occur.