GISBORNE RAILWAY

Timaru Herald, Volume CLI, Issue 22204, 23 February 1942, Page 4

GISBORNE RAILWAY

Work May Be Stopped DRAIN ON MANPOWER (PA.) GISBORNE, Feb. 21 A steady depletion of staff may result in the temporary suspension of work on the railway between Gisborne and Wairoa. The end of the work is now in sight, and the latest estimate was that construction would be completed some time in June, which would mean that Gisborne would be connected with the trunk railway system of the North Island. „ . . Although there has been no official revision of this estimated time of completion, the drain on manpower :n recent months has been so heavy that work has slowed down, and there is a prospect of it coming to a complete standstill. The work has so far progressed that less than a mile of rails remains to be laid, but the major unfinished undertakings are a 520 ft viaduct at Kopuawhara and two otner bridges. Already the Public Works Department is running freight trains between Gisborne and Wharerata, and further extensions of the service are expected in the near future. Inquiries indicate that the slowing down of work on this line, and also on the South Island Main Trunk, is not owing to any change of policy, which is to complete unfinished lines as early as possible, but is solely the result of manpower being required for more urgent work;