NEW RAILWAY STATION

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22300, 14 January 1938, Page 10

NEW RAILWAY STATION

CONSTRUCTION WORK TO BEGIN SOON £75,000 TO BE SPENT THIS YEAR NO CHANGE FROM ORIGINAI PLANS Work on the building of the new railway station at Christchurch win begin shortly. A definite date has not yet been set, but Mr H. C. Lusty, chief assistant engineer of the Railways Department, who visited the city yesterday to discuss details of the plans for the station, told a reporter actual construction of part of the station would certainly be begun early in this year—possibly within a matter of weeks. No details were available yesterday of what branch of the construe tional work would be started firsfc actually preparatory work in dealing some of the sites required for buildings has already been began, A sum of £75,000 is on the Public Works estimates for this yeae; to cover the year's building programme for the new station, and foy the rearrangement of yards and te*. minal facilities. That sum, however is only about 10 per cent, of the total amount the complete new station and yards are expected to coat estimates. Mr Lusty said that he knew of no departure yet made from the plans originally made by the deparU ment for the station, which will be east of the present one. Negotiations with the Christchurch Tramway Board about the future of the Colombo street crossing had not yet been completed, and because of the holiday period just ended, negotiations on the subject had been temporarily held up. The building of the new station, for which the department has already made provision by the purchase of much property east of the present station, entails also a number of major engineering projects of which the Colombo street crossing is only one. The present footbridge at Madras street is to be rebuilt, an overhead bridge is to be built over the Waltham road crossing, and over Falsgrave street, which will be closed to vehicular traffic, a footbridge will probably be built. Practically the whole of the land bounded by the railway line. F? > grave street, Mowbray street, and Waltham road will be used in the new lay-out for the station yards and much property in this area has already become, by purchase, the property of the department.