Road v. Railway

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVI, Issue 209, 21 August 1926, Page 8

Road v. Railway

DEVELOPMENT OF MOTOR TRAFFIC. CAREFUL STUDY REQUIRED The Minister of Public Works, in referring in his statement presented in the House of Representatives yesterday to the competition between road and railway said: — Careful consideration must be given to expenditure proposals which involve competition between road and railway, constructed or proposed. It is not fair criticism at this stage to condemn what may now appear to be errors of the past. The extraordinary development of motor traffic has changed the whole position, to the extent that it is necessary to investigate the question as to whether certain lines of railway should not be closed down altogether, for the reason that they cannot, under improved road conditions and resulting competition by motor traffic, pay their way. These railways, in their day developed the financial resources of the district they served. That development has placed the district in a position to improve its roads to a degree enabling motor vehicles to convey farm requirements from town stores to farm, and farm-products to town stores or maiu-line stations or ports. We have obviously arrived at a stage of development where the transport requirements of a district must be studied with .the utmost care, and a constructive policy adopted which will provide the most economic means of transport without duplicating expenditure.