TE ARO RAILWAY

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8474, 8 July 1913, Page 10

TE ARO RAILWAY

AN UNSETTLED QUESTION CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HOPES FOR THE BEST. A report upon the recent interview between the Minister of Railways and the deputation from the Chamber of Commerce and Harbour Board on the subject of Te Aro railway was presented to the council of the chamber by the president, Mr A. E. Mabin, yesterday afternoon. Mr Mabin’s comments upon the Ministerial replies were unanimously endorsed. After saying that the Minister of Railways explained that it was in his mind to make an auxiliary goods station at Te Aro as part of the central station arrangements, Mr Mabin submitted that this was a proposal quite oonirary to sound methods ior the conduct of railway business with ortfer and despatch. Such an appendage to tna mam station and within such a short •distance of it would undoubtedly be an expensive and irritating hindrance te proper working. No figures were produced, but the M inister believed to at oae-third, if not one-half, of the goods, ~nd nearly all the timber, would go to Te Aro. 'inis estimate, it was presumed, referred to the local traffic for me city, which was probably only a tithe ot the total handled by the rail,vav, the bulk of which was to and from shipping and the wharves. In any case it did not follow that because a consignee’s business was at Te Aro all. his goods must necessarily go there. A merchant would certainly always take the quickest and cheapest method of distribution. This undoubtedly would be by delivery from the mam station, thus avoiding the delay and expense inseparable from a divided traffic. Timber or road gravel, etc., did not require a goods shed for discharge, nor would the elaborate array of sidings proposed hasten the arrival and despatch of such goods. The fruit and produce markets,, therefore, were the main users who would probably be affected by the Minister’s proposals. The Minister suggested, in order to avoid danger to traffic along Jervois quay, that the trains could be run late at night and early in the morning. The trains under such a proposal would havo to be delayed at Thorndon for sorting and shunting, and the produce merchants would be the first to complain of the delay, and the demand would arise for day trains or the goods would be I’ftod at Thorndon by motor traffic. Tho latter in any case would be less costly and more rapid. The Minister made a point of his opinion that the provision of facilities at Te Aro would reduce by so much the necessity for facilities at Thorndon, but this would not work out in practice. It was clear that the Minister’s proposal meant that by a sum at least equal to the cost of the land acquired and the cost of laying out the yakds and buildings, the central scheme was to be robbed, and the Dominion would be asked to foot an enormous expenditure on the combined scheme, which would bring forth strenuous opposition from other parts of the Dominion and satisfy no one.

The Prime Minister’s reply was satisfactory, inasmuch as he the matter was one which no individual Minister could deal with, hut the whole nuestion would have to be settled by Cabinet. Therefore tbey could, so, tbev honed, rely upon the collective wisdom of the Government to do what was obviously the right thing—to concentrate the rail "-ay service of the city to one point. (Hear, hear.)