THE RAILWAY SERVICE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23222, 21 June 1937, Page 8

THE RAILWAY SERVICE

More than the people of Wellington will find satisfaction in the contemplation in that city of the new railway station, which was opened for service by the Governor-General on Saturday. A need that was urgent years ago has at last been met, and travellers who may now have occasion to pass through Wellington will be gratefully conscious of that fact when they make a mental comparison between the magnificent terminal appointments of to-day and those of a dingy character that served their purpose in the past. State policy, in the provision of adequate railway facilities in the chief cities of the Dominion, is being gradually extended. Of the railway stations in the four chief centres only that in Christchurch now remains to be brought up to date. There the need for modern accommodation has long been recognised and an assurance has been given that the work will be undertaken as soon as circumstances permit. The formal opening of the Wellington station marked the completion of a labour begun nearly four years ago. It is claimed, with apparent justification, that the new building is to be classed among the best of its kind in the world. Some of the statistical detail is certainly interesting. There is no larger structure in New Zealand, for it covers an area of approximately one and a-half acres, contains 250 rooms and has a floorspace of 185,000 square feet. Its platforms boast an area of two acres and a mile of frontage. The Governor-General did not exaggerate when he commented that it would fully meet requirements for many years to come. Among the features of the imposing pile mentioned by the Minister of Railways is an up-to-date nursery, which will be competently staffed. In point of fact, the provision of amenities appears to have been undertaken on a scale entirely novel in New Zealand experience, .and it is just questionable whether the whole conception might not have been made to conform with a more modest estimate of requirements. The contract price for the work was over a third of a million pounds, which is a large sum for a single terminus when considered in relation to the transport needs of a comparatively small travelling public. It might be pointed out, for instance, that English railway companies, with huge populations to serve, do not find it necessary to cater for their patrons, as regards station amenities, on the elaborate scale demonstrated in the Wellington structure. They concentrate on the provision of the necessary lay-out for the frequent handling of heavy traffic, and apparently they do not expect or encourage travellers to spend more time than is necessary within the station precincts. Wellington, nevertheless, need not be grudged any of the very real satisfaction that is to be derived from its newest acquisition. More than any other railway administrative block in the country, this one had to be designed to serve a national purpose. Those who shared the tremendous task of its creation are entitled to well-merited congratulations.