A NEW DEPARTURE

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 84, 7 January 1928, Page 3

A NEW DEPARTURE

“RAILWAY ROAD” SERVICE NELSON-MURCHISON EXPERIMENT From Afonday next the extension of railway service from Glen Hope to Alurchison, L for which the Nelson district has agitated for many years, will be in operation. The Nelson-Alurchison line is on the way to the West Coast, railway communication with which has long been a desire of the Nelson province. This lailway link, however, is one which successive Governments have been unwilling to establish, because it did not appear likely that sufficient business would develop to make it worth while. Before the motor era, when the lute Air. Herries was Alinister of Railways, the line was extended to Glen Hope, and ’it was then made clear by the Alinister that this extension, as far as his Government was concerned, was likely to be final. Recently Air. Radio, commercial manager of the Railway Department, visited Nelson district, and as the result of his report the Government promised that something would be done. Now a definite system has been decided on, and arrangements have been completed for its working. Instead of putting a railway line from Nelson through to Alurchison, the Railway Department has let a road tontract to a local carrier, Alessrs. Spiers and Sons, to deal with traffic between Glen Hope and Alurchison. This traffic will be dealt with as if it were railborne. Intermediate depots have been decided on, and will correspond to flag-stations on a railway line. Goods mav be left and picked up there, and charges will be at a rate corresponding to railway freights for a similar mileage. Onlv railbome goods will be dealt‘with in this way, the passenger traffic being negligible. Thus the Department aims at giving the people of the surrounding districts the immediate benefit of a service which, if a railway line were laid, would be available only after some years of work.