May Take Over Line

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXIV, Issue 935, 4 December 1933, Page 8

May Take Over Line

Satisfactory Report.

East Coast Railway Project . Per Press Association. HASTINGS, December 4. CONSIDER the results of exhaustive reports, the southern section of the East Coast Railway Committee is meeting today. The committee considers that the results of its investigations are most satisfactory, and the question of taking over the railway absndoned by the Government will be gone into thoroughly. Following are the main points in the reports dealing with the southern section:— The Government already has spent £2,829,400 on the line between Napier and Waikokopu. The committee’s aim is to prevent the waste of that huge amount. According to a report prepared by Mr Trevor Smith, Public Works District Engineer at Wairoa, the estimated cost of completing constructional work from Waikokopu to Napier at a sufficient standard to provide the safe, speedy running of trains, passenger and goods is £98,000. A sum of £12,700 may be needed for other work, making a total of £110.600. To those figures must be added £BO,OOO for rolling stock, including two Diesel railcars and two Diesel trailers. Estimate of Revenue. The engineer’s rough estimate of revenue annually, excluding passenger traffic, is £38,000, and the estimated operating costs, including depreciation and maintenance, are £37,000. The Public Works estimate of the cost of completion of the line was £340,'783. This provided for the erection of complete station accommodation and for running a much more extensive passenger service. The estimated feeder value is set down at £5400. A further report compiled after the investigation of potential livestock and goods traffic indicates a revenue greater than that estimated by the engineer. This report deals with the comparative aspects of road and rail transport, and the great development value of the line, as well as the potential productivity of at present undeveloped land.