ECONOMY IN RAILWAYS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21716, 3 February 1934, Page 8

ECONOMY IN RAILWAYS

DECISION IN VICTORIA SUSPENSION OF BUILDING When work is completed on the 38miles railway from Yarrawonga across the Murray to Oaklands, in New South Wales—the only new line under construction—an era of Victorian railway expansion will have definitely closed. No other extensions are likely to be considered for many years to come. Operations on the Nowingi-Millowa South 35-mile spur line and the EustonLette 30-mile extension were begun, but have been suspended, and postponements of work have been ordered for an indefinite period 011 four authorised sections of track totalling 40 miles. The weakened railway position, says the Melbourne Star, will probably be further consolidated by the closing of some of the many non-paying lines iin the State. There are now 4721 miles of railway track open for traffic in Victoria, built / at an estimated cost of £48,810,958. Fifty miles of track, which cost £423,640, have been closed or dismantled. The biggest individual coiatribution to this eight-figure aggregate came from the 101-mile link between Melbourne and Bendigo, which cost £5,119,916 to build, or an average of £50,748 a mile. That average is iin Btrong contrast with the co*t of construction of the railway connection between Flinders Street and Spencer Street—three-quarters of a roile for £280.029. >