SUBURBAN SERVICES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26227, 10 August 1946, Page 6

SUBURBAN SERVICES

THE FUTURE OF MOSGIEL USE OF SMALL RAILCARS REQUEST TO,MINISTER In the course of correspondence between the Minister of Railways, Mr R. Semple, and the Mosgiel Borough Council, the following letter has been forwarded to the Minister by the Mayor of Mosgiel, Mr W. P. Hartstonge:— “I have to acknowledge your letter of July 9 advising that it is not possible at present to give an assurance that a rail car. service will be inaugurated on the suburban line between Port Chalmers and Mosgiel, the reason being the question whether suitable rail cars are likely to be available for this type of traffic. “ Hopelessly Inadequate ”

"Referring to our previous correspondence with you with regard to the

extension of State housing in Mosgiel, my council agrees that the basic difficulty is the hopelessly inadequate and unsatisfactory railway service at present in existence, and if electrification cannot be undertaken within a reasonable time some much better service than the existing one must be undertaken, and the only alternative apparent to my council is rail cars. Having this in mind, the thought naturally occurs that your engineers could design rail cars suitable for handling the traffic which would be met with in the above area.

“My council, and I think the other suburban councils concerned, take the view that this can be done by more numerous but smaller units than those at present ih existence, and would respectfully suggest that your department gives full consideration to this viewpoint. “As previously stated in correspondence with you regarding the extension of State housing in Mosgiel, my council has no doubt whatever that in the next few years—provided the necessary materials are available—there must be a considerable extension of building in Mosgiel, and probably also in Green Island, and to a lesser extent in Port Chalmers. This would be considerably facilitated if there were an efficient rail service, and would be assisted even if in the meantime there were merely a promise that, at the earliest possible date there would be an efficient rail car service. Expansion Assured “My council notes the expressed opinion of Mr G. W. Albertson, as reported in the Otago Daily Times of August 2, that ‘it seems to me that there is no reason why Mosgiel could not become a second Lower Hutt.’ “My. council does not expect any growth ip Mosgiel to be as spectacular as that of Lower Hutf, but unquestionably in the future Mosgiel must be the Lower Hutt of Dunedin, and as industries must come south to obtain electric power, Mosgiel is the logical place for industry in Otago. “In view of the foregoing, therefore, my council respectfully suggests that your departmental officers give consideration in such a way as they think best to'the design and operation of rail car units on the suburban line between Mosgiel and Port Chalmers, with a view to the early inauguration of such a service.”