King Country Chronicle Saturday, January 24th, 1914 A SUGGESTED RAILWAY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 637, 24 January 1914, Page 4

King Country Chronicle Saturday, January 24th, 1914 A SUGGESTED RAILWAY.

For some time past the question of constructing a light railway between Te Kuiti and Pio Pio by means of private enterprise has been mooted, but so far nothing definite has been made public. The matter is of ex- ! treme importance to both town and ' country from the fact that with the construction of such a line the main , road difficulty would be practically j Bolved. It has been suggested that I

before any comprehensive action ifl taken with respect to the main road a report from a competent electrical engineer should be taken as Yo the feasibility of establishing an electrical railway between the centrea mentioned. It has long been held that the district possesses a highly valuable asset in the Wairere Falls on the Mokau river and ample power for an electric line could no doubt be obtained from the falls which are situated just four miles beyond Pio Pio. County Councils are now endowed with authority to construct railways and the Waitomo Council would be acting entirely in the interests of the public by obtaining a report on the question. Such a report would be a highly important factor in determining what steps should be taken to allocate the responsibility for the main ruad maintenance, as with a rapidly developing district to be served there might be found sufficient inducement to direct the efforts of the local authority towards the railway scheme. The outstanding requirement of the district is proper and permanent means of transit, and whether the transit facilities are to be confined entirely by roads is a matter which can only be determined by the investigation of experts. In any case it is desirable that the value of the natural assets of a die; trict should be ascertained, and by ascertaining the present and poten* tial value of the available water power the Council would be doing valuable work in the interests of the settlers. In the event of the practicability of the railway scheme being affirmed after e cpert investigation the face of the main road question would be considerbly altered. The present heavy traffic over the road would disappear with the introduction of the iron horse, and the responsibility for road maintenance would be confined to the district which the road traverses. Still in the meantime the road is being utilised by several large districts, and must continue to serve those districts for

years to come, even if a railway is deemed practicable. It iB urgently necessary that such an important artery of the district should be kept up to the highest standard of efficiency, and nothing should be allowed to stand in the way of maintaining it to that standard.