Plans suspended

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32612, 21 May 1971, Page 1

Plans suspended

(From Our Own Reporter)

WELLINGTON, May 20.

Plans by the Railways Department for the purchase of a slm Transtainer crane for Wellington have been suspended after the British shipowners’ decision to cancel plans for an AngloNew Zealand container service.

Cabinet approval for the purchase of the crane, which was to have been used to load or unload trains carrying containers, was granted last year.

Design work on the crane, which was to have been delivered towards the end of this year, has been proceeding, but no contract has been signed. The crane for Wellington

was to have been followed by the purchase of a similar crane for Auckland to have been delivered in the last quarter of 1973, tc coincide with the start of the United Kingdom-New Zealand service.

Although the railways have yet to study the matter in detail, it is probable that huge side-loaders of Goliath type cranes will be used for unloading train-borne containers.

Although the British shippers would have used only four ships op the United Kingdom-New Zealand container service they would have accounted for twothirds of all container traffic in and out of New Zealand. The East Coast North America service will involve 12 ships, but because they will call at other countries, the tonnages and number of containers involved will be considerably less. In Wellington the common user terminal, which will handle the East Coast North America service, comprises eight acres and a half, with room for further expansion if necessary. The British shippers were to have an area of 32 acres, all of which is now surplus to the Harbour Board’s immediate and known future requirements. In addition, the board has legislative approval to reclaim another 10 acres which was to have been made available to the British lines, but now this will certainly not be proceeded with for many years. The Auckland Harbour Board has set aside nine of its 232-acre terminal for the common user terminal, which means that 16 J acres are now I surplus.