No cars north till Coast gets service

Press, 22 May 1978, Page 1

No cars north till Coast gets service

Greymouth reporter No refurbished railcars would be moved from the Addington Workshops to the North Island until the issue of rail passenger services between Canterbury an< the West Coast was settled, the president of the National Union of Railwaymen (Mr G. Finlayson) told a public meeting in Greymouth yesterday afternoon. The meeting, attended by about 300, was called t ■ discuss the Government’s proposal to delete 13 passenger ■ services weekly. The proposed cuts include the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday 6.15 p.m. railcar from Greymouth m Christchurch;

the 6 a.m. Greymouth to Christchurch “sportsman’s” railcar on Saturdays; the 7.40 p.m. Christchurch to Greymouth service on Saturday evenings; and the 1.50 a.m. Christchurch to Greymouth “Press” railcar. After a two-hour meeting during which 14 speakers were heard, a resolution strongly objecting to any reduction in passenger services between Greymouth and Christchurch was adopted unanimously, on the motion of the president of the West Coast Trades Council (Mr R. F. Beadle). The resolution said: “The whole question of rail passenger services must be reviewed to bring about an improved timing and frenuenev of the ser-

vice in order to attract a greater use of the rail services. “The rail services must be retaned to provide both a practical and social service for the people of the West Coast to travel to and from Canterbury. “We have assurances that the present railcars can be refurbished and improved to allow for the retention of the number of services at present provided,” the resolution said. An amendment that a nightly return evening railcar service from Christchurch should be introduced was also adopted. “These cuts have been hovering ovei us since 1976,” said the Mayor of Greymouth (Mr O. H. Jackson). “If we lose one man or one service, we

will not go forward in this area.” Urban development, according to anew report, asserted that transport plans to reduce dependence on private cars should t: run as a service, rather than as an economic success. It should also be made more comfortable. This could lead to better, improved services for the public. A statement by Mr P. Blanchfield, M.P., (who is recovering from an illness) said that he had constantly pleaded for replacement railcars but without success. The major railway issue was the maintenance of the whole railway system between Ross and Christchurch. The District Traffic

Manager of Railways at Christchurch (Mr D. Patchett) said that in September, 1976, the Minister of Railways had announced the conversion of railcars into twin-set rail’ cars, and the changed timetables. In April, it was announced that the changes would be introduced on the West Coast in August.

Mr Patchett said he would report fully to the General Manager of Railways on the outcome of the meeting. Mr Finlayson said he was disappointed that Mr Patchett did not offer “a ray of hope” for the people of the West Coast. The policy of the N.U.R. was to resist any further attacks on people gener-

ally, and railwaymen in particular. “If they cannot fix it, they rip it up,” he said, referring to the Waipara line in Canterbury. “I stopped the lifting of that line until the Railways Department can see that it can be a viable proposition.” “You are only second on the list. There are plans to cut out some services in the North Island,” Mr Finlayson said. Pressure had had to be applied to have a railway link maintained to Picton after the Rangatira was withdrawn.

Not one refurbished railcar would be moved to the North Island until the West Coast got service, he said.

The chairman of the Grey County Council (Mr D. J. Truman) spoke of the effect closings would have on county residents on the Midland line. “We are very isolated. Our travelling involves full-day travel,” he said.

There was no reason why the Government could not improve the railways. One service a day meant that travellers could not return home the same day. Mr G. K. Ferguson, the National Party candidate for the West Coast, said the issue was part of an overall West Coast problem. If there .was no industry, there would be no need for services. “We need to produce more: we have the storehouse,” he said. Mr Ferguson said that the manager of “The Press” had said that it considered the railcar service the most efficient way of getting “The Press” to the West Coast even though he was disappointed about recent breakdowns. “The Press” paid normal commercial rates “plus.”

The Deputy Mayor of Hokitika (Mr H. R. Pierson) said that the cuts were “a thin end of the wedge.” Hokitika was getting a new railway station. “Why, I don’t know. Hokitika has not seen a railcar in years,” he said. The Labour Party candidate for the West Coast (Mr T. K. Burke) said rail had to be given a central role in communications. The Government had to give direction and encouragement. The railway was publicly owned, and existed to service the public. Its role must be increased and not reduced. The present policy appeared to be one of balancing the books. The member of Parliament for Christchurch Central (Mr B. G. Barclay) said not everybody in New Zealand could afford air services. The Labour Party transport policy was that railways were to be the backbone of the country’s transport system; Labour’s official policy was that there would be no closing of branch lines, and that there must be a rural revival.

“I want to join with you in your fight to keep your railway services with Canterbury,” Mr Barclay said.

The Social Credit candidate for the West Coast (Mr E. T, O’Connor) said, “No-one had cared a damn” about the railcars for years. He believed that the railways could build railcars of a size to suit different lines, rather than using large railcars for a small number of passengers on some services.

At the end of the meeting, representatives of the Regional Development Council. West Coast Futures, and trade unions agreed to form a group to prepare a case to take to Wellington; and Mr Barclay agreed to discuss the issues with the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, the Canterbury Trades Council, and other groups.