Nelson Railway Freight Guarantees Not Fulfilled

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27709, 13 July 1955, Page 8

Nelson Railway Freight Guarantees Not Fulfilled

“The basic requirement to assure full development and a profitable and eco- i nomic operation of our railway system' in the South Island is a complete main' trunk system serving every port and; centre from Bluff to Nelson, to Westport, down to Ross and back through! the Otira tunnel to Christchurch.”, said; the railway advisory committee of the Nelson Provincial Progress League in its second report to the Prime Minister (Mr Holland). “About 90 per cent, of this main trunk system is already in operation and, after the completion of the remaining 10 per cent., which surely we can find ways and means of facing now that the economy of the Dominion is so firmly established, there would undoubtedly be given a great boost to production and development throughout the northern area of the South Island, and the volume of rail traffic both for freight and passengers would be greatly increased, thus providing a profitable long-term investment from every ary?le,” the committee’s report said. In a table in the report, the committee showed that against the total of 28.815 tons it had guaranteed for the Nelson section of the railway, an estimated total of 16.666 tons' of freight would be handled in the 12 months from July 31, 1954. In the nine months for which the committee had figures available, a total of 12.500 tons had been handled. The guarantees, grouped under six headings, were exceeded only in fertiliser (138 tons more than the guarantee of 2327 tons), and livestock (270 tons more than 1042 tons),. Coal was least up to the committee’s expectations, being 6995 tons short of the guarantee of 9383 tons. Other items were timber (1698 tons short of the guarantee of 4500 tons), lime (453 tons short of 2565 tons guaranteed), and general goods (3411 tons short of the guaranteed 8998 tons). “The freight tonnage for the previous

comparative nine monthly period was 8000 tons, so that the increase for thei [nine months was 4500 tons.” the comimittee’s report said. “The over-all j •situation is unsatisfactory, and it would, I appear that the target of 2.000 tons will not be reached. The guarantees •included 16.448 tons covering the three I bulk lines of coal, timber and lime against which adverse circumstances, now being overcome, have operated during the period. It is expected that each of these items will show a substantial increase beyond the estimates for the final three months. Farmers’ Support “The position in regard to livestock and fertiliser is satisfactory, indicating j the full support received from primary •producers,” the report said. “The volume of general goods freighted is down, due to the absence of a through : service at railway rates, the active and increased opposition of road transport organisations operating with the benefit of exemptions from the 30-mile re- : strictions dr infringing this restriction without prosecution, and the inactivity of the commercial branch of the Rail- : ways Department to meet this competition.” - Good support had been obtained from .several Government departments, the report said, but the decision to [defer the Braeburn hydro-electric project had obviously curtained tonnage. “The outstanding omission from support by Government departments is the coal supplies for the Nelson Hospital Board and the Mental Hospital at Stoke, the coal for which, totalling ii more than 2000 tons a year, is trans- ; ported by road alongside- the full [length of the Nelson line,” the report said. I “While meanwhile the cost by road I and rail for transport of this coal [ would be higher, a substantial and per- ’ manent saving would be effected once ;the coal could be railed direct from j Reefton. where surplus supplies are I available,” the report said.