RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 199, 22 August 1919, Page 8

RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT.

THE NEW ERA. INSIIFFIICIENT ALLOCATIONS. ' With reference to Sir Joseph Ward's statement in regard to railways, Mr. P. E. Cheal, chairman of the Auckland Bail- ' ways League, made the following statement: "The long stagnation of a. ' National Government has come to an 'abrupt end. and one of the leaders ' enunciates his policy. Personally, I am most concerned in the 'proposal relative ! to railway construction, for which. Sir • Joseph Ward proposes to allocate four ■ million sterling, to he spent in two years. 1 '"Sir Joseph speaks of a Niornh. Island Main Extension. Roughly the TaranakiAuckland main line requires some sixty : miles to connect up. The Napier-Gis- : borne line requires some two nundred and six miles; Gifi-borne to Pokeno, two . hundred and twelve miles; North. Auckland, about SO miles to Hokianga; ai-tw- : gether some 5(50 miles of lines that were en the schedule of lines for const-ruction in 1870. "The dost of about 3000 miles of line has been -3(5,000, or £ 12,000 per mile. The increased cost of iron for rails, heavier bridges than in the past, and increased cost of constructiom, will mean a future average of some £ 15,000 or more per mile. At £ 15,000 per mile the proposal to spend four millions in two years would only complete about 270 miles of line—about one half the mileage of our main -trunk connections in the North Island alone. This, of course, does not make amy provision for South Island railways. Xo reference thus, of course, been made to -the method of allocation ot these moneys. A VIGOROUS POLICY. '"The one outstanding feature is the proposal of pushing on railway construction wit-th more vigour than "during the -National Government's .tenure of office 'if,\ I!US to i!,IS - ln iou * years £3,127,939 was spent — about four pounds per head of the population, ozone pound par year. This is a contrast even to 'railway construction in the Do-nun-on about ISSO, when 18 miles, of which 14 miles was bush, from Stratford to Nornianby, was formed and completed yn -0 months. Sir Joseph Ward now pro'jpeses to cap this by railway constnic,taon otf about 270 miles in two years." A FAIR DISTRIBUTION. j Mr. (heal concluded: "I could give .;solid reasons why this four millions ; sJiouJd be spent in the North Island to jgiye us the 270 miles towards the 450 ..mites.that we need, but one item alone is sufficient. The North Island is paying on a population baisis more than two millions and a quarter to the consodl- | dated revenue above the amount .paid :by the booth Island. This must be i equitably rc-adj listed."