Railway Deviation to be Suspended

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 640, 17 April 1929, Page 11

Railway Deviation to be Suspended

government decision expense not warranted Press Association WELLINGTON, Tuesday. That the Government has de- i tided to suspend work on the Palmerston North railway devia- ] tion was stated by Sir Joseph Ward. Prime Minister, this morn- j ing. When the deviation was proposed in j ,v>4 the expenditure was suggested I because traffic developments at that j XXint indicated that it would double in rears Subsequent indications have shdwn that this expectation will not be j fulfilled and that crucial fact, cuupled ' jh financial considerations, has determined the Government in deciding to suspend work. TEN MINISTERS VISIT The important question of the deviation from the present railway station, at Palmerston North has been receiv*e close attention and a most searchinvestigation by the Government fix the last eight weeks, and has been before Cabinet during tliht time on several occasions. Ten Ministers visited Palmerston North personally to examine the work, ind this week arrived at a unanimous decision that the deviation work be not proceeded with. Sir Joseph Ward informed the Press that both himself and his colleagues deeply regretted that in the general interests of the country, not excluding the town of Palmerston North itself, an immediate review of the work was necessary, and the decision arrived at appeared to the whole of the Ministers to be the only one that they could come to in the interests of the country. The Question, from the beginning, was approached entirely free from political considerations of any kind. He would put some of the facts on record, as they presented themselves to the Government. The general public must be the judges, and form their conclusions from the facts as they were now presented to them. £216,000 SPENT The latest estimate of the sum required for carrying out the deviation, including the new station at- Palmerston North and the Whukaronga deviation, which is a continuance of the new portion to connect up the new line with the present line leading to Napier, is. £725,000. That is the lowest estimate made recently by officers of the Public Works and Railway Departments, and the cost of the new railway station, with verandah platforms and subways included in that is estimated at £BO,OOO. The amount actually spent up to March 31 is: By the Public Works Department, £156,000; by the Railway Department (payment for land), £47,000, while there are some land claims not yet settled which are estimated to involve approximately £13,000, a total of £216,000, which, deducted from the latest estimate of the total cost, leaves £509,000 still to be provided to complete the work. The whole of the work, when it is completed, is not expected to produce any additional revenue to the railways whatever. On the contrary, the cost of working the new station and yards will bo increased to an extent of approximately £ S,OOO per annum, apart from the loss of interest and sinking' fund. Between 1921 (when the trafhc reached its peak) and 1928 passenger traffic liad not only not increased but had actually decreased to such a large extent that it was back to about the same as it was in 1905. Goods traffic also reached its peak in 1921, and sinco that time has shown a decrease. “As regards congestion on the present site of the railway station, I desire to say that the conditions as now operating do not show that this exists in any such measure as to justify the huge‘expenditure involved in providing a new station and yards.” An expenditure of about £33,000 m the present Palmerston North railway yard will afford all the facilities necessary. The General Manager of Railways advises the Government that he can see no prospect whatever of extra revenue being earned as a result of the carrying out of the deviation. “The amount already expended will, of course, have its repayment provided for by a sinking fund. No buildings whatever have been erected, and if even in 30 years from now it became necessary to go on with the work, it could be commenced practically from the point to which it has now been brought, and comparatively no loss in the shape of deterioration would have occurred. QUESTION OF LABOUR “In dealing with this Important matter, the Government, as employer of the labour engaged at the Palmerston North deviation, has given the fullest consideration to the position that the stoppage of the works will affect the workmen. At present there are 215 officers and men employed. Most of the formation work is in such a state that it could be stopped at once; but there are several works such as drains and a canal which will have to bo completed to make them safe to avoid future claims for possible damage by flooding. The .requisite number of men will be kept on for that purpose. The majority of the men are labourers, ana a start will be made immediately by sending them forward to the Gisborne-Wairoa railway at a rate of 40 a week. It is calculated by the Public Works Department that most of the men would he transferred within four weeks from th© stoppage of the work, 30 or 40 of them to be retained for the purpose of finishing the drains and the canal mentioned