Waimairi to fight for rail loop

Press, 6 December 1985, Page 5

Waimairi to fight for rail loop

The Waimairi District Council’s fight for the retention of- the proposed StyxSockburn railway loop will be stepped up in light of the Canterbury United Council’s recent decision against it. Yesterday councillors on Waimairi’s town-planning committee considered the report, compiled by a working party for the. United Council, and supporting abandonment of the railway loop. They also listened to the objections of Waimairi residents concerned about what they see as deficiencies and bias in the report The chairman of the Residents’ Committee, Mr R. J. Walsham, said that Waimairi would be the district most affected by any decision to remove the loop designation, because the present railway line ran through the middle of its territory. If the designation for the Styx-Sockburn loop was removed there would be no future opportunity to remove what was “a polluting, dangerous and disturbing bulk goods railway line” from the city. The problem would only get worse, especially when

overbridges were introduced to reduce the impact on urban traffic.

The proposal to construct a new railway line between Styx and Sockburn (the Styx Sockburn loop) was initiated before World War 2, and its centre line was gazetted in 1971. The 13.5 km line was intended to replace the present line which runs from Styx to Addington via Papanui. The loop would virtually by-pass the urban area. About 20 goods trains and one passenger train use the present line through Riccarton each day, as it is part of the Main North line, linking Christchurch and the North Island railway system via Picton and the Cook Strait ferries.

Early this year the Railways Corporation advised local authorities of its proposal to abandon the loop and asked for comment.

The corporation wanted to abandon the loop because it considers it no longer an economically viable proposal.

Executive officers of Christchurch City, Paparua, Riccarton Borough and Waimairi District councils, the Canterbury United Council, Ministry of Works

and Development, and the Railways Corporation met to investigate the proposal and alternatives. Their report, with its recommendation to support abandonment of the loop, was presented to the United Council in October and its recommendation approved. Mr Walsham said yesterday that a serious deficiency was the constitution of the working party. A very interested party, the Railways Corporation, was allowed to sit in judgment on itself while an equally interested party, namely residents opposed to the abandonment, were excluded except for written submissions.

The outcome of the report was heavily weighted in favour of the Railways proposal, and heavily weighted against the majority of the report’s findings on safety, environmental factors, and the social welfare of residents, he said. The main factor taken into consideration by the party was that the retention of the line through Riccarton would save the Railways an additional expenditure of $584,000 annually, Mr Walsham said.

Other deficiencies of the report included the lack of comment on the history of the railway line, he said. Originally the line was used to carry passengers between Christchurch and North Canterbury. It has gradually expanded into a bulk goods line used by few passenger trains. Now there was little sense in the line’s going through the urban area of the city, when it could by?ass it, said Mr Walsham. hat way it would affect about 120 neighbouring residents compared with the 1100 it affected at present. Government policy was that wherever possible, main trunk lines carrying bulk goods trains should be moved from the centre of cities, said Mr Walsham. That policy had not been included in the report. Such a move was possible in Christchurch as land had been designated for the loop. The cost of building two overhead bridges, on Fendalton Road, and Northcote Road, had been estimated at $lO million — equivalent to the cost of constructing the loop. However, if the loop was

not built, surely overhead bridges should also be built on Riccarton, Wairakei, and Harewood roads, which were also arterial roads out of the city. The cost of retaining the resent line should be estimated at $2O million, he said.

Ratepayers would have to pay for the overhead bridges (with subsidies from the National Roads Board), said Mr Walsham. If thq loop was built it would be a package deal with all work and bridges funded by the Railways Corporation.

In the report, the 3km distance between the Addington and Middleton railway yards had not been included in the costs of the present line, he said. If added in, this would halve the difference in costs. The present line would cost about $300,000 - not $584,000 - less a year than if the loop was used.

All schools near the present Riccarton line supGrted construction of the >p, Mr Walsham said. Several councillors spoke in favour of replacing the present line with the loop, and agreed with a number of the “discrepancies” raised by Mr Walsham.

Cr Phillip Carter’s recommendation that the council draw up a plan of action with the Riccarton Borough Council to fight against removal of the loop designation, was passed. The Waimairi committee reaffirmed the council’s opposition to abandonment of the loop and will call for the United Council to reconsider its decision.