D.—l

In spite of the many difficulties that have been encountered in the construction of this railway and the setbacks that have been occasioned by abnormal storms and floods, good progress is being made, and it should be completed during 1941. TuraJcina-OJcoia Deviation.—Very good progress has been made with this deviation, which is designed to shorten the distance and improve the grading and curvature on the Wellington - New Plymouth Railway. The majority of the grading and the formation on this section is now almost complete, while the For dell Tunnell, 72 chains in length, has been driven and lined, and in the Turakina Tunnel, which is 104 chains long, 58 chains have been completed. A start has been made with the construction of the Wangaehu and Turakina Bridges, and I anticipate that the whole section should be ready for platelaying and ballasting at the end of the current period. Palmerston North Railway Deviation. —The construction of this deviation, which was originally commenced in 1926 and closed down in 1929, was recommenced at the beginning of the year under review. The work as originally set out involved quantities in the vicinity of 1,000,000 cubic yards, and approximately half of the general excavation had been carried out when the work closed down. On the work being recommenced, however, the proposals were enlarged, and it has been decided to proceed also with the Whakarongo Deviation. The main portion of the work involves a very extensive excavation for the goods-yard and the transport of the material from there to fillings at the passenger station and general shunting yards. In addition to this, there are some eleven overbridges across the heavily trafficked roads in this vicinity, as well as a bridge over the Mangaone Stream. On account of the large amount of excavation involved in the goods-shed cutting, and the necessity for transporting it some considerable distance for fillings and overbridge approaches, it was decided to largely mechanize this work by the use of power shovels for excavation, motor-lorries for transport, and carry-all scrapers and bull-dozers where suitable for short leads and for spreading material. Good progress has been made, but it is only possible to employ a limited number of men owing to the necessity for synchronizing the excavation with the overbridge approaches and other works. Plimmerton-Paekakariki Railway Duplication.—This work, which is portion of the duplication of the railway between Wellington and Paekakariki, was commenced approximately three years ago, and the section between Plimmerton and Pukerua Bay is now practically complete. Formation generally has been heavy, and one of the features of this work has been the necessity for very extensive sub-soil drainage in order to stabilize the sub-grade. For many years past the swampy nature of this section has been a source of considerable trouble to the Railway Department, but the drainage which has now been put in will, I think, be very satisfactory. The very wet cutting at the summit near Pukerua Bay is rather an anomaly, seeing that it is the highest point on the line and was found to be the wettest and most difficult. From Pukerua Bay towards Paekakariki the duplication has been carried out to within a short distance of the first tunnel, where the double line merges into a single track extending to the north end of the last tunnel before Paekakariki, and from there the duplication continues to Paekakariki. The excavation along this section has been very heavy, the work having been carried out almost entirely by returned soldiers, who have made very excellent progress indeed. It is hoped to hand over the whole section to the Railway Department for platelaying very shortly. South Island Main Trunk Railway.—As mentioned in my last Statement, the construction of this railway has been divided into two sections, the north end extending from the existing open line at Wharanui to the Kahautara Bridge, a distance of 48 miles 70 chains, and the south end from the Kahautara Bridge to Parnassus, a distance of 29 miles 40 chains.

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