NELSON LINE OF RAILWAY

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21386, 31 January 1935, Page 10

NELSON LINE OF RAILWAY

POSSIBLE CLOSING PEOPLE URGED TO GIVE MORE PATRONAGE [From Our Own Reporter.] NELSON, January 29. Strong efforts to prevent' the closing by the Railways Board of the Nelson-Glenhope railway—intended ultimately to link Nelson with the West Coast—are being made by the Nelson Progress League. In a circular to be distributed this week the league urges all residents of the Nelson railway district wherever possible to use the railway for the carriage of their goods and produce, even at the cost of a little more trouble and at a slightly higher charge. The people, it maintains, must use their railway or they will lose it, and its loss would be a severe blow to the prosperity of the district.

About 18 months ago the chairman of the Railways Board (Mr H. H. Sterling), when addressing a meeting at Nelson, drew attention to the very unsatisfactory position of the Nelson section of railway, which for years had been showing a very heavy annual loss, caused in a great degree by intensive road competition. According to the annual Railways Statement to Parliament the operating revenue and expediture of the section for the last three financial years (ending March 31 in each case) has been:—

Revenue. Expendi- Operatiurc. ingloss. £ £ £ 1932 .. 17,134 30,146 13,012 1933 . . 13,402 21,733 8331 1934 .. 11,639 19,082 7443 Railways Board's View of Loss The operating loss of £7443 in 1934 does not include interest charges on the line. Operating expenses have been cut down to the lowest possible level and the services have been reduced to an extent which is stated not to permit any further reduction. In the 1934 Railways Statement the board stated that the financial results on the Nelson section led it to the conclusion that there was a prima facie case for closing the line. After discussion with the people of the district, however, it had been decided to adjust some of the rates and to give the line a further trial for another year. The result could not be considered satisfactory. The revenue had not improved, the loss on operations was considerable, and the board considered that there was little prospect of any substantial improvement. The line serves an extensive hops, tobacco, genera] farming and fruitgrowing district, and when construction was stopped it reached close to Murchison. No trains are run on the last few miles of constructed line. There is extensive competition for the carriage of goods from road'services, although these are restricted in the carriage of coal and timber from the West Coast, by regulations which do not allow these goods for Nelson city to be carried by road nearer than the railhead. Thereafter coal and timber has to be brought in by rail, although this does not apply for carriage into the country districts beyond Nelson city. Increased Costs by Road In asking the people of the district to use the railway the league argues that the cost of transport of between Nelson and the Buller Valley, taken as a whole, would be greatly increased if all the heavy goods now carried by rail had to be carried by. motor lorries. At present lorries carried certain classes of goods more cheaply thtin the railway, but they couid not carry all classes of goods without gr?atly increasing the total charges. Much of the traffic was seasonal, and the need in slack times to lay up the lorries needed to carry it was also likely further to increase the cost if the only service were by road. That if the isolated Nelson is to pay it should be joined up with the main railway system by filling in the gap between Gowan and Inangahua Junction has always been urged by the league, which also claims that from the national standpoint it is better for the community to bear the present loss incurred by the railway than to incur the still greater losses that would result from its closing. "The Railways Board however, regards the question merely as it affects the finances of the Railway Department, without concerning itself about the increased cost of maintaining the roads," the league states. "It is therefore urgent that the Nelson public should support the railway in every possible way, and thus give the Railways Board no excuse for saying that Nelson does not deserve the railway to be kept open because the contfnunity does not give it the amount of support which it might reasonably expect."

Money for Maintaining Roads The cost of maintaining the road from Belgrove to the Buller Valley over Spooner's range and the Hope saddle is thought likely to be enormously increased if all the heavy goods now carried by the railway had to be carried by lorries over these hills, this increased cost falling chiefly on the general community in increased rates and taxes. Another possible effect is that most of the traffic to and from the Buller would be diverted to Blenheim and Picton, so that Nelson would lose an important section of its trade. A further point is that the Nelson Freezing Works, in this case, might not be able to continue operating, and this would be very serious for both the farmers and the fruit growers of the district. In the year ending March 31, 1934, there were carried on the Nelson railway 20,138 tons of merchandise, and the average length of haul was 24 miles. The league estimates that to transport this quantity of goods by road approximately 1,100,000 additional lorry ton miles (weight of lorries included) running over the main highways would have been necessary. This is given as an indication of the increased wear and tear likely to be thrown on the roads if the carriage were diverted from rail to road. The concluding statement cf the league's case is: "While it is generally admitted that transport by lorries is the more economical method for short distances, it has been proved that transport by rail is far more economical for the community for long hauls. The league therefore urges that wherever possible the rail should be used in preference to the road, especially for the longer distances,"