RAILWAY LINK

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22945, 25 January 1938, Page 12

RAILWAY LINK

PAEROA TO POKENO TURNING THE FIRST SOD START OF ESSENTIAL WORK AUTHORISED 18 YEARS AGO Inaugurating an essential work that was authorised as long ago as 1920, and for which a full survey was made in 1018, the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. K. Semple, will turn the first sod of the Paeroa-Pokeno railway link at Paeroa on Thursday. The ceremony will commence at 2.30 o'clock, and the firsit sod will be turned at the exact spot where the new line will leave tlio present Thames branch.

Invitations have been issued to over 300 local body members and other visitors. An address of welcome will be given by the Mayor of Paeroa, Air. W. Marshall, who is also chairman of the Ohineinuri County Council. Other speakers will be Messrs. J. Thorn, C. It. Petrie and C. H. Burnett, M.P.'s, and Mr. W. 11. Fee, president of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. The presentation of a silver spado will bo made to Mr. Semple, who will turn the first sod after making a short speech. Afternoon tea will, bo served after the ceremony.

Saving In Distance The new link will be 42 miles 60 chains in length, and will save 45 miles 60 chains on the present round-about railway route between Pokeno and Paeroa. It will bring all centres between Paeroa and Taneatua nearly 46 miles nearer by railway distance to Auckland, with a corresponding reduction in freights and rail fares. Definite news that the Government intended to proceed with tlio railway link was received with enthusiasm at Paeroa in October, and practically all business men in the town aro looking forward to tlio completion of a project which for over 20 years has been advocated by the Paeroa Borough Council, the Ohinemuri County Council and the Paeroa Chamber of Commerce. The link lias long been regarded as part and parcel of the cast coast transport system, essential to bring the Bay of Plenty into much closer touch with tlio city and tlio rest of the province. Provision in Estimates A vote of £75,000 was included in the Public Works estimates last year, to provide for the start of work on the new line. The standard of construction allowed for is that of a first-class main line, with heavy rails, easy curvature and a steepest grade of 1 in 100, so that the fastest express service will bo possible. There is fairly deep peat in part of tlio area to be traversed, but no engineering difficulties are anticipated. Surveys made between Pokeno and Paeroa show that the country is' practically ideal for a railway route. The line will traverse 31 miles of level country, and lli miles of undulating land. No tunnels or heavy earthworks will he involved, but both the Piako and Waihou liivers will have to be bridged. Work for 450 Men

Mr. Semple stated lato last year that a limited number of mechanical units would be employed on the construction work, which, when fully manned, would provido employment for about 450 men

Preparations are well in hand for the commencement of work at Pokcno. Several acres of land adjoining the railway yards have been acquired to provide sites for residences and administrative buildings, and to givo storage space for materials. Tim framework of a house for a resident engineer is in position. Another siding is being made, and, in addition to the workmen, a large survey gang is camped at Pokeno, studying the best manner of joining tho new line with the main trunk. History of Project

The linking of Paeroa and Pokeno by rail has been the subject of agitation since as early as 1006. A trial survey was requested by the Paeroa Borough Council in 1915, the move having the strong support of the Auckland Railways League, and a full survey was completed by the Public Works Department at considerable cost in 1918.

The line was authorised in 1920, but later it was decided to concentrate on tho Waihi-Tnuranga section of the East Coast railway. The matter was taken up again in 1928, when reference was made to the development that had taken place on the Hauraki Plains, and to the fact that tho link would be the solution of tho great difficulty facing the East Coast railway.

Next Thursday is expected to be a most important occasion in the history of Paeroa. The work is to be started from both the Paeroa and the Pokeno ends.