Oxford Branch Railway Line Closing Criticised

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29010, 26 September 1959, Page 14

Oxford Branch Railway Line Closing Criticised

(From Our Parliamentary Reporter)

WELLINGTON, September 25. A charge that for some time before the closing of the Oxford branch railway line one Railways official had been working solely with -the view of having the line closed was made by Mr W. H. Gillespie (Opposition, Hurunui) in the House of Representatives during discussion of the Railways estimates today. Mr Gillespie said that before the announcement of the decision to close the line, the official had sent a note to a member of a road transport organisation suggesting that he make an offer for rental of the main offices at the station.

Mr Gillespie said that before the closing of the line he had understood there would be an When and where had that investigation taken place? The Minister of Railways (Mr Moohan) had not visited the area, as he had promised to do, and the General Manager of Railways (Mr A. T. Gandell) had said it was years since he had been there.

It was true that a senior Railways official saw the Oxford County Council, and had some discussions, Mr Gillespie said. If what was promised then had been carried out by the Railways

Department, the line would not need to have been closed. Mr Gillespie said that on a mileage basis the loss on the Oxford line had been considerably less than that on the main South Island system. The Minister had said that the amount of traffic was negligible, and that the freight could be carried by a few lorries, but this was not correct.

“It was true that as a result of what was done by the local people after discussions, 1171 tons more produce was carried in the last year of the line than in the previous year,” said Mr Gillespie. “If the Railways Department officers had carried out their share of the bargain, the line could have run at a profit in the next' year.” He said that when the line was closed 1000 tons of logs were lying at the railside awaiting transport to Lyttelton for Japan. They were lifted later by trains specially sent in for the purpose, and the extra premium on this could have meant the difference between the winning and the losing of a contract.