WELLINGTON RAILWAY STATION.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIII, Issue 41, 18 February 1907, Page 6

WELLINGTON RAILWAY STATION.

o • INCREASED ACCOMMODATION ASKED FOR. TE- ARO RAILWAY. THE NORTH ISLAND MAIN TRUNK. The Wellington Chamber of Commeice waited on the Acting-Premier this morning on the questions of increased accommodation at tho Wellington (Thorndon) Railway Station, and the desirability of discontinuing the railway service from Te Aro to Wellington. The deputation was introduced by Mr. J. G. W. Aitken, M.H.R. Mr. J. G. Harkness, president of the Chamber, in speaking to the subject of the main station accommodation, read a letter from Mr. Harold Beauckamp, who described the existing Wellington station as a " disgrace to the Empire City." The president went on to deal in detail with the general inadequacy of the accommodation at tbe station, which,- he eaid, was built about twenty-eix years ago, and urged at. length that it was quite unsuitable for present and future requirements, and that the present inadequacy would be greatly accentuated when tho dupl'cation of the Hutt line had been carried out. > Mr. ShiiMiffe approached the subject from the point of view of Dunedin, which has -recently been given an up-to-date station. When thoy bore in mind, he said, that the trade of Wellington was approximately double that of Dunedin as regarded goods, and very largely in excess (ati regarded passenger traffic, it seemed to ,liim they could not very well use a KtTonger argument than that if the new Btation was necessary at Dunsdin, then .increased accommodation was all the nioro necessary at Wellington. Tho Acting-Premier (Hon. W. HallJones), replying to theso and subsequent remarks, said he was certainly not pleased with tho architectural features of tho Wellington station, but if they asked him whether they could cope with tho traffic that exists at present he should say, "Yes, wo can." The only objection he could see was that passengers did not go under the covered way. The platform was nearly 1300 ft long, quite sufficient to meet ordinary tiaffic, and the Government did not hear any complaints. Tho only point was with regard to office accommodation and the internal arrangement of the station. The Government had to be very careful as to tho works they took in hand beyond those which were absolutely necessary. Tho first matter of importance, to his mind, was the safety of tlio traffic, and tho second "wa3 tho provision of the necessary rolling-stock. As toi the Manawatu Railway, he was in hopes some year? ago that tho Government would havo acquired that line. However, thoy did not got it, but they could all see %hat difference the acquisition of that lino would havo made to the accommodation in Wellington. He agreed that the time was now at hand when better accommodation would have to be provided. Ho did not think that the locality of the station would bo much varied, and tho transference of the goods tiaffic to the Manawatu station would, in tho event of that railway being acquired, be a practical solution of the difficulty. Ihe Government had not yet come to any decision with legard to the Manawatu line ; but before '.ho end of next year he hoped that some of them would accompany him to Auckland over the Main Trunk line, and that development might lead to changes which would affect 'the whole situation. It would, not, therefore, bo prudent at the present time to put in hand the erection of. a new station until they knew what was going to happen — probably in a' very short time. In regard to the Te Aro line, they knew that tho number of trains had been considerably curtailed. He had been using the railway building for some months, and had not experienced much inconvenience from passing trains. Mr. Aitken : You are on the wrong side of the building. Mr. Hall-Jones went on to urge that there aro big developments going on at Te Aro, and it tvould be very unwise if the rails were taken up. No one could say what might be required in. connection with that section. The department now only ran the mail trains *and the workers' traiim over the line, and the department carried eomo hundred ! thousand people over the section last j year. Some, sixty thousand season tickets were issued from Te Aro, and when a big development in that district was contemplated ho thought it would be unwise to take the rails up. Several members of the deputation urged, on various grounds, the inadvisableness of continuing the Te Aro railway, the purpose of which, it was argued, were well filled by the new tram service. The Minister, in reply, again statI ed that he could not see his way to take up the rails, and he thought that tho wisest course was to reduce, as far as possible, the number of trains. He would see that nothing was done to increase the dangers of tho traffic. Further, he made a point that it would be unfair to deprive a largo number of people of a, convenience that they had enjoyed for many years. I The deputation then withdrew.