Improved Railway Position

Referring to the financial results of the New Zealand Railways for forty-eight weeks of the current financial year, “Observer,” in the Evening Post, Wellington, writes (inter alia):—

“Is it not fair to conclude that, measured by results in the pit of the depression, the Government railways remain not only a developmental asset but also a big asset against their proportion of the external debt—an asset that should improve as depression lifts?

“The Board has had the onerous task of making the expenditure fall quick Jai Jai Jaier than the revenue. It has succeeded. For forty-eight weeks of the financial year 1931–32 the revenue has fallen (compared with the preceding year) by £1,037,000, but the expenditure has fallen by £1,152,000. Thus the net revenue is better than the preceding net revenue by £115,000.

“And it is claimed that this has been done without neglecting maintenance, and without impairing the safety factor of the railways with regard to track, rolling stock, signalling, personnel, or any other element.”