WELLINGTON-MANAWATU RAILWAY COMPANY AND GOVERNMENT RAILWAYS (MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT FOR THE INTERCHANGE OF TRAFFIC BETWEEN THE, FOR THE TWELVE MONTHS COMMENCING 9th MARCH, 1895).

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1895 Session I, D-02c

D.—2c.

1895. NEW ZEALAND.

WELLINGTON-MANAWATU RAILWAY COMPANY AND GOVERNMENT RAILWAYS (MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT FOR THE INTERCHANGE OF TRAFFIC BETWEEN THE, FOR THE TWELVE MONTHS COMMENCING 9th MARCH, 1895).

Laid on the Table of the House in pursuance of Section 219 of " The Public Works Act, 1894."

Memorandum of Agreement for the Interchange of Traffic between the New Zealand Government Eailwats and the Wellington-Manawatu Bailway Company 1. The term " Minister " means the Minister for Eailways, or any Minister or person for the time being acting for him, appointed by " The Government Eailways Act, 1894." The term "Company" means the Wellington and Manawatu Eailway Company (Limited). 2. For the purposes of this agreement the commencement of the Company's line at Wellington shall be deemed to be at 33ft., measured in a northerly direction, from the junction-crossing connecting the Company's line and the Wellington-Woodville Eailway near Pipitea Point, and in the Manawatu district the commencement of the Company's line shall be deemed to be at the Longburn Eailway-station, 9ft. clear of the Government centre line. 3. Goods-traffic may be interchanged at Wellington and Longburn, passenger- and parcelstraffic only at Longburn. 4. The Stationmaster at Longburn and his assistant shall carry out the instructions of the Company's officers where such instructions relate to the control of the Company's trains, traffic, or property The Minister shall recognise the Company's right to demand the removal from Longburn of any officer for neglect of duty or misconduct. The junction at Longburn shall be under the control of the Minister, who shall pay half the salary of a Stationmaster to be placed by the Minister at Longburn, and half other goods-traffic expenses. The other moiety to be paid by the Company 5. Passengers will be booked between such of the Company's stations and stations on the Foxton-New Plymouth and Palmerston-Napier lines as may be mutually arranged from time to time. 6. Parcels will be booked between all stations on the Company's line and stations on the Foxton-New Plymouth and Palmerston-Napier lines. 7 The Government trucks may be run on the Company's line, and the Company's trucks on the Government lines, for the purposes of interchanging goods-traffic. 8. The Company's trucks shall not be used for Government local traffic, nor shall the Government trucks be used for the Company's local traffic. 9. No four-wheeled truck shall be forwarded from the parent line for interchanged traffic with less load than 1-J tons of merchandise goods of classes A, B, C, D, H, or 3 tons of B and X, or 4 tons of F, N, P, Q , any less quantity must be transhipped at the Longburn Junction, if necessary For bogie trucks the minimum shall be double that of four-wheeled trucks. Trucks containing s jch minimum quantity will be deemed to be loaded trucks for the purposes of this agreement. 10. The Company shall find a covered van, and the Government shall find a covered van, each free of charge, to be run with each daily train through between Wanganui and Wellington for conveyance of small lots of goods. 11. Trucks returning to the parent line may be loaded with goods for the parent line. 12. Where trucks are forwarded from the parent line, one clear day will be allowed before charges for demurrage are made, where the distance the truck is sent on the foreign line does not exceed twenty-five miles, and two clear days for distances over twenty-five and not exceeding eighty-five miles ; when distances exceed eighty-five miles, an additional day will be allowed. This allowance is in addition to the day of arrival at and return to the junction. 13. The charges for trucks will be as follow : — - For all. four-wheeled trucks, Id. per mile , For double-bogie trucks, IJd. per mile, computed on mileage run by loaded trucks. Mileage will not be charged upon wagons returning homeward or to the parent line. 14. The Company shall, if required, run engine, carriage, and wagon stock for transfer between the Foxton-New Plymouth, Palmerston-Napier, and the Wellington-Woodville lines Engines to be charged Is. 6d. per mile, four- and six-wheeled cars, 3d. per mile, double-bogie cars, 6d. per mile; four-wheeled trucks, 1-Jd. per mile, double-bogie trucks, 3d. per mile. 15. When coaching stock is borrowed, either by the Company or the Minister, and used for local traffic only, the charges will be at the following rates per day or portion of a day :— Carriages, double-bogie, 20s. each. Carriages, six-wheeled, 15s. each. Brake-vans, 15s. each.

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16. Demurrage will be charged, on each four-wheeled truck detained by the foreign line beyond the prescribed time, 4s. per day or part thereof, bogie trucks, double rate. 17 Sheets will be charged Jd. per mile when in use, and will be subject to the same regulation for return as wagons. 18. Demurrage will be charged on sheets at the rate of 6d. per day 19. Sundays and days when goods-traffic is suspended must not be counted. 20. The Company's officers shall act under the instructions issued from time to time by the General Manager of the New Zealand Government Railways in accounting for and dealing with all interchanged traffic, and shall render such returns to the Eailway Accountant, New Zealand Government Eailways, as may be required by such instructions. 21. The Minister shall be responsible for causing to be collected from the consignees or other persons all proper charges on behalf of the Company which the Company is legally entitled to charge and collect for goods, parcels, and passengers which have passed over the line, which charges may have been properly way-billed and otherwise notified by the Company's officers to the receivingstations on the Government line in accordance with the by-laws and other instructions in operation on the New Zealand Government Eailways. 22. The Company shall, similarly, be responsible for collecting the New Zealand Government Eailway charges on interchanged goods, parcels, and passengers. 23. The Minister shall cause the accounts for interchanged traffic to be compiled and audited for each four weeks or thereabouts in accordance with the practice on the Government lines, and shall cause accounts to be rendered to the Company within four weeks or thereabouts after the close of each accounting period, and there shall be a settlement of account as between the Government lines and the Company's line by cash payment of the balance due from one to the other respectively as may be ascertained from such audited accounts. 24. The Company shall permit any officer duly appointed by the Minister to examine any traffic accounts on its line, if necessary, for accounting and audit purposes, and, similarly, the Minister shall permit any duly-appointed officer of the Company to examine any traffic accounts on the line interchanging traffic with the Company's line. 25. The rates, fares, and charges for the conveyance of all passengers, parcels, and goods upon the Company's line shall be fixed by the Company 26. The Company shall supply the Minister with schedules of such rates, fares, and charges in the form attached, and the Minister may cause the same to be gazetted for the information of the public. All such rates, fares, and charges to be used subject to the general regulations in operation on the New Zealand Government Eailways. Such rates, fares, and charges will be in addition to the rates, fares, and charges which are made by the Minister for the conveyance of passengers, parcels, and goods upon the Government lines. 27 When through-goods are consigned to the Company's station at Wellington for shipment at the Eailway Wharf, the Minister shall perform the shunting from the Company's station free, but for local traffic may charge the gazetted rates for port traffic, such charges to be in addition to the other rates. 28. The Company shall be responsible for payment of all damages or losses to persons or property occurring on the Company's line, unless such damage or loss is clearly traceable to the negligence or error of any Government servant, or to the defect of any Government stock or appliances. 29. The Government, similarly, shall be responsible for payment of all damages or losses to persons or property occurring on the Government line, unless such damage or loss is clearly traceable to the negligence or error of any of the Company's servants, or to the defect of any of the Company's stock or appliances. 30. The Company's rolling-stock shall be correctly tared, numbered, and lettered, to distinguish it from the Government stock. 31. The Company shall pay the Minister for all tickets and stationery issued to the Company's stations. 32. The Minister or the Company respectively, at any time, may cause rolling-stock, the property of the other, to be put off Government or the Company's trains respectively if defective or dangerous, and may forbid such stock from running on the Government or the Company's lines respectively until such defect or dangerous conditions be amended by the Government or Company respectively. In such cases, due notice being given, demurrage will not be chargeable. 33. The Company shall run one train daily from Wellington to Longburn, and one train from Longburn to Wellington, to connect with the Government daily service between Longburn and Wanganui, and a bi-weekly service between Wanganui and New Plymouth. 34. The Company shall nominate an officer in charge of its line with whom the Government District Traffic Manager at Wanganui may communicate for the purpose of carrying on the traffic in terms of this agreement. 35. This agreement shall take effect as from the 9th day of March, 1895, and shall remain in force for twelve months from that date, but is subject to cancellation, in part or whole, at any time on a month's notice being given on either side. As witness my hand this seventh day of September, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-five. A. J Cadman, Minister for Eailways. The seal of the Company was hereunto affixed this twenty-eighth day of August, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-five. (1.5.) W M. Hannay, Secretary. Approximate Cost of Paper. —Preparation, not given ; printing (1,250 copies), £1 7s.

By Authority : Samuel Costall, Government Printer, Wellington.—lB9s. Price 3d.]

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