NEW RAILWAY STATION

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 52, 25 November 1930, Page 11

NEW RAILWAY STATION

Ceremony at Auckland OFFICIAL OPENING By Telegraph.—Press Association. Auckland, November 24. Auckland’s new railway station was officially opened by the Hon.. W. A. Veitch, Minister of Railways, this afternoon, in the presence of a large gathering of people representative of all shades of politics as well as the business community and railway officials. After a number of speeches the Minister mentioned that criticism might be building with a gold key which was presented to him to commemorate the occasion. . In the course of his speech the Minister metnioned that criticism might be levelled against the location of the station and the relative positions of the building and platforms, but these bad been enforced, by circumstances which had had the fullest investigation. Incidentally Mr. Veitch mentioned that the cost of the Westfield deviation was £790,000. The cost of the complete rearrangement' of the reconstruction of the Auckland railway station, with yard and all appartenances, had been £1,250,000. Some of the leading items in that sum were .as follow:—Station building (including platforms, verandas, passenger subways, retaining walls, and forecourt, £365,000; new engine depot, £96,000; outwards goods shed, £46.000; inwards goods shed, £22,000; signalling, interlocking and flood lighting, £75,000; new yards (approximately). £600,000. A very substantial offset to the cost of the project was the value of the old station site, which had been abandoned. Mr. Veitch congratulated Auckland on its new station. The work had been done by New Zealanders almost entirely with New Zealand material. The Hon. J. B. Donald. PostmasterGeneral, said he was a proud man, as the station was in his electorate. The Hon. A. J. Murdoch. Minister of Agriculture, said that Auckland had a station 1 hich would meet its needs for the next twenty-five years. The Leader of the Opposition, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, and the Mayor of Auckland. Mr. G. Baildon. also addressed the gathering.