'NO CHAOS IN GOODS SHEDS’

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32678, 6 August 1971, Page 10

'NO CHAOS IN GOODS SHEDS’

Since July 12 cargo from 20 ships had been unloaded at Lyttelton and the large quantities involved had inevitably caused backlogs in the railways goods sheds, but there was no chaos, the district traffic manager of Railways (Mr A. D. Campbell) said yesterday.

He was replying to remarks! made at a meeting of the| Canterbury Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday about delays in the movement of goods through the goods sheds.

Overtime had been, and was being worked to deal with the increased traffic and as a result he was pleased to be able to say that the backlog was decreasing, said Mr Campbell. So far as he was aware there was nothing to prevent road carriers from carting goods from Lyttelton to Christchurch and in fact they were doing this. The Railway Department certainly did not stop carriers working from the ship, said Mr Campbell. In fact last week he had had some discussion about altering the berthing of a ship to permit

unloading on to trucks but without success.

Mr Campbell said it had always been the department’s policy to make as early a delivery as possible but when there was a heavy influx of cargo, as there had been recently, it was not possible to deliver it all immediately. Numerous complaints about excessive delays in the delivery of goods landed in the inner harbour at Lyttelton and cleared through the Railways Department’s E shed have been received from members of the Canterbury branch of the Bureau of Importers and Exporters, according to Mr J. Morrison, convener of its shipping and transport committee. “Whilst agreeing that a serious problem does exist, it appears from investigations made so far that some of the delays occur from factors outside the control of the Railways Department,” said Mr Morrison yesterday. “The shipping and transport committee, which is at present investigating the matter, has already met the district traffic manager of Railways, and is now arranging a combined meeting with all interested parties. “The bureau is adamant that the inconvenience suf fered by importers and thi public generally by excessiv< delays has existed for Ion) enough. The reasons for th delays must be pinpointe and the necessary actio taken to prevent them."