RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 September 1921, Page 5

RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION.

THE PRINCIPLES TO BE FOLLOWED. IMPORTANT STATEMENT BY MINISTER. The Minister of Public Works (Hon. J. G. Coates), who returned to Wellington on Monday, made an important statement at Te Awamutu at the week-end regarding the construction of new railways. A telegraphed summary of his views was published yesterday. The Minister had been asked to consent to the construction of the Te Awamutu —Putaruru railway by a local railway board. He refused to assent to the work on the ground that the railway was not a work of urgency, and that its construction was likely to be followed by a demand that the Government should take it over.

“It seems to me,” said the Minister, “that in connection with the construction of railways the policy that has been pursued has been perhaps not a sound one in determining the construction of lines anywhere. The usual thing, I think, is for the Minister or the Government to make a promise to do it. W r e think before anything like that is done that a survey should be made of all the possible routes, and rt.be cost, etc. As far as the Public Works Department is concerned, that is its first job. The next thing would be then to hand it over to the Railway Department, which would ascertain the running costs with rolling stock on the different grades, the weight of the line, and the different routes suggested. “When the Railway Department had selected the line it thought best it should go on to the Agricultural Department to see what were the commercial prospects of the line—what commerce it was likely to get if it were opened. Then before any line is authorised at all there should be a businesslike statement on the facts available, which would reveal not only to the Minister and the Government and the member for the district, but also to the people of the country, what it was proposed to undertake. “That seems to me a reasonable thing to do. It means method, but it would mean constructing lines that are of more commercial value, not only to the distirct, but to the country as a whole.”