NEW RAIL LINK

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 69, 20 August 1947, Page 5

NEW RAIL LINK

CLAIMS OF MURUPARA SUPPORT FOR PROPOSAL Construction of the railway proposed in the ten-year plan for the district from the present Bay of Plenty line south to Murupara and the Galatea Plains would bring great progress to the growing dairy and timber industries in the area. Alive to the potentialities of such a line, the Murupara branch of the Whakatane Chamber of Commerce, a very active body for such a small settlement, is making strenuous efforts to have the railway started immediately.

The case for the Bay of PlentyGalatea branch railway is a strong one. Its primary function would be the conveyance of timber which is pouring out of the Urewera and Kaingaroa forests in an ever-grow-ing stream. At the same time it would take stock and produce from the expanding farming district at Galatea and bring in fertiliser and farm equipment, which the present road transport makes too expensive for young farmers. Tapping Further Forest Area

With the flow of timber today from the Urewera alone it is considered that construction of a railway is justified, but as the great resources of' the eastern side of the Kaingaroa pine forest will soon be ready for tapping a line'.is regarded as an economic necessity. A further need for the railway would be the big paper and pulp mill which the Government may build near Murupara and which would bring into existence a fair-sized town. Nor would the line be limited to the transport of freight. Already the district’s growing population is seeking better passenger transport than the road service with which it is present served. The railway would bring these people within two hours of Whakatane.

Following an easy grade along the valley of the Rangitaiki .River, the railway would eliminate the preesnt necessity of hauling up the long hill over the Kaingaroa Plains. Freight charges over this route, which climbs to nearly 2000 ft. above sea level, are high and Galatea farmers begrudge the 22s 6d they are required to pay on every ton of fertiliser brought in to them.

Heavy Timber Traffic on Roads The railway would also mean a reduction in the use of the district roads by extremely heavily laden multi-axle trucks which are damaging highways faster than they can be repaired. On some days at present up to 40 big trucks, some of them weighing as much as 12 tons, with huge logs and stacks of sawn timber loaded on them, pass through Murupara on the long haul to Rotorua.

The Murupara railway would be about 40 miles long. It would probably branch off the Tauranga-Tane-atua line at Edgecumbe and would pass through Te Teko and a number of small settlements in the lower Rangitaiki Valley. Construction would be relatively easy, with long sections on level terrain requiring very little formation.

From a few feet above sea level at Edgecumbe the line would make a gradual climb to about 800 ft. at Murupara. It would not be necessary to cross the Rangitaiki River, and the only bridging would be over two fairly small streams. Local body and Government officials of the Rotorua-Bay of Plenty district regard the link as a coming necessity.