NEW RAILWAY STATION.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 57, 30 November 1907, Page 6

NEW RAILWAY STATION.

BUILDING IN CONTEMPLATION. TAKING IN MANAWATU.' The glory of Wellington is not its railway station. Even tho General Manager for Railways (.Mr. T. Ronayno), who doubtless makes the best of. it, admitted yesterday to a Dominion representative that Wanganui, Mastorton, Oamaru, and Timaru have better railway stations than the Empire City. 11l proportion to importance and population, Lower llutt,, l'etone, Dannevirke, Aramoho, and many .other smaller centres are better oft than Wellington in this respect. lint all that may bo changed in another year or two. It would probably have been changed before this; had not the" uncertainty of the Government's plans in regard to taking over the Manawatu lino causcd action to be deferred. Now the Government has oppressed its intention to acquire this line, and the question of a new station comes tj tho foro. It will have to bo dealt with-next year, is tho General Manager's opinion. ' AN INTERESTING IDEAL. In a room of the RailwayJDcpartmont yesterday a Dominion representative noticed a large, handsomely franred drawing which depicts a bird's-eye view of tho proposed new Wellington Railway Station. The plan has recently been drawn by tho draughtsmen of the Department, and it depicts a station which shall combine the present Manawatu and Wellington stations. That, Mr. Ronayno explained, will be a first necessity of the new building, soon to be required. Tho whole of the passenger traffic by both lines will have to start from the one station, whatever may be decided upon with regard to the goods traffic. Tho plan before-mentioned, of which the leading features were oxjlained to our representative, sets forth an ideal rather than an immediate working design, but the ideal is very interesting. It is suggested that the new building shall face Bunny Street, with four platforms, each about ,600 ft. long, running o(E at right angles parallel with Eeatlierston Street and Waterloo Quay. The station will occupy tho entire breadth, between these two streets. This general design is in conformity with tho most modern system of arranging terminal stations, and it has the great advantage that arriving and departing trains can occupy different sides of the same platform. The public, after entering the station, will debouch upon a fine broad head platform, covered by an arched glass roof, from which' they will set off dOT'n whichever of the four parallel platforms gives access to a particular train. Verandahs are provided- for cacli of these four platforms. Tho plan provides'for a side-line to Te Aro, and shows also the tramway un Charlotte Street, which the City Council litis in contemprution. . . Tho foaturo of the plan, which is, perhaps, most conjectural, is tho making provision, in the station building, for \ all tho Departmental offices. The building is made of four' stories for this purposo, and tho inference is' that tho splendid railway offices now in occupation, which havo not been built many years, would be put to other Departmental uses. The cry of insufficient room' is frequent in tho Civil Service, hut with the very largo provision that is already being made in 'the addition to the Government Buildings, new Public Trust Office, new Pest Office, and other orections, it,is hardly likely that tho present largo railway buildings will be needed by other • Departments for some years. to como; so that this feature of the plan may not-havo much: practical importance. '• •PRESENT DRAWBACKS. - Tlio present station buildings, Mr. Ron-' ayno states, are very unsuitable, though the Department lias mado them serve, fairly well. The principal cause of inconvenience is the parcels office, which is not large enough, but this trpuble lias been relieved to some extent by tho tendency for more parcels to be'sent through tho post, instead of dircctly through the Railway Department.The railways have to carry them just tlio samo, but they are packed in'hampers, which greatly facilitates handling. Additional sidings will also bo : required'for the new King's Wharf, but these will bo ready, Mr. ltonayno states, before the wharf is finished. A new railway station has recently been provided for Dunedin, and new stations are "in the air "-with rogard to ■ Christchurch and Auckland. When the Auckland station was built about twenty years ago, it was thought that lavish provision for tlio future was Doing made, but the rapid progross of railway business has considerably exceeded tho allowance mado for it.