EAST TO WEST.

Hokitika Guardian, 24 October 1917, Page 4

EAST TO WEST.

AUSTRAL] AS GREAT TRUNK RAILWAY. Sydney, Oct 5. The opening of the great East to West railway has been definitely fixed to take place in the middle of October, at a point, 320 miles west of Port Augusta. This is an event of such importance in the history of the development of Australia that a recapitulation of the main facts abont this railway is worth while.

When the Commonwealth undertook this work, there was a railway from Rockhampton, in Queensland, to Port Augusta, in South Australia, and another ‘from Kalgoorlie, in AVest Australia, to Perth. The gap between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie was represented by’ 1,052 miles, mostly desert.

The Federal Government set out to bridge the gap, and the estimated cost was £4,045,456. To-day, the estimate, which includes much ballasting yet to he done, stands at £6,067,300. Nearly one million of this extra cost is attributed to the increased cost of material caused by the war, and another half million is due to the abandonment cf the original intention not to ballast the line. AYages rates have risen appreciably, and,have eaten up more than £400,000 above the original estimate. Then 801 b rails were used instead of 701 b 1 rails, as originally intended, and this has added to the cost, also , AA r hen the line is completed, the railway journey from Perth to .Brisbane will be 3467 miles, or 217 miles more than the journey from New York to San Francisco. A few hundred miles could Jie added to that by calculating the longest available train journey in Australia—namely, from Perth to Rockhampton. The transAmerican run takes 4 days 9 hours, and the Perth-Riisbane run will take 5 days 14 hours. The trans-Ameri-can railway has no break in gauge : the trails-Australian line will have five breaks in gange. That, indeed, is the great problem to be attacked when the trans-continental line is completed. The single passenger fare from Melbourne to Perth, first class, is likely to be £lO, a,nd £6 13/6 second class, and there will be a bi-weekly time-table.

The opening of the line will be a red-letter day for West Australia, which will at last emerge from her paralysing isolation and join the sisterhood of States. Already', preparations are being made to fittingly celebrate the event.