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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 8, Issue 4 (August 1, 1933)

The Way of the Rail — Notes of the Month

page 8

The Way of the Rail
Notes of the Month

Preliminary figures of the operating results of the New Zealand Railways for the four-weekly period ended June 24 were announced recently by Mr. H. H. Sterling, Chairman of the New Zealand Government Railways Board. The figures, he said, showed that as compared with the corresponding four-weekly period of the previous year there was an increase in gross revenue of £9816, and a decrease in expenditure of £2208, making an increase in the net revenue for the four-weekly period of £12,024.

Taking the results for the portion of the the financial year from April 1 to June 24, the particulars were as follow:—The gross revenue decreased by £21,402, the expenditure decreased by £40,780, giving an increase in the net revenue for that portion of the year of £19,378.

Mr. Sterling said he was particularly gratified with the increase of £9816 in the gross revenue for the four-weekly period. In his statement of the results for the previous four-weekly period he had interpreted a small decrease of £900 as indicating a steadying up in the decrease in revenue, and he then felt justified in concluding that there were indications of a more stable position in the revenue returns. The fact that the following four-weekly period showed the figures above-mentioned seemed to afford some confirmation of this view and was a distinctly hopeful sign.

* * *

The “New Zealand Observer” draws attention to the convenience of the train for footballers. It states:—

“Time was when Rugby teams travelling in Taranaki invariably did so by bus, but nowadays, the Railway Department co-operates generously, and the departure of one train running between New Plymouth and Stratford has been advanced a little to suit the convenience of footballers. Furthermore, the players are allowed to leave their clothes in their carriage, which is then shunted off the train, locked, and shunted back on a later train for the return journey after the match.”

Of course for tours of any length every football team of any importance finds the train the only way to travel to “finish their journey refreshed.”

* * *

In the course of a spirited reference to the activities of the New Zealand Railways in the direction of popularising New Zealand travel, Mr. H. H. Sterling, Chairman of the New Zealand Government Railways Board, said that, moving about New Zealand as much as he did, he had been surprised to find how very restricted travel by New Zealanders in their own country really was. This did not apply with any particularity to those whose opportunities for travel might be expected to be limited by financial considerations. While cheap travel and accommodation were necessary to a large body of the public, and while the development of the traffic under consideration would necessarily be limited by this factor, the question really took on a wider aspect. What, for want of a better word, Mr. Sterling termed “travel-mindedness” was necessary. The Department has persistently “run” a slogan, “See New Zealand First” because it realised the necessity for developing in New Zealanders the attitude of “travel-mindedness” towards their own country.

* * *

Extract from a New Zealand railwayman's letter to the Editor of this magazine: “I am sending you the magazines for last year to have them bound. I am very proud of the previous volumes. I have had every edition bound by your staff and they form a great addition to my small library.”