Projected Levin-Greatford Railway.

Manawatu Herald, 16 July 1904, Page 3

Projected Levin-Greatford Railway.

A copy of the petition to be presented to Government by the various local bodies and settlers interested in the above work points out that trom time to time they have had before them various schemes to acquire direct connectiumby rail from Levin to Greatford or Martou, passing through Foxton and .Bulls. tßart of this .has been successfully carried into effect by the construction of the tramway *-front ti e Rangilikei River to Himatanjh. About 17 miles is now open for frame and is being worked at a profit. Some time syndicate’ with the necessary . money made an arrangement tocarry out the work hut Government objected Vn the grounds that all railways should be the property of Government, thus preventing 1 cal bodies from proceeding with this important work, the Manawatu County Council is prepared to- sell their interest in the tram to Government under such terms as may be agreed -.pon between the parties. The petitioners submitted that the ratepayers who had, of course, contributed their full share towards the construction of Government railways, bad out of local rates and loans constructeJ xy miles of light railway at a cost of about £25,000, and are now unable to get the full benefit of their outlay for want of direct communication with the main line, north and south. It was further pointed out that the present route from the Manawatu County to Wellington or Wanganui, • via Himatangi and Longburn, was by the County tram to Himatangi and thence by Government _ railway to Longburn, thence to Wellington by the Company’s line. This was so disjointed, so roundabout, so mconvenient and expensive, that much traffic that would go by ml direct is now carted to Longburn and other places by road at considerable cost. The proposed line from Greatford to near Levin would be of great benefit to settlers along the road which would give direct communication - north and fouth and thereby shorten the distance bv from 16 to 50 miles. It would also jjcnefit, it was submitted, the public

generally, by shortening the distance between Wellington and all places north of Greatford, both by the central and the coastal route. The proposed line is practically straight, and presents no engineering difficulties, while the country through which the line would pass is good agricultural and dairying land, closely settled and, taking into consideration, that there are 23 miles already open, the petitioners are confident the proposed line would yield a Satisfactory profit on the small outlay required to complete the line. In Conclusion it was prayed that the Mouse should authorise Government to acquire the ManaWatu County Council tram and complete the construction of the line from Levin to Greatford or Marion passing through Foxton, Sanson and Bulls, so as to make it a Government line right through. The chairman (Mr Wilson) said that he had been asked to sign the petition, but he declined till he had received an expression of opinion from councillors. He said that he had been guided in doing so by the fact that their first consideration was the people of the district and then the good of the rest of those interested. He also pointed out that though the Council had agreed to sell the tram at a price to be arranged, there were ; matters that required adjustment before the Council could j think of.seliing. - The tram,: had been | built chiefly for the carriage of metal, and before they,sold they would have to make arrangements with Government to run such metal trains as the County needed. Otherwise it would be absolutely against the interests ot the council to sell the tram, i Cr Hammond considered the' whole matter such a remote contingency that it Was hardly worth while bothering about. Other councillors agreed with him as to the present prospects of the work, but as they also thought the work was sure to be carried out in years to come, no harm would be done in signing the petition, and the chairman was authorised accordingly.—Palmerston Standard. j