THE LINE TO TE ARO

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1427, 30 April 1912, Page 6

THE LINE TO TE ARO

RETAIN IT ORiNOT? CHAMBEROF COMMERGE SAYS "NO." What attitude to take up with reference to tho To Aro railway station and line formed tho business Jjeforo n special meeting of tho Chamber of Commerce, held yesterday.' Mr. A. E. Mabin, chairman of tho council of tho chamber, presided, ■ and there were about forty members present. - Mr. G. Shirteliffe wrote'stating that ho was opposed to the establishment of n goods station at To Aro. Tho present loss on tho lino would bo increased by Uie enlargement/of the station. Tho Department had already recognised tho unsuitti-biliry-of Te Aro station by withdrawing n large number of the passenger trains. Moreover, the land adjacent to the station could bo moro profitably used then lor railway goods purposes. In addition to theso considerations there were drawbacks and risks in running trains, through the principal -business: thoroughfares. Plea for Te Aro. Mr. Leigh .'Hunt explained why tho meeting had been called. Last November- n motion had been carried through the conncil affirming tho desirability of having a goods station established at Te Aro, and this had been referred to in the chamber's last annual report, which pointed out that this project could certainly, be carried out. When tho new council met he had been astonished to find cpposiuon among new members, at'whoso instance an amending motion had been earned, suggesting that tho chamber should approach tho Government with a view ot having the lino pulled up. Ho felt that the council had stultified the chamber, and, in order that the council should have a pioper direction from members, the general meeting had been called. He moved that the policy outlined in the last annual report be reaffirmed, and that tho council bo instructed to give effect to it. He urged that tho line, which was now being run at a loss, would probably pav better if it could carry freight traffic. It would then servo as a convenience to tho many warehouses and fruit markets at the le Aro end Tho scheme was not now open to tho objection was no room for a shunting yard at To Aro. There were several acres of dock site now available. The other objection of the danger of tho lino running through a street was not a good one. There was not the slightest chance of the lino being pulled up. Ho was sure that no Government would tako away a lino in the face of the opposition which might be created by such a proposal. . In any case, the number of trains need not be materia Ily increased by goods traffic. The congestion of traffic along" Jervois Quay was very largely due to tho fact that thero was no goods depot at Te Aro. He assured members that tho agitation was not Ming promoted in the interests of (he'fruit markets. "The City Must Spread Southwards." Tho proposal had the support of the farmers' Union, the Citizens' League, and the Wellington members of Parliament, whose intention it was to organise a deputation- to the Minister on tho subject. The railway would probably ono

day "0 out to Mir.imnr, where future, industries would be largely carried on. He believed that the holders of Harbour Board nnd City Council leases would give up their allotments in the city in the course of-years, and go south, where they could get freeholds. He did not see the force of 'the'•argument, that the request for a subsidiary ' small station would jeopardise the chances of getting a central station. , , ~ ~ Mr. .T. P. Luke seconded tlie motion. He deplored the action of the council in passiri" a resolution whicb seemed to suggest a step backwards. This city must spread southwards, nnd the industrial centre would bo the "WOO acres of land nt Miramar r „aud the,ftat land, in tho Xilbirnie district. There were Jeremiahs in business in tho citv, but the city would progress' for air that, and the -railway was useful now, and would become . increasingly more useful. Mr. B. Dawson supported . the motion. He ridiculed the argument that the running of the trains was not safe. Moreover, if the passenger trains from Te Ato were stopped now. the trams would not be able'to carry the people to the central station. In Wellington, which was the worst-served city in the world in Tcgard to railway facilities, tho tendency was to push the-railway traffic northward, while

tho city" was extending southwards. It certainly did not seem right for the chamber to move in the direction of shutting off railway facilities from the vast, population which would'yet bo found on the Wiramar.peninsula. The Contrary Opinion, Mr. G. Pilcher spoke as one of the leaders nf the opposition. The attempt to establish an auxiliary goods-shed less than a mile away from the central station was absurd and unworkable from a railway point of view. He had been able to convince the council of this, and only -Mr. Leigh Hunt and Mr. Bollinger had .-voted against him. If there was to be a central station.in; Wellington, it must bo made by an aggregation of all the traffic at one point. The work must not be done piecemeal at points nil over the .place, land had been provided at the northern end bv previous Governments for railway purposes. People dealing with railway matters on tho council did not seem to

understand what large areas were needed lor station yards, for long lengths of lino to .carry long trains. Ho enlarged upon tho danger and nuisance caused by trains running along the waterfront, and urged .that-more traffic would aggravate this. Jle'••believed that one of the troubles obsessing the engineers in drawing plans for « central railway station in Wellington was this useless 'tag end of a line to Te 'Aro. Thero was no traffic on it to speak cf, and the few passengers could be carried more cheaply by trams. No doubt 'tlie trains would some day have to run south to Miramar, but anyhow this length t<> Te Aro was of no account. Probably a different route would be chosen, possibly underground or overhead, and possibly there would be a different kind of traction altogether. He shewed by quoting from previous ■ annual reports of the. chamber that the proposal to tako up the To Aro rcction was no new one, having been more than once affirmed by the chamber. He /urged that the council should be allowed to follow the policy of insisting that this useless and expensive excrescence of tno (Jo Aro railway should bo removed. "Look Forty Years Ahead." Mr. W. Jack thought that nothing could be gained by placing the matter beforo members' as a motion of want-of-confi-donce or otherwise.. In considering tho question we'must look at least 30 or 40 years ahead. He could not see how it was possible that in this time all tho suburbs would not bo served by railways. Would a station up at the noTth end ever be in fact a central station? If a railway Btation were to be really central it must bo about the centre of Tory Street. Mr. Dawson: Or in Adelaide Eoad or the Basin Reserve. _ Mr. Jack admitted that the Basin Roocrve offered itself to anyone casting about for a station site, but the people of 'Wellington would think n long timo be-

Iforo allowing any of their recreation grounds to be taken. (Hear, hear.) He ■remained unconvinced by Mr. Pitcher's arguments. , Air. .T. M. Fleming supported the motion. It was admitted that the railway ,was not paying, and it was also admitted that the Government would never take tho railway up. This being so, would it not be wiser to make the line pay by opening it for freight traffic. "A Jolly Nuisance." Mr. J. Q. Harkness said he could not Bee how the annual report could bo regarded as binding on later members. Wellington's best asset was the harbour, and this line running across the wharf en-

trances along Jervois Quay was now, and would always be, "a jolly nuisance, or worse. There should he a conference of representatives of the Government, the Harbour Board, and the municipality before it was agreed that the line should go on tho street level or not. He believed in the future nf Wellington, but If tho chamber were to uso their influence to have this line kopt running, they were going to help to hamper the city's progress. Tho chairman (Mr. A. K. Mabin) enlarged upon Die inconveuienco caused hy tho running of trains along Jervois Quay- Years ago, when the train" ran everv halt-hour, tho troins weroa perfect curse in holding jip. iaarf

traffic, nml the members of the chamber hnd lad to beseech the Government to stop tho trains. This plan of a goods depot at Te Aro (Hd not lit in with tin* plan of a control station. Ho believed that tho proposed plans of the Wellington Central Station were on. the lines oi the Redfom Station in Sydney, in winch train's for various lines would run into dead-ond docks. If tho To Aro line were insisted upon, this scheme would be impossible, for it would then bo necessary to have u general platform with the trams runuinif through. If this were to happen the station would have to remain where it was, instead of at about Jimmy Street, where there would be no room lor a station on the plan of, say, the Palmerstou North Station. Mr. T. Ballinger supported Mr. Leigh Hunt's motion briefly. Mr. J. Macintosh explained that although, his name appeared on the requisition, calling together the meeting, it did not follow that he was in favour or all that Mr. Leigh Hunt had urged. He thought that tiio discussion hnd wandered very far from the original proposal of a small goods-shed at Te Aro. It Old not follow that he was in favour of the cnitiuuation of the Te Aro line; he was not in favour of anv such thing. But he did think it wns time tho Go eminent were induced to say exactly what they meant to do about a new railway station hero. . , , ~ i Mr. Leigh Hunt, in reply, urged that it was no light matter for the Chamber of Commerce to advocate the tearing up of a line of railway that was very largely used. 'j'ho motion was defeated on a show of hands by W votes to 31.