PALMERSTON RAILWAY DEVIATION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 2793, 4 October 1924, Page 3

PALMERSTON RAILWAY DEVIATION.

INCLUDED IN DOMINION SCHEME.

TO COST £390,000 SPREAD OVER FOUR YEARS. The report of the Minister for Railways (the Hon. J. G. Coates) on bis programme of railway improvements and new works was submitted to Parliament on Thursday afternoon. The whole e.osfc exceeds £8,000,000, to be spread over a period of eight years. In presenting his programme, Air Coates says he has allowed no influence to operate other than the strict test, of merit. In dealing with the proposals he has had to give due consideration not only to the desirability of the various works from the point of view of the department, hut also to their relative importance as compared with tlie many other works that are pressing on the financial resources of the country.

Referring to the Palmerston N. deviation, the report says Palmerston N. station yard is one of the most important: links in the North Island railway system. From its position ns the central distributing point for traffic from the Wellington, Wairnrapn, Napier, Alain Trank, New Plymouth, and Foxton lines, its importance will grow commensurate with the North Island traffic. The increase in through traffic requiring facilities for marshalling and sorting wagons for the various lines, and based oh the increase in the North Island traffic, may lie put- at 100 per cent, in 12J years. The present yards are extremely congested, and quite inadequate for the business. On the present. site improvements of any consequence cannot be made. With the proposed new yard, adequate facilities for an increasing traffic can be given, and at the same time the cost of working largely reduced. I estimate the cost, at; £390,000, and as a set-off there will be the value of land released at tlie present station site, say £150,000. At the Palmerston N. Railway Facilities Commission it was estimated at £200,000. In addition an amount- of £50,000 will he required for tlie deviation of the Napier line from Boundary road to Whakarong.'u, It is proposed to expend £IOO,OOO tlie first year, £IOO,OOO the second, £95,000 the third and £95,000 the fourth year. Mr J. A. Nash, ALP., urged that the work on the above deviation should be commenced immediately. Air W. H. Field, ALP. for Otaki, put in a claim for tlie Alarton-Levin deviation, which is not included in the programme of work to he undertaken. Air Field stated that the Alarton-Levin deviation could be carried out at one-tenth of the cost of the Palmerston N. deviation and would be quite as effective. ALr Linklater, ALP. for this constituency did not express bis views on the subject. The—report, was laid upon the table.