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Manawatu Herald, 31 May 1904, Page 3

The ceremony of laying the foundation ■’tone of the new railway stajßL—the prelude to the general W-flc of straightening and duplicating the line between the Hutt and Wellington—was carried out by Sir Joseph Ward, in the presence of a large gathering on Saturday at Petone. In his speech, Sir Joseph said that there seemed to be an impression in othsr parts of the colony that the work should not be undertaken, as works of greater importance elsewhere deserved prior attention. This was not the case, as the work on the Hutt to Wellington line was warranted to the fullest extent by the development of traffic in and out of the city. With the sale of land consequent on the important reclamations to be carried out, the works would cost only £114,000. The Auckland Chamber of Commerce had asked that the works should be postponed until the duplication of the line between Auckland and Penrose had been effected. There were now seventy trains running daily between Wellington and the Hutt, and it was imperative that greater rapidity of service should be provided for. The revenue on the line from passenger traffic had, in seven years, increased a hundred per cent. AYhen the work now commenced was finished—he hoped it would be in 2-| years—trains would run at 45 miles an hour, instead of 23 as at present.