RAILWAY LINK

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 357, 19 October 1932, Page 6

RAILWAY LINK

STRATFORD LINE LAST SPIKE TO BE DRIYEN EARLY NEXT MONTH. MINISTERS TO ATTEND. The official opening of the Strat-ford-Okahukura railway on November 7 will be attended by three Ministers, namely, the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon G. W. Forbes, the Minister of Public Works, Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, and the Minister of Education, Hon. R. Masters, and it is expected that Mr. ' Forbes will drive the last spike at the point where the lines converging from the Auckland and Taranaki provinces meet. . The three Ministers will leave Wellington by the Limited express on the evenmg of Sunday, November 6, and the Ministerial car will be detached at Taumarunui. It will then join a special train, which' will probably be the first passenger train to make the through journey by the new link between the Main Trunk line and the Wellington-New Plymouth line. The driving of the last spike will take place on the Ohura-Tangarakau section of the line, and the Ministers will be entertained at luncheon at the latter place. They will later continue the journey by train to Stratford, where a banquet will be held in the evening. The official party will leave for Wellington by the express train on the following morning. The completion of the railway marks the close of over 30 years' intermittent work. The Government Railways Board, in considering the construction policy reeently, decided that the line was a border-line proposition, but that, as it Was so near completion, the link should be eompletely forged. It was originally thought the connection would be made about next June, but unexpectedly good progress was made in recent months. The line traverses exceptionally rugged country, and numerous tunnels have had to be !eonstructed on the middle sector It is not anticipated that the Railways Department will take over the line from the Public Works Department until after the end of the current financial year," so that the running of regular passenger trains is still some months off realisation. The Railways Board has not decided what the nature of the through passenger services will be, but it has been suggested that trains may leave New Plymouth in the evening and connect with the north-bound Limited at Taumarunui at an early hour on the following morning. The frequency of that service has also still to be decided.