NEW RAILWAY STATION FOR THE CITY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 305, 18 September 1920, Page 7

NEW RAILWAY STATION FOR THE CITY

PRELIMINARY WORK BEING STARTED

SEVEN YEARS TO WAIT

Mr. Wright (Wellington Suburbs) said in the House of Representatives last night that so faiv-apparently, no start had been made upon the work of providing Wellington with a new railway station..

_ Atr. Ngata (Eastern Maori): You'll get it "after'the war."

• Mr. Wright-said bo'gathered that tho first thing,necessary was the,erection of a sea-wall. If that work was started on Monday it would take the next two years to complete; ' ' Then there was reclamation work to bo done.

Mr.-Massey said .-that so far as his information went, the work had been started. Mr. Marchbonks, whom Mr. Wright, as a member of tho Harbour Board, knew--.very, well, was getting tho material in.hand in preparatibn for a start. Mr. Wright' repeated his statement that tie first) job to be "done would take two years. Then the reclamation, no proceeded, would take three.years. That made five years. . Then it had been estimated that it would'take five years to build that station"itself. That made ten years. So if Wellington had* any luck, the new railway station would be up in ten years. Sir William "flerries, who was formerly Minister of -"Railways, said that the reclamation work was included in the estimate of five years. ' Mr.'Wright: "Well, then, that will be seven years." The member went on toi say that the information he had gleaned w.as so far satisfactory. A start was being made. He could only hope that the work would be prosecuted with vigour. Mr. Hiley (lato General Manager of Railways) had pointed out in his report some five years ago that the traffic and goods' business of the Wellington railway station was congested, and that in the,space of ten years the volume of foisrness would bo doubled. So it was clear,' even settling aside tho needs of the city itself, that the Department must require a now stntion in order to cope with its growing business.