NEW DEPARTURE.

Grey River Argus, 11 January 1928, Page 8

NEW DEPARTURE.

“RAILWAY ROAD’’ SERVICE. NELSON-MURCHISON EXPERIMENT. From Monday last the extension of railway service from Glen Hope to Murchison, for which the Nelson district has agitated for many years, comes into operation. With the West Coast, railway communication has long been a desire of the Nelson province. This railway link, however, is one which successive Governments have been unwilling to establish, because it did not appear likely that sufficient business would develop to make it ‘worth while. Before the motor era, when the late Mr Herries was Minister of Railways, the line was extended to Glen Hope, and it was then made clear by the Minister that this extension, as far as his Government was concerned, was likely to be final. Recently, Mr Rodie, commercial manager of the Railway Department, visited Nelson district, and as the result of his report the Government promised that something would be done. Now a definite system has been decided on, and arrangements have been completed for its working. Instead of putting a railway line from Nelson through to Murchison, the Railway Department has let a road contract to a local carrier, Messrs Spiers and Sons, to deal with traffic between Glen Hope and Murchison. This traffic will be dealt with as if it were rail-borne. Intermediate depots have been decided on and will correspond to flag-stations on a railway line. Goods may be left and picked up there, and charges will be at a rate corresponding to railway freights for a similar mileage. Only rail-borne goods will be dealt with in this way, the passenger traffic being negligible Thus the Department aims at giving the people of the surrounding districts the immediate benefit of a service which, if a railway line were laid, would be available only after some years of work.