PUNAKE RAILWAY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1485, 6 July 1912, Page 14

PUNAKE RAILWAY.

REPORT OF THE COMMISSION

LINE FROM NEW PLYMOUTH FAVOURED.

The Comml"sioner3 appointed by the Government to report on the route ,of a r.dilwny to Opunake slate that they liave made 'a thorough invcstigaliou from every x■practical point of view. They are unani- ' juously of opinion that a line of railway ; . filiouljl bo constructed from Moturoa to a point near Te Roti station, on the main line, following the route to the westward and southward of Mount Egmonr, ' indicated on an accompanying map, with a _ branch lino from Jvupuni along tho existing road line to a point near Kaponga, which would permit of future ex- ' tension to' Stratford and Manaia. In '■ considering tho commercial prospects of a railway through this district they had Won influenced somewhat by the importi ant works now in progress and approachj ing completion for the improvement of the shipping facilities at Sew Plymouth. AVhen tho. works arc completed, there , seems little room for doubt that this port will bo available for use by ocean liner?, and tho authorities entrusted with the control of the harbour expect to be able, in the near future to send consignments of dairy and other produce from New Plymouth direct to the world's markets ■without tho transhipment which is usual at present. The harbour authorities satisfied the Commission that in. a comparatively short timo the port would be able to accommodate ocean liners suitable for' carrying the whole of tho produeo for export offering from tho Tarannki and the interior country, for which New Plymouth is the natural outlet. The developments in progress also warrant the assumption that New Plymouth- will in tho near future be the " port through ■which the greater portion of;the,British ami foreign imports for tho 'J'nranaki Province will reach tho Dominion. They have therefore recommended tho location of tho proposed railway to suit the collection of produce for export and the convenient distribution of imports, although the route may not in all parts fit in with tho traffic routes that have been, developed up to the present. Comment is mode on the fact that producers at present shipped their produce on coastal steamers, which tronshipned to the mail steamers at other ports. The shipping companies, says tho report, appear to eucourago this system by arranging to pay* the coastal freight, and charging the same rate of freight from ■Wellington and each of the ports mentioned to England, etc. The opinion is expressed that when the ocean liners visit Sew Plymouth tho exports of the Tarannki district will concentrate) at New Plymouth, and provide, bulk sufficient to warrant the mail boats calling there. In. this caso it ,is likely that New Plymouth would become their second last port of call. Under these circumstances, on tho expiration of present engagements, the shipping companies will require some modification in the present terms as regards the payment by them of tho coastal freight. This will induce tho shipment of dairy produce at New Plymouth instead of Wellington. Tho lengths of the lines recommended are:—

1. Main line, Moturoa to Te Roti 55 miles 2. Branch line, Knpuui to Kaponga 5 miles 3. Extension, Kaponga to Stratford 9 miles •1. Extension, Knpuni to Manaia 3\ miles ■ Total .' 72i miles The. cost of construction of thrso lines, sufficient to carry the rolling-stock in use on tho railway between Wangnmii and New Plymouth, will be, approximately, as follows:— ■£ 1. Moturoa to Oknto, 11 miles,. JcSim per milo 99,000 Okato to To Roti, il miles, per mile ;. 308,000 S.lvcpuni to. Knponga, 5 miles, i'3OCO per mils 25,000 Total ....' 432,000

3. Kaponga to Stratford, 9 miles, .£II,OOO per milo 09,000 i. Kapnni to Manaia, 3i miles .CSOOO per mile .....". 17,500 Tho Commissioners recommend that construction of the line should be commenced simultaneously at To Roli and Moturoa, and that when Knpuni is reached at southern end the construction of the five miles of branch line to Kaponga. should be put in hand. The extension to Stratford might await the completion of the remainder of the suggested line.. The line could bo brought into profitable use as soon as ten miles from Te Roti with the Kaponga branch, or fifteen miles from Moturoa, are completed. Tho earnings of the suggested line will amount to at least .£OOO per milo per annum, and the working expenses will not exceed £150 per milo per annum. As tho country is further developed, thero will bo a prospect of considerable increaso in railway revenue.,

The construction of tho railway will have tho effect of relieving tho local bodies, and indirectly tho settlers and taxpayers, of a very heavy annual expenditure' on tho maintenance of about ninety miles of main roads, amounting to at least .£IOO per mile per annum—a recurring charge of per annum. The existing toll gates would bo abolished. The moncv saved will bo available for tho development of tho farms, instead of being wasted as at present. Increasing cultivation and improvements in dairy farming, etc., aro tending to an increaso ot population, products, and import?, and in consequence transport traffic must grow. Ihe importance of using artificial manures in tho district is'referred to, and a soureo of rnilwav freight will ar;=o in tins direction." The Kaponga branch will permit of a largo output of dairy produce to cither Pntea or New Plymouth at lower rates than can bo charged now._ Ike saving will be about 7s. per ton. A similar or greater saving would be effected .on inward freight. There would also bo a tourist traffic to the Mountain House at Dawson's Tails, which already attracts 3000 visitors per annum. Iho contention of some witnesses that the uphill haulage lo tho new lino would bo a greater drawback than tho transport by road from Manaia to Ilawera, is disproved by actual measurements. ■ ~ . In tho near future, when supplies ol firewood become exhausted, tho lactones and settlers will Tcqniro largo supplies of coal, which will doubtless como through Stratford from the coalfields at langarakau, which will shortly bo reached by the line now being constructed beyond Whangamomona. Tho commission does not recommend the construction of tramways, as tho volume of traffic is too large, anil it is inadvisable to have too much handling of dairy produce. It is recommended that the land between Elthani and Opunako reserved for a railway should bo cither leased or sold to the adjoining owners or occupiers.