OPENING OF NEW GOODS SHED

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24868, 7 May 1946, Page 3

OPENING OF NEW GOODS SHED

OFFICIAL CEREMONY YESTERDAY

REDUCTION IN OVERTIME EXPECTED

Described by the Minister of Hailways (the Hon. R. Semple) as one of the finest buildings of its kind in the southern hemisphere, the new outward goods shed at the * Christchurch railway station was officially opened by the Minister yesterday. Mr Semple said there was nothing to compare with it in Australia. The Mayor (Mr E. H. Andrews) said there was notfcing finer in New Zealand than the new shed, the construction of which marked a great forward movement in the transport of goods. Now Christchurch was looking forward to a new station and the tunnel road. Mr R. M. . Macfarlane, M.P., said some people had been inclined to criticise the building of the shed, but he thought Christchurch people generally were pleased. There was every prospect that the new station. would be built in a few years. Christchurch was getting a good share of the expenditure of public money. The General Manager of Railways (Mr J. Sawers) said the new shed, easily the largest in' New Zealand, covered an area of more than, two and a half acres. It had been well built by the contractors (C. S. Luney, Ltd.), and a good job had been made of the paving by British Pavements, Ltd. The steelwork of the roof, an all-welded job, had been fabricated at the Addington workshops and erected by the Railway Department. The building, with its long length of tracks would mean a great saving in shunting and reduce the risk of accidents on dark nights. There would be a great speeding up of the turn round of clients’ vehicles, with a valuable saving every day to business firms. Less Overtime The. new facilities would enable the increased volume of business to be handled without the staff’s having to work its present long hours of overtime, said Mr Sawers. In the old shed men had been working until midnight and 2 a.m., but in the new shed they should finish several hours earlier. The shed would provide better working conditions for the staff, for whom an up-to-date luncheon room and general common room were to be provided on the other side of Colombo street. Mr Semple congratulated Christchurch on getting such a good shed. He thanked the contractor and all associated with him on the job. It was an essential part of the reorganisation preceding the erection of the new sta--tion. He would outline the Ministry of Works’ development plan for Christchurch whpn he returned in three weeks.

After the opening ceremony, morning tea was served in the railway refreshment rooms, where Mr C. S. Luney presented Mr Semple with a silver tea service.