The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 3, Issue 7 (November 1, 1928)
Cost of Converting All Lines to 4ft. 8 ½in. Gauge
Cost of Converting All Lines to 4ft. 8 ½in. Gauge.
The cost of converting all lines to the 4ft. 8 ½in. gauge was estimated at #57,200,000, made up as follows:—
Alternations to existing lines and structures | #48,355,000 |
Any new lines necessary | 2,596,000 |
Adjustment of Rolling Stock | 6,249,000 |
Total | #57,200,000 |
But there is a probability of the gauge question being again revived as the Prime Minister
in his recent Policy Speech stated that at a Conference the Government would again submit for consideration the question of the unification of the gauge of our different railway systems. However, in the face of Australia's financial position, it was quite impossible to carry out the general unification of the gauges recommended by the Royal Commission in 1921. As a result of a Conference held in 1923 with the States, the construction of line, from Kyogle to Brisbane, linking Sydney and Brisbane by a uniform gauge, was undertaken under an agreement between the Commonwealth and the States of New South Wales and Queensland. The Government believed that the time had now arrived when a further step forward might be taken in the solution of this great problem.