RAILWAY DEVIATION

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 50, 1 March 1937, Page 5

RAILWAY DEVIATION

MINISTER AT PALMERSTON NORTH

EARLY DECISION EXPECTED

(By "The Post's" Special Reporter.) A decision on the question of the Palmerston North railway deviation will be made in the near future, and there is every indication that the railway station and shunting yards will be transferred to Milson, where extensive excavations have already been carried out. This work was stopped in 1929 by Sir Joseph Ward, ihc then Prime Minister, and alterations were made to the existing yards. Since that time the situation has again changed, and there, is inefficiency and congestion in the yards as the result of totally inadequate facilities. ,

The railwaymen themselves are accomplishing great feats of ingenuity in hopeless and sometimes dangerous circumstances, and even if the railway were not to be shifted the yards would have to be totally reorganised. With the'growth of Palmerston North as a city and as a distributing centre and with the inevitable increase in traffic following the completion of the NapierGisborne line, the alterations would have to be most extensive, and even then the present site might outlive its usefulness in a short span of years. There is also the question of the rebuilding of the present rtation, in which the employees are very cramped for space. In 1912 the staff at Palmerston North numbered 182 and today there are 343 railway employees stationed there. In the same period the total staff of the railways has increased from 13,523 to 19,687. Twenty-five years ago the operating revenue at Palmerston North was £20,462 and in the last financial year it reached £93,236. In the period the operating revenue of the station has quadrupled, while for the Dominion the amount has nearly doubled, being £3,494,182 in 1912 as against £0,243,513 for last year. . "INESCAPABLE." "My present opinion is that the deviation is inescapable," said the Minister of Railways (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan) to'the Press at Palmerston North yesterday after he had completed an inspection of the station yards and the Milson site, accompanied by Mr. J. Hodgens, M.P. for Palmerston, the Assistant General Manager (Mr. E. Casey), and officials of the railwaymen's organisations. The Minister had the opportunity of seeing the shunting operations in progress and heard the views of those who contended that the situation might be met by alterations and extensions of the present yards. At the Milson site, he had a conference over the plans with Mr. Casey, and subsequently stated that the tour had given him a splendid picture of the whole position. "Anything'l can say at present can only be an impression of the situation as it presents itself to me after a visit of inspection and without having read the report of an exhaustive investigation by officers of the Department which is in the course of preparation, and without having examined the proposals which were put forward by representatives of the organisations of the railway service," he said. "I have undertaken that these proposals shall receive just as close an investigation as has already been given to other proposals. Further, any opinion which I have has to be discussed with Cabinet, All these aspects are to be kept in mind and qualify;what I am going to say. •' •. _'■ ■ ■_■-, 7 "From .the examination I have mafic and from the /study. of the reports of various committees and commissions, it seems to me reasonably sure that any alteration or any attempt to improve the present site can be only of a temporary nature. It does appear to me at the moment that no permanent solution of the, problem is to be found on the present site. If that is the case, and if my present remarks are kept in mind, it would be unwise to" spend large sums in temporary readjustments. I am also struck by the fact that the proposed new site would mean only, shifting the station from <*"c part of the city to another, and would not actually be taking it out of the city. ■My present opinion. is that the deviation- is inescapable, but once again I must qualify that." RAILWAYMEN'S VIEWS. A discussion on the project took place at a dinner given to the Minister by the executives of the railwaymen's organisations at Palmerston North. The men stated that they were not dogmatic in their opinions, but simply wished to help the Minister by giving him the benefit of their experience. Furthermore, they did not express any views on , the question as it affected the city as a whole, but made it clear that they were speaking only as practical , railwaymen. Among the guests at the dinner were the Hon. M. Briggs, M.L.C., and Mr. J. Hodgens, M.P. Mr. ;A. T. Bedingfield, president of the Palmerston North branch of the Railway Officers' Institute, said that the railwaymen stationed at Palmerston North wished to place before the Minister their views en. the proposed deviation, as compared with the work required to improve the present site. They felt that an expression of opinion was expected from the railwaymen, and they would like their viewpoint discussed1 as a possibility when the whole matter was under consideration. It was their sole aim to be helpful and they' hoped that every aspect of the problem would be available to those who were to make the decision. The railwaymen considered that a deviation of .the railway to Milson would detrimentally affect a large number of people. The station would then be away from the centre of the city, and those who did not. own motor-cars would suffer.: The majority of the people did not own motor-cars, and those who did not depended: on the railways for their transportation. SUNDAY SERVICES. The Sunday services to and from Palmerston North had been most popular. They ' enabled 'the Palmerston North people who could not afford any other, means of conveyance to have a day at the seaside, and a shift to Milson might affect those ■ services, which would then be less accessible. At the same time the railwaymen. realised that there" were great difficulties at the level crossings ■ along the route of the present line, and.there was also the question of" the motor traffic in the square. It had been suggested that that difficulty could be overcome by a.tunnel,-but. they were not prepared, to pass, an opinion, on such a project. However, they did suggest, that the present facilities of the station and yards could be increased by the closing of Cook Street. "We feel that if Cook Street were closed there would >be ample space for the adequate handling of the tramc on the present site for a number of years," said Mr. Bedingfield. Mr. Hodgens said that there was a wide difference of opinion among the local interests on the proposed deviation There was no doubt that they could look forward to an increase m the amount of railway traffic through Palmerston North in the future, both from the town itself and from other districts. When he came to Palmerston North 28 years ago it had a population'of 10,000. Today the inhabitants totalled nearly 25,000, and the increase would continue. ■ The city could not spread to the east owing to the river, and there would be little further set-

tlement in the south owing to the lowlying nature of the country in that direction which was subject to flooding. DIRECTION OF EXPANSION. The natural direction of expansion was tfo the west, and in years to come the land round Milson would be subdivided and built on by residents, with the result that the level-crossing danger would arise there also if the railway were shifted. ' They felt that the main transport service should be as near to the centre of the town as possible. The introduction of the railcars had been a great boon to the people, but their advantage would be adversely affected if they were taken away from the centre of the city. The people who had bought sections at Milson were naturally advocating the deviation, but there were other things besides speculators to consider. For example, the hospital site would be to the windward of the shunting yards, and that was surely not desirable. Mr. J. B. Thompson, representing the National Union of Railwaymen, said that the railwaymen had no vested interests in the controversy over the site of the railway, but they were interested in a great national service which formed the main means of transport for both people and goods. They were anxious to extend that service, and did not want to see it detrimentaliy affected by being placed in a disadvantageous position. They were glad that their opinion was being sought, and had been afraid that, the Minister on arrival would have been seized by the Chamber of Commerce. All they desired was that the railways should be given an opportunity to operate in the most efficient manner, possible. The railways were the largest industry in the country, and were the backbone of the transport system. TRANSPORT CONTROL* Mr. A. E. Johnson, representing the Enginedrivers', Firemen, and Cleaners' Association, said that what was desired was a unification and co-ordination of all forms of transport so that the people could get the maximuml service at the minimum cost. In past years ' there had been wasteful duplication and triplication of services out of all proportion to the general economy of the country, and the cost of that waste had been a burden' on the people. The railwaymen, who took an interest in their job, and in the affairs of the country generally, were' out to assist the Government- not only in extending transport facilities, but also in placing them on an economic basis.

Mr. J. Doig, of the National Union of Railwaymen, said that there had been complaints about the level crossings, the smoke nuisance, and the congestion of traffic in the station yards. On certain days the congestion in the yards was serious, and trains were

sometimes held up for one and a half hours because of the lack of facilities to put them through. He contended that more through trains should be run. That would not rectify the position, but it would ease it materially. The key to the situation was Cook Street. If that street were closed, and an overhead bridge erected for pedestrian traffic, the working of the yard could be made more efficient. The shunting facilities could be increased, and the dispatch of trains expedited. He suggested a rearrangement of the various buildings in the yards, and a new layout of the shunting lines, which could be increased in number and lengthened, thus providing for all the requirements of the station. There, had been more accidents on the roads than on the level crossings.

In reply, Mr. Sullivan said that reference had been made to the representations of the Chamber of Commerce. He was prepared to meet any section of the community engaged in any kind of useful work, and in the discharge of his portfolios he came in contact with various people and organisations. It was only right that he should do so. He would say, however, that no other body of persons he had met were superior to the railwaymen in mental capacity, their conception of sound citizenship, their ability to express themselves, and to formulate a valuable viewpoint. He had been impressed' with the way in which they had placed the fruits of their experience before him, and their representations would receive full consideration. He had spent some time studying the reports of various commissions . and committees which had considered the deviation and as far as he could see each report seemed to contradict the preceding one. It was doubtful whether unanimity could" be obtained, but he had decided- to- investigate the position personally in order to try and form some opinion of his own. The matter had. been .discussed by Cabinet in a general, way. and .not for the purpose of making .a .decision. At the present time, he .was .waiting for a report from the. Department as to whether the present site should be utilised or whether the deviation should be completed. He wanted tp make himself fully acquainted] with all aspects of the problem as it' was inevitable that Cabinet would look" to 'the' Minister of Railways for guidance.'' The railwaymen had no personal purpose to serve when expressing their opinions, which were extremely valuable in view of their experience. ■ After he had examined the different schemes and had received the departmental report, they should be a long way towards a final decision.