TE AWAMUTU COURIER Printed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays FRIDAY, 16th DECEMBER, 1949 DEFERRED WORKS PROGRAMME

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 79, Issue 7146, 16 December 1949, Page 4

TE AWAMUTU COURIER Printed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays FRIDAY, 16th DECEMBER, 1949 DEFERRED WORKS PROGRAMME

THIRTY YEARS AGO the. railway; re-arrangement, with provision of a station in all respects adequate for the traffic in Te Awamutu, was officially classified a work of first urgency and a sum to put the work in hand was voted with the approval of the Government and Parliament. In those days there had been a general deferment of many public works, and it became the official duty to list those regarded as being of first urgency when the Great War concluded and normal activities cou’.d be resumed. Even in those far-away days the trade and traffic of Te Awamutu were developing, and the necessity existed within the definition of first urgency. Since then, however, various and varying conditions have contributed to delay, and since then also makeshift improvements have been made in the sheds and yards to meet some of the demand; but virtually the handicaps and difficulties they ex- - isted thirty years ago remain. There can be no question of official recognition, as not infrequently have attempts been made to meet and improve the conditions; but the ruling handicaps of supply have proved* too great and so it happens that this is on e of the deferred works that await the new’ Government. It is a work that surely must have attention immediately conditions allow. In money a considerable out’ay will be required, and there will also be a heavy’ drain on man-power and materials, as it is a major undertaking involving much more than a new station. The grade easement scheme will affect probably two or three miles of permanent way, including the Ngaroto hill, which is perhaps the gradient which regulates train-loading over the whole of the northern King Country section; it can a’so mean again bridging the Mangapiko River, and will certainly necessitate the abolition of the level crossing at the northern end of the station yard. Probably, too, re-alignment and re-grading will be required at the southern approach—in all a considerable .even a major, undertaking. To this fact can be attributed much of the delay in the past, and there can be realisation of awaiting responsibi ity which falls as a legacy’ on the new' Government. But the necessity remains, and cannot be much longei avoided. The problem will not improve w’ith age, but rather will intensify in difficulty as the years pass. The direct consequences fall on a staff • whose misfortune in terms of national service, it is to strive against conditions in Te Awamutu to keep the traffic moving. That they succeed in doing so is well worthy of recognition, and there is certainly realisation of the difficulties experienced and overcome to prove what must unquestionably be the maximum of staff efficiency. That so much traffic can be handled in so little floor space, and in such Topsy-like “ growed ” is to the credit of the men who keep that traffic moving. Similarly, the road services, w’hich act as conveyorbelts between farms and factories, are affected by traffic congestion and general lack of facilities, and there can be equal realisation of service maintained under extreme handicaps. But as a result there is a loss of efficiency w’hich must of necessity cause a w’astage of effort and end in resultant higher costs over a w’ide range of transportation service, and as development expands over a wide district of which this station is the nature’ point of distribution these wrstages must inevitably increase. It is a need, therefore, of first urgency that improvement be not much longer delayed. The railway executives in Wellington are fully aware of the need and the circumstances. The Minister of Railways, Mr Goosman, is equally appreciative of the traffic and the rate of development in the affected locality. It may therefore be anticipated that amongst many deferred undertakings which await the new Government’s attention the urgency and the necessity of adequate railway facilities in Te Awamutu wi’l have recognition and that ways and means will be found to put the work in hand.