D—2

1950 NEW ZEALAND

RAILWAYS STATEMENT (BY THE MINISTER, OF RAILWAYS, HON. W. S. GOOSMAN)

Me. Speaker,— In accordance with section 40 of the Government Railways Act, 1949, I have the honour to present the Railways Statement for the year ended 31st March, 1950. FINANCIAL The gross revenue for the year was £19,541,184, the highest ever recorded and exceeding by £943,456 (or 5-07 per cent.) the record figure of last year. Passenger revenue exceeded that of the previous year by £88,447, mainly as a result of increases in first-class and sleeping-berth travel, which, in turn, were due to the restoration of the daily running of the Auckland-Wellington " Limited " expresses and the Christchurch—lnvercargill expresses coupled with the running of the AucklandWellington " Daylight Limited " in January, 1950, and the running of special trains for 'the Empire Games. The greater part of the increased gross revenue, however, came from the substantial increase in goods traffic which was particularly heavy in the North Island. Goods tonnage increased by 282,131 tons (or 2-92 per cent.) to a new record figure of 9,948,261 tons. This increased tonnage coupled with an increase in the average length of haul resulted in a new record for goods revenue, the total receipts being £12,434,487, an increase of £687,358 (or 5-85 per cent.) over last year. Revenue from subsidiary services totalled £2,973,014 and this represents an increase of £178,128 (or 6*37 per cent.), derived mainly from increased road-service and refreshment-service receipts. Gross expenditure totalled £20,596,740, a rise of 896,146 (or 4-55 per cent.) compared with last year. Although this was the first year since 1943 for which the total expenditure increase was less than the revenue increase, the upward trend in expenditure still continued. At the commencement of the financial year under review a working-loss of £2,000,000 had been estimated, but principally as a result of the substantial increase in goods traffic already referred to, the actual loss finally worked out at £1,055,556. GOVERNMENT POLICY REGARDING LOSSES When I assumed office I caused the financial position of the railways to be investigated, and the findings have already been published. In short, the investigation showed that m recent years heavy costs had been added to the working-expenses without commensurate increases in tariff charges and that the resultant losses had been met out of taxation. The Government considers it proper that those who avail themselves of the services provided by the railways should pay for them, and, accordingly, it is the policy that, as soon as practicable, the railways should be made to pay the cost of operation