ROAD TRANSPORT OF CARGO

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27734, 11 August 1955, Page 10

ROAD TRANSPORT OF CARGO

HARBOUR BOARD FREE TO DECIDE ADVICE BY MINISTER OF RAILWAYS The Minister of Railways (Mr J. K. McAlpine) advised the Lyttelton Harbour Board yesterday that it owned the wharves at Lyttelton, and it was competent for the board to arrange for any mode of transport it wished. In the interest of safety, when road and rail transport were working at the same time, it was desirable that there should be agreement between the board and the Railways Depart- i ment. “Jh is * s a ra y of sunshine,” Mr F. W. Freeman commented. “The department has been blocking road transport for 25 years. Now it has seen that road transport is inevitable, and I am pleased to see it has retracted from its stand.” The Minister said there had been a shortage of railway waggons in March, but any suggestion that the department had restricted the supply of waggons was incorrect. “It is very gratifying to get the Ministers assurance that we can use r °ad « r ansport,” said the chairman (Mr F. E. Sutton). There had been a stream of lorries in and out of the port, carting fruit and wool. Road transport should help considerably to get the shipping turned round at the port. Road transport in the past liad always been at the pleasure of the Railways Department, said Mr Sutton.