NEW RAILWAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 206, 31 August 1929, Page 7

NEW RAILWAY.

WESTFIELD DEVIATION.

FIRST TRAIN ON SUNDAY.

RELIEF OF CONGESTION.

Officially the Westfield railway deviation will be used for the first time on Sundya night, when at 11.30 p.m. a goods train for Wellington will be dispatched from Campbell's Point. It will be followed by other trains at 12.15 a.m., 3.30 a.m., 9.45 a.m., 11.45 a.m., 1.15 p.m., and 7.35 p.m. The iirst arrival at the temporary terminal at Campbell's Point will be a goods train.at 1.48 a.m. It was not intended to bring the deviation into use so early, but congestion hi the Auckland yards and the progress of the work of laying out of the new railway yard at Mechanics'. Bay dictated the immediate utilisation of the line. In-the meantime no goods will be collected at any of the six stations on the route to Westfield/ and staffs will be maintained at only the Glen Innes, Sylvia Park and .Campbell's Point (temporary) stations for tablet purposes. Passengers will not be catered for along the new link till the new railway station is completed sometime next year, wheu facilities will be available to handle general rush of traffic at Auckland. The deviation will mean a considerable" saving to the Department in haulage costs. At present heavy expenditure is incurred annually through trains -having to take the steep parnell tunnel route with only limited loads. In the past it has been necessary to dispatch goods trains in sections to Otahuhu, there to be assembled before continuing the southward journey. Owirig to the easy grade of the Westfield deviation, however, the capacity of goods trains will be increased three-fold, and all assembling will be done at Auckland.

It is not anticipated that the diverting of goods traffic along the new route will affect passenger traffic in any way, as the existing line is duplicated as far as Papatoetoe, and naturally no delays are occasioned through crossings. A point is made by the Railway Department of preventing goods trains from delaying passenger trains at any time, and any delays that have occurred to the latter from time to time have been due to minor engine trouble.