The Hawera Star. TUESDAY, JULY 22, 1924. STRATFORD MAIN TRUNK LINE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 22 July 1924, Page 4

The Hawera Star.

TUESDAY, JULY 22, 1924. STRATFORD MAIN TRUNK LINE.

Delivered every evening by & o’clock in Hawera. Manaia, N^rmanby. Okaiawa, Eltham, Mangatoki, Kaponga, Awatuna, Opunake, Otakeuc Manutahi, Alton, Eurleyville, Pate*>, Waverley, Mokoia, Whakamara, Obang&i, Ueremere. Fraser Road. and

The deputation from Taranaki which went to Wellington 1 last week to place before, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Railways the desire of the province that the Stratford-Main Trunk line shall be completed as soon as possible, have every reason to be pleased with the sympathetic hearing which they received. The Ministers showed that they fully appreciated the points made by the speakers, and Mr. Massey was able to congratulate them on the way in which they presented their case. When Mr. Coates took the portfolio, of Public Works he expressed the opinion that in building railways it would be far better to concentrate upon the most’ important lines and finish them in the order of their importance, instead of having many sections of line under slower construction, as was the method then in operation. Mr. Coates’ proposal was well received and welcomed as a businesslike way of facing the big task. By the adoption of his method more rapid progress has been made, and the Stratford-Main Trunk line, connecting as it will when completed the two richest dairying provinces in the Dominion, is now regarded as near the head of the list for works w T hic-h should be completed as soon as possible. The gap of thirty-four miies separating the railheads is not a big one, but it lies in country where heavy constructional work will have to be done. Several tunnels of considerable length have to be made, and these no doubt present the chief difficulties to having the. line completed quickly. It is some twenty-three years since the line was started, and though a portion has been in use for some years, the revenue earned is far below what it would be if the line were completed. .The people of Taranaki are interested in the line mainly because it will join this province, with the Waikato, enabling much quicker communication to take place between the two and providing a much shorter route to Auckland. At the present time the long weary journey via Mar ton is far too costly, and the extra distance has no compensations from a biisirressman’s point of view, whereas when it is possible to go from Taranaki to Auckland via the Stratford line much valuable time will be saved. Moreover, coal and other goods which come + o Taranaki from the north by rail will reach their destination more quickly and freights will not he so heavy, while the section of line from Taumarunui to Marton, with its heavy grades, will be relieved of a considerable portion of the heavy traffic which is taxing its capacity at the present time. Again, there are coal and timboi resources in the back oountrv through which the line will pass that may prove of great value when through rail communication has been established. The deputation to the Ministers placed these points before the Prime Minister and Mr. Coates, and it is to be hoped that m the Public Works Statement an indication will be gi\en of how jar the Government can go to meet the wishes of Taranaki. The Minister’s chief difficulty is to find the million pounds required to complete the work, when so many demands are being made upon the Government., but as Mr. Coates has stated, it is not good policy to have a number of lines under slow construction with the capi-

tal invested in them lying idle and eating np large sums in interest, while earning nothing, or at best earning too little to meet the interest charges, and we may be sure that he will do his best to secure the means to enable his department to complete the ■ railway, which should be a, good revenue producer when in operation. The visit of the Taranaki deputation, which set out the unanimous view of the province bn this important line, should encourage the Government to go ahead with the work as soon as possible, for we think that there are few, if any, lines awaiting construction that can he claimed to be more important.