NORTHERN FLOODS

Wairarapa Age, 21 June 1934, Page 5

NORTHERN FLOODS

WHANGAREI LINE STILL BLOCKED. TRAIN PASSENGERS TAKE BOAT TO DARGAVILLE. HOPES OF THROUGH TRAFFIC TO-DAY. AUCKLAND, June 26. The railway route to North Auckland was still blocked by flood water in the Wayby-Aoteo area tonight, but the clearing of the Waitakere Tunnel slip this afternoon permitted the full railway service between Auckland and Helensville to be restored. It is hoped that the full service to Whangarei and the Far North will be restored some time to-morrow. The passengers who left Auckland for Whangarei by the express on Tuesday morning and were held up at Helensville, will reach Whangarei tomorrow morning, after a journey occupying nearly 50 hours. The normal time for the journey is five and a half hours. They were taken by steamer from Helensville to Dargaville to-night. From Dargaville they will be taken by cars to Kirikopuni, where they will arrive to-morrow morning and will go by train from Kirikopuni to Whangarei. The railway track in this section is clear. . These passengers, who number about 50, were offered .the choice by railway officials of being transhipped by boat in this way or of returning to Auckland. Others who elected to return, arrived back by train this afternoon, after the Waitakere Tunnel had ‘been cleared. For the convenience of travellers wishing to leave Auckland to-morrow for Whangarei, a train was despatched from 1 Auckland in the afternoon for Helensville. The passengers on the train joined the others already in Helensville,' and with them continued the journey by boat and train. No attempt was made to get railway passengers through from Whangarei to Auckland to-day. Intending passengers were warned of the difficulties of transit and there were no bookings for places south of Maungaturoto. The Whangarei-Auekland express, therefore, did not travel beyond that point and resolved itself more or less into a local train handling traffic between Maungaturoto and Whangarei, As far as. was known, xmly slight damage had occurred to the line. It was considered that repairs could be effeeed in a few hours once the water had fallen below the lev ® l track and a constant watch was being kept so that the work could be commenced at the earliest opportunity. Gangs of men were being kept at Wayby ail night so es to be called out at a moment’s notice (P.A.)

many SLIPS. blockages near te kuiti. TE Kurri, June 20. The heaviest rainfall for years was recorded around Te Kuiti when 3.63 inches were recorded for the 24 hours up to 9 o’clock this morning. The main road half a mile north of Te Kuiti Is under three feet of water, and railway houses are surrounded. An extensive slip has come down in the Awakino Valley on the main road, and service ears can get through with difficulty. Slips are still falling. The road near Piopio is under water, and there is a heavy slip. Four miles past Waitomo the road is blocked. The rain has now stopped, but the river is still rising.—(P.A.)