RAILWAY WORKS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22724, 10 May 1937, Page 11

RAILWAY WORKS

THE EAST COAST LINE HEAVY COUNTRY TRAVERSED INSPECTING MEMBER'S TOUR [by telegraph—OWN correspondent] BLENHEIM, Sunday "It will be interesting to see which of the two lines, Gisborne or the South Main Trunk, will be ready first, and so far as I can see it will be about* a dead-heat," said Mr. E. P. Meaclien, M.P., yesterday, when commenting on the progress on the Napier-Gisborne line, of which he has just made a four days' inspection, at the request of the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. R. Semple. Mr. Meaclien gave it as his opinion that a service train would be running to Wairoa from Napier by August at the latest, and that the line would bo open for general traffic to that point by the end of the year. The Mohaka viaduct, a marvellous piece of engineering, was practically ready, and its construction reflected the greatest credit both on the engineers and the men responsible for it.

Difficulty ol Access

North of Wairoa, however, and beyond the point which trains were already operating, the country was of an exceptionally heavy nature and one of the great difficulties was the providing of access to the construction works themselves. It meant the building of special roads in many cases and particularly where the frequency of tunnels was high the hilly nature of the country made even the provision of access a very difficult problem. The distance to be completed on the Gisborne line Mas less than that required to put the South Main Trunk in operation, but that was more than made up for the rough country that had to be traversed.

Although excellent progress was being made, which would be accelerated when the more up-to-date equipment on order arrived, Mr. Meachen thought the final stage of having the linas in full working order would be reached just about the same time in both islands. Mr. Meachen's inspection of the line was made to inform the Minister of the general progress being made, with special consideration to the organisation and methods adopted and the possibilities of expediting the work. Excellent Progress "The Government realised, as everyone should, that the more quickly the job can be completed, the sooner will the people receive the services they have been waiting for so long, and the sooner will the heavy overhead costs be reduced," Mr. Meachen said. "A good deal to help matters can be done by co-ordinating work of various branches, with a consequent increase of efficiency. 1 spent four days on the line, on which I myself was engaged building accommodation in 1928, and I am satisfied that excellent progress is being made. With the arrival of more modern machinery the work will be pushed along with even greater expedition. That also applies to the South Main Trunk, but in the case of the latter line the country is hardly as formidable as on the northern section of the Gisborne line. It is a matter for congratulation that in spite of the exceptionally heavy nature of the country the work has been remarkably free from serious accident."