RAILWAY STATION.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 113, 14 May 1910, Page 9

RAILWAY STATION.

WELLINGTON'S REQUIREMENTS. DEPUTATION TO THE PRIME MINISTER. THE POSITION EXPLAINED. The necessity for erecting a new railway station at Wellington was urged on the Prime Minister (Sir Joseph Ward) yesterday afternoon, by a depu- I tation representing the City Council, the Chamber of Commerce, the Karori, Onslow, Miramar, Lower Hutt, Eastbourne, and Petone Borough Councils, j the Industrial Association, the Shopkeepers' Association, and other bodies interested. ! STRONG REPRESENTATIONS. The Mayor of Wellington (Mr. T. M. ' Wilford, M.P.), in introducing the deputation, said it desired to put. before the Prime Minister a resolution passed by the City Council, and endorsed by the other bodies, in favour of the erection of an up-to-date central railway station at Wellington. The object of so many public bodies joining in the deputation was to show absolute unanimity in their desire for such a station. Wellington tapped both the East and the West Coast, and it was evident that some such development as proposed was absolutely necessary from the point of view both of the city and the suburbs. The deputation desired to impress on the Prime Minister the urgency of the work. As to the site, that would no doubt be a matter for Sir Joseph Ward and the engineers, bub he said it was the general opinion that the goods traffic should be centred at the Manawatu station, and for the passenger traffic to go to a more central position. Councillor Devine said people coming to Wellington had been outspoken for years on the subject of the inadequacy of the railway stations. Wellington had not been hysterical or hustling in its applications for public utilities, but it was evident now that the time had arrived when Wellington's requirements in this respect should be f ulfiUed. They did not want, anything extraordinary, but a central and up-to-date station, sufficient for the requirements of a growing city such as Wellington undoubtedly is. The chairman of the Chamber of Commerce (Mr. H. C. Tewsley) said that railway facilities were of far greater importance than mail services, and all their energies and any money that was to spare should be devoted to that purpose. The chairman of the Wellington Harbour Board (Mr. R. Fletcher), Mr. H. Seaton (president of the Shopkeepers' Association), Mr. Bull (Industrial Association), Mr. J. W. M'Ewan (Mayor of Petone), Mr. J. G. Harkness (Mayor of Onslow), Mr. Baldwin (Act-ing-Mayor of Lower Hutt), Mr. J. Brodie (Mayor of Miramar), and Mr. C. I. Daseiit (Mayor of Karori) endorsed the remarks of the previous speakers. Mr. Harkness remarked that some years ago the ex-Minister of Railways (Hon. W. Hall-Jones) promised that when the Manawatu railway was acquired the erection of a new railway station would be gone on. with. The Prime Minister : He said it would be considered. Mr. Harkness also urged that it was not right that passengers by train who intended to proceed South should be put down at the Thorndon Station— a considerable distance from the wharf. Mr. Wilford urged that if a new building was constructed it should be built in brick. The Harbour Board, he added, was willing to meet ,the Government in reference to what might be necessary for expediting the AVellington-Lyttelton ferry service. THE PREMIER'S REPLY. The Prime Minister, in reply, made reference to the Dunedin railway station, the cost of which was £49,000, but those who criticised that work added to the cost of the station, the contingent railway yard and track duplication which had been rendered necessary. At Wellington the estimated cost of carrying out what was required ran into between ±^00,000 and £400,000. The making of a station at a centre such as Wellington meant the formation of a number of railway 'tracks whose length would run into several miles. Under the plans now before the Government, which were not by any means so extensive as originally contemplated, the lowest estimate of the cost involved was £215,000. That included a railway station to meet the requirement's ot the city, but the work could not be gone on with until the Hutt reclamation works had been completed and the necessary development works had been ascertained. The plans for the whole scheme, which had been prepared for some time, would necessitate an expenditure of between £350,000 and £400,000; that included the erection of a station suitable for the requirements of the city. The Government recognised that the business of the railway in a seaport such as Wellington could not be handled unless the necessary facilities were provided ; and what the Government in New Zealand was ioinz in that <iiy_tion cost only hundreds of thousands of pounds compared with millions spent in the same direction in older countries which provided no greater facilities. WHEN WILL THE WORK BE COMMENCED? The representations made by the deputation as to the necessity for this new station were valuable from the point of view of public opinion ; the whole matter was in hand, but it was impossible to say when the work would be commenced. The construction of the new station was part and parcel of the whole scheme that had to be carried out, but the department had not yet arrived at the point of being able to determine the exact locality. Ho had always recognised that the station at Wellington was entirely inadequate. As to its locality he would consider the question of whether the local bodies should be consulted. He could, however, foresee a great> many difficulties if the Government consulted the local bodies as to whether a certain site would be considered suitable. The people most likely to fix a suitable site, from the point of view of public requirements, were those with expert knowledge and not connected with loral bodies. He could, however, assure them that the utmost publicity would be given to the proposals of the Government in this respect, and local bodies would have an opportunity of making any representations to the Government on the subject. Mr. Wilford : That is all we want. Sir Joseph Ward, in conclusion, said that the Government was fully in accord with the deputation as to its view of the necessity for a new railway station because the, development of the traffic required it, and he, for his part, should only be too glad to see the Harbour Board affording special facilities in connection with the ferry service. "I hope the Harbour Board won't ask us to pay for it," remarked Sir Joseph. "We are prepared to do our share, but we don't want to pay for the whole of it." The whole question of railway accommoda tion, he said, was receiving attention, but the department could not move until the completion of the duplication works on the Hutt line. He thought that in a few months the Government ought-to arrive «t » definite decision.