HUTT RAILWAY DUPLICATION,

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 323, 9 October 1908, Page 9

HUTT RAILWAY DUPLICATION,

NEARING WELLINGTON,

About' 300 men are employed at present on the Hutt railway duplication works, which aro now completed within 2i miles of Wellington. That is to say, the double line extends a considerable distance oiii the Wellington side of Ngahauranga, where the new station was recently opened, and it could be laid a good deal further, if any immediate purpose would be served. The deep bay on the city sido of .Kaiwarra is being filled up fairly fast, and the walls are now beginning to show. Good progress is also being made, with the filling in of the deep bay on the other side of Kaiwarra, and it is expected that the duplication works will be completed'to that station by the end of March, at the very latest. When that stago is ' reached; the position will be almost as satisfactory as if the double line was finished to Wellington. The Railway Department will be able further to improve the time-table, and to remedy the inconvenience caused to many people when the timo of tho 5.13 p.m. train from Wellington, was recently altered to 5.10. The Department states that it lias now first-class men employed on tho worksf and finds no difficulty irt getting morq of them. If labour of this quality had befell equally plentiful twelve or eighteen: months'ago, faster progress might have been made With tho work. The chief at present lies in getting sufiiciei® spoil to make the road. Spoil is being obtained from every available source, but it comes to hand very slowly. Large quantities of rock from the beach near Paekakariki are sent down by the Manawatu tram, and" when tlie Government takes over this line, the Department will take control of the com.pany's crushing - plant, and it is expected that better progress will be made.