THE OPUNAKE RAILWAY.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 October 1915, Page 7

THE OPUNAKE RAILWAY.

SLOW PROGRESS. Mr. L. A. Bone, president of the Hawera Chamber of Commerce, took advantage of an opportunity on Friday (says the flawera Star) to visit the construction works on the Opunake branch railway line from Te Roti towards Kapuni. On the whole, he was bound to admit disappointment at the rate of progress being made. Construction work was in evidence along the whole route, but just at present it would seem that the slowest possible pace has been set. A very good example of this may be seen at the cutting where the steam navvy is at work; it is no doubt a very fine piece of mechanism, capable of removing great quantities of spoil, but It is at present, and has been for some time, worked at a speed that must be many degrees below even its average capacity. The fact is apparent to the most casual observer. The spoil has to be removed from the cutting in which the steam navvy works, to u filling about two hundred yards distant. Between the two points there is a double track of rails and fair number of the ordinary tip-trucks. But there are only two horses to work the trucks,, with the result that the steam navvy is kept waiting and waiting all day long, and is apparently not working to more than a third of its capacity. These are the simple facta as they exist to-day, and a very similar state of affairs has been in existence there for some time past. Under present conditions three or four good shovel men could fill the trucks as quickly as they are being cleared; four men are required to work the steam navvy, therefore this piece of machinery is really uselessly burning coal. If two horses are insufficient to keep the steam navvy properly employed, surely the sane thing to do would be to close it down or provide more horses. No sensible contractor would dream of carrying mi the work in the way that the Public Works Department is (loin;; this construction work, and there is no wonder the public so frequently cries out about the waste of money. Anyone who has been witching the rate of progress lately cannot help receiving the impression that ivork is now being carried out as slowly as it is possible to do without actually ceasing altogether, and unless some radical change is made it will apparently be many years before Opunake sees the railway. Of course the changed conditions arising from the war have to be realised and their influence admitted. But if it is true, as was reported the other day. that workers were removed from this ralway to dome construction works going on near Featherston, then an explanation should be given by the Department. Tt cannot be equitably claimed that the Opunake line should be pushed on to completion while other similar works are at a standstill; but there is strong"ground for complain if workers are transferred from it to other lines of probably less urgency. But in any event actually the system being pursued on the Opunake lines means waste, getting less than should be obtained for the labor and capital engnged, and that cannot be good for the Dominion and for the district in the present, or any «M«eivable financial situation.