TAWA FLAT LINE

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 2, 3 July 1933, Page 11

TAWA FLAT LINE

ELECTRIFICATION

SPEEDY AND CLEAN

The announcement that the' line through, the tunnels is to be electrified will bo welcomed by all residents in tho railsidc suburbs from Tawa Flat onwards, as it • will mean cleaner carriages and a, speedier trip. The original proposals were for the electrification of a double track as far as Paekakaviki, the cost of which was stated in the House of Representatives .in February as £277,525, this to include the necessary stations and sub-stations, the conversion, of power, and a complete telephone,; s\%ualling, and lighting system. Apart from the desirability of the cleanliness assured to passengers by electrification, there will be sl distinct gain in speed in transit, as compared, with the speeds attainable with steam locomotives, owing to the rapidity with which the maximum speed can be obtained from a. standing start; : Rising' only 195 feet above sea lever, as against 518 feet at present, the line will have a maximum, grade' of 1 in 100,..and will.' cut out' two-and-a-quarter' 'miles. in aetuardistance. This, even .under' steam traction, "would save '. nearly,. half an, hour to Tawa Flat'in the ea.se of. trains; which now' stop at all ."the" wayside station's, while .it would save"' f ripni fifteen to twenty minutes in "the case of expresses. When it is. reali'sied. that electrification will' add. to the time saved by the cutting out of two-and-a-quarter miles of track, the change from a stupendous climb to an almost level run, and, almost as important, the elimination of curves over a long portion of tho run, it is not unreasonable to conclude that the trip to Tawa',Flat. tppiH take only from fifteen to twenty minutes, which will bring that district into closer touch with. Wellington, than suburbs such as'Lyall Bay and Karori. The electrification of the double track to Paokakariki does not necessarily" mean the' electrification-.of,'the railway yard.at Wellington. '. It is-un-derstood that the same methods will be followed as. at Christehurch, where tho shunting is done by steam locomotives, although the overhead cables are used to run the electric locomotives to their depots; which does not prevent: the steam locomotives-using the same rails. An entirely electrified yard would bo impossible on account of the Wairarapa trains ]'un by steam. If tho original, proposals! are carried out, the terminus of electrification on the main trunk line will be at Paekaka.rild, where the steam locomotives would tako over the trains. ' : \..