TE ARO RAILWAY

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25, 29 July 1912, Page 8

TE ARO RAILWAY

EXTENDED FACILITIES WANTED OLD REQUEST REVIVED. DEPUTATION TO THE MINISTER OF RAILWAYS. A large deputation waited on the Minister of Railways (the Hon. W. H. Herries) to-day, for the purpose of urging the necessity of extending the railway facilities at the Te Aro end of the Wellington system. The points placed before' the Minister were on-all-fours with the representations made a couple of months ago to the ex-Minister of Railways (Mr. A. M. Myers). Dr. Newman, M.P., introduced the deputation, and said that the .matter had been before the Government for a very long time. For years the Te Ato railway had been persistently, starved. The Department would say that it 'did not pay, but how could it pay when the. trains, except the Upper Hutt and Lower Hutt trains, were not run into it. Allen-street was the central market in Wellington, and. yet- all the goods and passengers were landed at the ■wrong end of the town. They asked that a goods-shed should be established at Te Aro, and all trains should be run to that end. Mr. R. W. Gilbert presented a petition with 7500 names in favour of the railway's usefulness being extended. RESIDENTS' AND PRODUCERS' ; • INTERESTS. Mr. A. Leigh Hunt, chairman of the Te Aro Railway Extension and Improvement League, and representing several other organisations, asked that an auxiliary- goods shed should be established at Tel Aro, and that the passenger service should be improved. At present there ■were three terminal points in the railway service at' Wellington, and none of them were satisfactorily fulfilling their functions. They did not wish to touch ou the question of a central station, but they wished to most emphatically urge the' need for better railway facilities for thfr sonthern end of the city. In the matter of dealing with peiishable products it was highly desirable that the best facilities should bo provided. The Te Aro station was about as near to the geographical centre of the city as it was possible to get. In twenty years hence ifc was highly probabie that there would be fifty thousand people on the Miramar peninsula. Any extension of the city had to be towards the south. Then there •was Evans Bay, which was destinod to be a very active place from a shipping and industrial point of view. Industries could not possibly flourish -unless they were connected with the Main Trunk railway system. If there were a goods siding at Te Aro, about nine-tenths of the timber traffic would be landed ther*. All chaff and other produce would also go there. At present this had to be carted about a mile and a half. The milk depot which the municipality was establishing would also, he- understood, be in tht* vicinity of Te Aro. He also quoted a report of the Harbour Board's engineer pointing out the possibility of having the marine passenger servicedealt with at a wharf to the east of the Tara-naki-street Wharf. If a station were established in the vicinity of the dock site it wookl be found that the streets were very wide — a feature not particularly noticeable in other parts of Wellington. They did not wish to rob Thorndon of any of its railway facilities, ' but they believed that if the passenger facilities were improved the main passenger traffic would go to the Te Aro end. Some objection had been made to the railway's existence being continued. Business men objected to the noise, but unfortunately noise and progress went hand in hand. It had also been urged that the trains would cause danger at the head of the Queen's Wharf. ; Mr. Herries: Have there been any ! accidents? Dr. Newman : No, not one. Mr. Leigh' Hunt went on to say that if there was danger it could be obviated by running an Underground railway. In conclusion, he said they did not desire to in any way interfere with- the progress of the centeal railway scheme. A petition was being circulated amongst the fruit-grower* in Hawkes Bay in favour of the deputation's xequest. They had seized th« opportunity to interview the Minister because they believed that they had now a progressive Government in office. The disabilities which the residents were labouring under at present were very acute. WHAT A CENTRAL SITE SHOULD BE. The Hon. J. E. Jenkiason quoted leading authorities to show the necessity of having central railway stations in the centre of the town. He advocated the Te Aro site, which, he said, could be reached from a subway extending from Bunny-street. He claimed that the extension of the railway to Miramar was bound to come, and suggested that the question of a site for a central station should be decided in consultation with a committee consisting of representatives of the various 'local bodies. INDUSTRIAL ASPECT. Mr. J. P. Luke, speaking as one representing the industries of the city, said they had a great respect for the opinion of the departmental engineers, but they would not give way to any preconceived ideaa. He claimed that there were no engineering difficulties in relation to the construction of a subway or an overhead railway. Wellington was a progressive community, and wanted a policy that would develop the railway system. As to industries, he said that Evans Bay was not equalled this side of the line. If the railway were retarded the industries of the city would be crippled. The sooner the Government recognised the position the better it would be for the whole community. Mr. T. Ballinger, president of the Citizens' League, said the league was in favour of a goods-shed being established at Te Aro. Mr I*. G. Bolton endorsed the remarks of _the other speakers. Mr. F. Townsend also spoke. A message was received from the Hon. Mr. Fisher and Mr. W. H. D. Bell M.P., stating that they were thoroughly in sympathy with the request. MINISTER IN REPLY. In reply, the Minister said he was new to the business, and did not know whether he would continue in it — (laughter) — for they all knew the exigencies of political life. The desire of the Government was to progress, and he safd that a Minister could not fail to be impressed by the deputation and the petition it had presented, which showed the desires of the people of Wellington. In connection with the request of the deputation, there were two important matters. First, there was the question of the central railway station. Mr. Luke had never uttered a truer word when he uaid the question was one of £ b. d. Th 3 matter had been put before the Cabinet, but the question was one involving the expenditure of money for t-hfa and other large works which, for this year at all events, could not be found. The question of the Te Aro station, he thought, tvouM have to be considered when the whole matter of the etationing of Wellington was under review. As to whether the buildings of the proposed railway station for Wellington were adequate he could not say. He could not, howeverj hold put anjr hope

this year, because the financial position would not stand it. There was a feeling in the country districts against- large expenditure in the cities, while parts of the country were without railway facilities at all. The second question was that of train-running, and tne provision of a goodshed at Te Aro. "I have no intention, so long as I am Minister of Railways," he said, "of pulling up the line. (Applause.) I believe that there are potentialities in that line which ought to be fostered." He promised to go into the question of train running ■with his departmental advisers. The matter would have his personal attention. So far as the provision of a goodsshed was concerned, he said that he had been impressed with the figures relating to timber and produce traffic placed b«fore him, but this was again a question of £. s. d., and he could hold out no hope in anything involving the expenditure of a large sum of money. He proposed to consult with the engineering ataff to see what could be done. He explained that he was desirous of meeting the wishes of tie deputation, and said lie would be pleased to receive any xepresentainons from the league on the questions of train running and its improvement. Mr. T. Dwan said that the Manawatu Station in the near future would have to disappear. Some of the buildings could be cheaply moved to Te Aro. The Minister replied that he did not know whether the "future" referred to was near or distant. It depended on the financial market in the Old Country. Before the deputation withdrew, Dr. Newman promised to personally conduct the Minister over the site.