RED TAPE AT SPYE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17039, 12 May 1923, Page 2

RED TAPE AT SPYE.

MAIL CARS BLOCKED. RESIDENTS INDIGNANT. On Thursday the 'Royal Mail car ! conveying mails and newspapers from Ouristchurcli to Cheviot used a. .portion of tiie railway track in order to avoid a bad washout on the road at Spve. Yesterday, however, the railway tracii was blocked to the mail car, the gates having been locked by the local ganger. .However., a lord was constructed through the washout by residents of the neighbourhood and the car was able to proceed on its journey. Jno local residents are extremely indignant at the action of the Railway Department in closing what appeared to be at the time the only means of communication. Mr F. R. .C'limie a organiser of the Canterbury Progress League, stated to-day that last night he was informed that the Railway Department had blocked, a portion of the railway track to the cars conveying mails and newspapers to and from Cheviot. It had token the Progress league, in conjunction with the engineers of the Waipara and Cheviot Counties and the i local residents, a good deal of trouble ; to organise a mail service to Cheviot, i When the service was being organised i it was found that the only possible wa* i of getting the mail car through was j by diverting it at Spye on to the railway line lor a distance of about a- ! quarter of a mile so as to avoid a, very ! severe washout on the road where a small bridge, had been carried away. On Thursday the car got through by going over the railway lino. local settlers putting, planks across the cattle stops. On Friday, however, it was found that the railway gates had been locked by the local ganger. Mr Ciiniie said that when he was informed of what had occurred he communicated with Mr J. D. Mitchell, district traffic manager, who very courteously went to some trouble to find out the position of- affairs from the Engineering Department, Mr Mitchell not being aware of what had hapjKaoed. Mr Climie said that he had since been informed that the cars were cutting up the railway track to the detriment of the railway and that such a thing could not be tolerated by the Department.

Mr Climie said : While I agree with the Department that under ordinary circumstances road traffic should not be diverted to the railway track, I think that under the special circumstances, when the whole section of the railway was out of order and every endeavour was being made to meet an exceptional situation in order to maintain communication with Cheviot, the Department should have allowed the Royal Mail cars to use the track. I desire to express my strong indignation at the inconsidei ate action of the Railway Department in closing what, at the time, appeared to be the only means of getting through to Cheviot. It is actions such as these that bring the Department into bad repute. Fortunately for the people of Cheviot, by the prompt action of the local residents and Mr W. T. Lindsay, engineer of the Waipara County, a for<d was made across the washout on the road and so the mail car was able to get through yesterday. The Railway Department will, therefore, not be bothered any further as far as the use of its track is concerned.*’ In conclusion Mr Climie said that he did not hold that the Department should have allowed all ears to use the railway track but he thought they should have allowed the Royal Mai! cars to use it. When the Department closed the track it did not know that there was any other means of getting through.

Mr W. T. Lindsay, Waipara County Engineer, said that not only was tlio mail car held up at Spye yesterday morning, but also a car sent out bv th-i Telegraph Department. The telegrapn people communicated with the Railway Department, Christchurch, and were informed that the ganger had full authority to close the railway track. When it became known that the track was closed the local residents made special efforts to construct a ford through the washout. However, the Telegraph Department’s car was held up for two hours and the mail car for about twenty minutes. Seeing thac they had gone to so much trouble to re-establish communication with Cheviot the local residents were extremely indignant at the action of the Railway Department. Mr Linds a / added that in his opinion the cars had not materially damaged the railway track.

A RAILWAY REPLY.

“ A striking example of departmental red tape methods ” formed the subject of a compliant from Spye, as reported in the “ Star ” yesterday, in connection with the refusal of the Railway Department to allow motor traffic to use the railway track for the purpose of crossing the creek. A railway official stated this morning that the- Railway Department had no option, consistent with its duty in restoring the line, but to prevent motor traffic using the railway track. Very little traffic of this -description would have sufficed, in the sodden state of the ground, to tear away not merely the ballast, but the foundation as well. A railway track was not designed to bear traffic that does not use the rails. Any saving that might have been effected by letting motor traffic use the railway track would have been more than offset by the damage to the track at that point. At the same time, other essential repair work to the line would have been held up while the men made good the damage caused by the motors. While per mission to use the line was granted, it was felt that the same vigour would not have been shown in pushing on with the crossing for road traffic, and, once permission was definitely withheld. it did not take long to get the crossing into a sufficient state of repair to permit of its use. The Rail wav Department considers that it would have been false economy and folly of the worst typo to have permitted the damaging of the track at this point, when the gain to road traffic would have been only small. “ Everybody seems to want to leave it all to the Railway Department,” the official said The Department, however. had already enough to do without having to shoulder burdens not belonging to it.