THE QUESTION.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19544, 14 February 1929, Page 17

THE QUESTION.

DUPLICATION OR ELECTRIFICATION ? COATES GOVERNMENT'S DECISION. v' "All "ho iave passed through th# toBMI of recent years have felt that it is disgraceful that the journey from Lyttelton to Christchurch should include a mil« of filthy tunnel,' * was part of the comment which appeared in The Pbbss oil March Bth, 1926. a day or two after the Coates Government had indicated its Intention to adopt electrificain connexion with the Lyttelton tunnel. For many years previous to IMS the agitation for an improvement, jpr the duplication and electrification of the tunnel had bean kept alive. An Expert' 3 Opinion. Ib 1928 Mr Evan Parry, formerly ckisf electrical engineer for the Dominies, was in the Dominion to repreaea; the Btglish Electric Company at the Opeßlfeg of the Otira tunnel. To a letter from the Prograse League inviting him to give an address, Mr Parrv replied) under date, June 23rd, 1923, w follows "I Bffl to you for the invitation to adddress a meeting of the Progress League on Wednesday, the 27th, hot regret that I find that I am quite wubli to comply, as toy time is fully in Wellington for the next fortnight. "Probably the position as regards the Lyttelton tunnel is that a lot of tioie is lost between Lyttelton and Christchurch, and goods and trucks delayed because they are moved both ■ways is loag trains instead of running t>s ears in short trains when and as thiy become full, so that time is lost at both ends in waiting for a long tilin to be made up, and breaking it up again. This is inevitable, almost, under tteam conditions, otherwise the locomotive expenses become excessive, and in the present instance to run shorter and more frequent trains would be impos»ible owing to the tunnel becoming feuled by smoke and fames. How bad this may become, even in a short tunnel, clear of smoke, you will he able to realit* on reading the enclosed newspaper clipping. (This referred to a mishap to the AucklandWellington express on June 9th in the first tunnel after leaving Thomdon station.) The remedy, and the only remedy, is electrification. The difficulty is not only in regard to the effect npOn the train crews, but also as regards signalling, as short sections on th* block system would be impossible on account of the smoke. As already stated, the only remedy is electrification. It is now a well-established principle that electric working lends itsal! to tli* rapid marshalling and handling of Short trains, whilst the tunnel is no obstacle at all in the way of fre<|u*nfc trains, any more than the London tubes—ln fact, you may consider that under electric working the tunnel Ao«s not exist U regards its influence mi the movement of traffic. The nec®*Hy for duplicating the tunnel does not arise; neither can it arise for many a long day, as the capacity of the single line is not by -any means exhausted, and even it it were, the frequent traffic and Shorter block sections would be just as impossible under steam conditions—'in fact, worse, because of the traffic in both directions. Thus, elec-. triication is net an alternative to duplication, but a necessity in any caß«. Th« principle of electrification as reS*rds the Lyttelton tunnel was adopted f the Government as far baek as 1912, and has only been postponed for unavoidable reasons, including the out* bfWk of the w«r. It is entirely a question of ways snd means, not of principle, and with the extensions to the Lake Coleridge plant, there should be abundance of power for running the Lyttelton line, and also for running the whole service, between Jackson's and Springfield, which should also claim Wtontion."

Justification for Electrification. Writing seven days later Mr Parry said there was not much to add to his previous letter, "except that I might point out that in the case of Lyttelton two elements are present which constitute justification for electrification, vi*., a terminal without room for expansion, apd a long tunnel. It is well known that some suburban railways have been electrified in the past solely on the ground of terminal restrictions and tunnels were electrified long before it was considered profitable to apply electricity to main lines generally. Both elements are present in this case, and together put the case beyond dispute and constitute an irrefutable nrgument, if the case has to be argued out again. I clearly understood in 1912 that the principle of electrification was adopted bv Sir Joseph "Ward, and that it was solely a Question of ways and means." A Big Undertaking. On September 15th. 1924, there was held a public meeting in the Caledonian Hall, which, so far as public demonstrations are concerned. was the largest and most influential held in the City for manv vears. The bic meeting, which packed the hall, unanimously agreed to a motion setting out _the imperative necessity for the duplication of the Lyttelton tunnel and the e l Pctrification of the port railway line. The Government. at that inncture. were not nu'te prepared to show their hand, and the agitation went on for a year or so. The Determining Conference. At length, on March 6th, 1926, the then Prime Minister (Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates) met local members of Parliament, the representatives of Canterbury organisations, and departmental officers, in a round table conference, which discussed duplication or electrification. The report of the experts, Merz and McLennan, of London, strongly favoured electrification. It Was estimated that the duplication of the tunnel would cost £265,000 and that electrification need not cost more than £190,000. In addition, electrification would meet all the requirement® .in connexion with the line for 25 years and result in a reduction of operating costs by £3OOO per annum. On the other hand, the increase in the railway liability for the South Island would be £II,OOO per annum (interest charges and sinking fund) less the savings effected in operating costs, a net increased liability of £BOOO per annum. The conference, when asked to express its preference for electrification or duplication, after hearing the reports of the experts fnrl of the departmental officers, decided in favour of electrification. A few days later the Government's decision to go on with the electrification of the tunnel was announced.