PERSISTENT RAIN CHECKS WORK ON RAILWAY BLOCKS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23021, 11 August 1949, Page 6

PERSISTENT RAIN CHECKS WORK ON RAILWAY BLOCKS

Work gangs engaged on the clearance cf slips on the East Coast Main Trunk railway between Wairoa and Napier were scverly handicapped overnight and this morning by persistent heavy rain which brought down new falls of debris from time to time.

Labouring under these conditions in a breast-cutting which was almost filled by the first major slip in the locality of Raupunga, the men engaged have had to bo on the look-out for new slumping of the banks, and their hopes of clearing the line by tomorrow have diminished. No-one connected with the work is willing to commit himself to a forecast as to when the line will be clear at this point. Information to this effect was received at the Gisborne station this morning from Wairoa, where the officers are engaged in the unwelcome task of keening traffic moving under extreme difficulties.

Passenger Traffic Light

Fortunately, passenger traffic is light, and is confined to travellers who have urgent reasons for being on the move. Others who were able to exercise choice have stayed off the NapierGisborne section, and this fact is making a fairly important contribution to the solution of immediate difficulties.

In place of the express train which normally would have passed through Wairoa today from Gisborne, bound for Napier and Wellington, two railcar units were able to handle all the passenger traffic offering. Passengers by the cars were taken to Waihua, the last station on the Wairoa side of Raupunga, and there transferred to road-cars for the WaihuaRaupunga stage, thereafter joining another railcar combination to complete the journey to Napier. The major slip reported yesterday from Waipunga, between Putorino and Napier, was cleared by this morning, according to reports received in Gisborne. Rail communication between Napier and Raupunga, on the one hand, and between Gisborne and Waihua, on the other, is possible, though under speed restrictions. Road vehicles are being used to bridge the gap between temporary railheads.

The north-bound passengers who left Napier this morning by railcar were due to reach Gisborne at 2 p.m. today.