TAUPO RAILWAY

Evening Post, Volume LXXXV, Issue 33, 8 February 1913, Page 9

TAUPO RAILWAY

ROTORUA ROUTE ADVOCATED WHERE IS THE MONEY? TOURIST AND SETTLER.

The question of railway connection with TiHipo, winch was discussed in a sot ice of articles, tho final of which appeared in Wednesday:* Poet, is the subject, of some notes which have bopu forwaided to us by si tutUer in tho district. He strongly advocates an extension of the Government railway ircm Rotorua via Waiotapu to Tauptx (06 miles) in preference to light T,uhvay from Mokai to Taajxj (20 milos). The reasons why The Evening Post arlidec cupooit <he latter exe-fxiictit have already been set forth. Comparing tho country to be served by the two lines, the settler citys: — "That on the route from P.otorua « much moie luvel. and thei'e are considerable areas ol land much superior to any on the Putaruru route. Further, it i<> much boU-er watered. Tho best land on tho Putaruru route is within ten miles of Taupo, and that would be bp. well Boryed ay the railway from Rotorua." This is it highly debatable statement. There is expert evidence, perfectly independent and highly trustworthy, to the contrary. Also, one of tho witnesses to tho contrary is a, gentleman whose experience, judgment, and integrity have been highly commendtKl by the settler who writefc the not«s. It is contended that a lurgo proportion of the land from Mokai towards Kibikihi is of good quality and cannot be- served by the Kotorua-Tauno line. Iv comparing the cost of construction, the settler seems to forget that the cornpuny'e railway is a light one. He ■writes !— "There ate no considerable elevations on tho route from Kotorua, and for twenty-five miles it is dead level, and for many miles there fe nothing to be done but to lay the rails on the 6urface. There is no rock work and very few considerable cuttings. There are no big bridges. On the Putaruru route the country is absolutely mountainous, the line winding about with numerous sharp curves and^the grades are very steep. There is a good deal of Tock cutting. The Waikatchas to be bridged in two places (at present there is a woocten structure at one crossing), and there are other viaducts." Of course, "absolutely mountainous" is rhetorical. It is true that the latter half of the Rotorua route is level,, but the first half is anything but that. In t a comparison of " the cost of running," the settler writes : " Owing to tlie level character of the country, the line from Eotorua can be laid in long straight runs — as much as , five miles without a curve — and the curves are only slight. This enormously reduces wear and tear and. also fuel consumption. Again, a high speed can never.be maintamed 011 a line with many curves, especially if they be sharp, and it is oftvious that much more power (which costs money) is necessary to haul goods ut/ steep grades than on level runs. And, if it be desired to work by electric power, the Huka Falls and Aratiatia Rapids are right alongside the Eotorua route. . . « A line to Rotorua would eventually open communication with the port of Tauranga, thus bringing Lake Taupo within 100 miles of a gocwl seaport. A railway via Putaruru would tie the traffic -up to Auckland for all time — a distance of 200 miles. Why should the great Taupo district be artificially denied the natural advantages of its, position?" It itf^true, as' regards, the latter half of the Rotorua-Waiotapu-Taupo route, that there are fine straight runs, if the route through Mr. E. B. Vaile's "Broadlalide" is preferred , to the present coach road. Also, the former route wiH avoid two crossings of the Waikato now made by the coach road. t It is also true — and has been set out in the Evening Post articles — that a railway from Taupo, via Botorua, to Tauranga would give the shortest and best graded outlet to a deep water seaport, avoiding both the Oruanui and the Matn&ku Hills. But how many years will the Government take to provide this ninety miles of railway? TheTatipo Totara Timber Company says it is prepared to bridge the present twenty miles' gap in twelve months. The point is hit in tho following excerpt from the evidence given before the Parliamentary Committee last - session by the owner of " Broadlands," Mr. Vaile:— You said .. , that if the RotoruaTaupo- Hue is not to be constructed for fifteen to twenty years, you would support tho company's proposal? — If there is no hope of the Rotorua line, then I Bay this line will be better than, nothing. You think, as a matter of fact, that 16 ought to be constructed ?— Yes, if there is no ftotorua line. Add to the above the statement of tho Minister for Public Works (Mr. Fraser) to the Rotorua Chamber of Commerce, reported in the New Zealand Herald of ~lsth January, to the effect that "there is no money available for the proposed railway line to Taupo." From the standpoint of settlement, the ssttler writes: "Supposing the company is prepared to carry freight at Government rates, which is the most favourable arrangement that can be anticipated (and it has declined to state that it will do bo), yet, the settlers would have to pay one-third more freight via Putaruru than via Rotorua. This is owing to the loss of the long-distance through ireightß. Let anyone get an ordinary Government railway tariff, take out the freight to Putaruru (130 miles), and add to that the freight 00 the run of 66 miles thence to Taupo, and he will find this to be correct. The transhipment of goods and changing over of passengers at Putaruru will occasion great inconvenience and expense, with risk 01 loss." It is part of the ( proposed basis of agreement that freights shall be subject to Government control. This is how^ the settler sees it from the point of view of the tourist traffic : ''The line from Rotortia would link up ail tho thermal sights in a continuous ran. A tourist could go to Rotorua, thence to Waiotapu, and on to -Wairakei and Taupo. But with the line running in from Putaruru a tourist would have to ;hoose whether he would first visit Taupo or Rotorua. Suppose ho elects to go to Tiiupo—ag he probably would do under the persuasion of the company's agents — > then he has to return 66 miles on his tracks to see Rotorua. How 'many would undertake it? Want of time would delay rnairy, want of money, others, and tvaut of health and strength still others. Ifc may bo safely supposed that only a few would ever reach Rotorua. If, on tho other hand, he elects to go to ftotorna first, to see Taupo he has to return 35 miles on his^ tracks and is sub' jected to the same difficulties though in a somewhat minor degree. _ Ought wo cot rather to place every facility in 'the way of tourists, to £cc our sights instead of artificially creating difficulties whereby they are practically forced to leave half out of their programme? Again tourists nni3fc be encouraged by comfortable fast trains. Uncomfortable slow trains will not attract the bulk of tourists and will give our means of transit a bad name abroad." If the company 'd line provides bad transit for the tourist, the fact will help Rotorua to preserve its existing traffic and will be a "ood argument for the Kotorua- Waiotapu- faupo railway. It will be a useful stick with which to beat tho Govermrtttnt, tfhich ulood can come to xhn rescue of that route. On tho other haiifl, if tho compauv's line provides wad transit, there will bo uo cuuss to

complain. So far, the execrable quality of tlio travelling and the extreme gullibility of the tourist are only assumptions. "The line from Rotorua,'' continues the settler, "would open up 600,000 acres of Crown Lands within fifteen miles of the line including the State forests at Waiotapu. The line in from Putaruru would open up only half that area and would, moreover, have the effect of destroying the value of the lands and works upon which the State lias expend*ed such largo sums in and about tho town of Kotorua." But how could such an uncomfortable line, so much reflected on in the settler's foregoing remarks, "destroy" the value of Rotorua? Hero in tho settler's summing-up : "The company might well be granted a charter to work the tramway they have already constructed as a railway upon effecting such improvements as will make it safe for the travelling public. Let them open up that country — 'it is large enough. Let thu Government then build the railway from Rotorua opening up a further vast area, keeping in its own hands the valuable touiist tmflic, and preserving -the value of the Statoownod town of* ilotorua. To guarantee the company's loan would practically mean that tbe Government would either have to drop their £60,000 or take over Ji t'ailway bhuv would be practically useless to them. Finally: Supposing tho company had not constructed its line, wouid anyone advocate the building of a railway to serve Taupo from Putaruru rather than from Rotorua? The thing is absurd. But it is argued : 'The l'ail is there, why not utilise it?' That would be a valid argument if the company were purposing to give its line to the Government—but I have not heard any suggestion of that kind. As they want to be paid the full cost, the Government may as well spend its money in the .best possible direction."' This refers, no doubt, to the money which the Minister of Public Works says the Government has not got to spend. *