AGY-1164 | Chief Commissioner of Railways and Tramways

Full description

The Office of Chief Commissioner for Railways and Tramways was established by the Railway Commissioners Appointment Act, 1906 (Act No. 7, 1906) (1) The Act became effective on 4 April 1907 and the first Commissioners took office commencing on that date. These were Tom Richard Johnson (Chief Commissioner for Railways and Tramways) David Kirkaldie (Assistant Commissioner for Railways) and Henry Richardson, Assistant Commissioner for Tramways. (2) The Chief Commissioner was an office of perpetual succession with a common seal, capable of acquiring and disposing of property for the purposes of the Act and able to sue and be sued. (4)

The powers of the Commissioner were set down in An Act to consolidate the Acts relating to Government Railways and Tramways, 1912 (Act. No 30, 1912) (which became known as Government Railways (No. 2)) Many of these were inherited by the Chief Commissioner from the Commissioners of Railways 1888 - 1907. These responsibilities were as follows:

to determine the location of railways stations and related infrastructure including wharves, piers and jetties if required in conjunction with railway operations;
to appoint places for the receipt and delivery of parcels and passengers’ luggage;
if he thought fit to call for tenders for loading and unloading goods;
to apply to the Minister when necessary for additional resources including stores, plant, rolling-stock and buildings;
to lease refreshment rooms, shops, rights of entrance, and advertising space and other facilities at rents determined by him;
to decline to transport any goods he believed may be dangerous:
to use the railway’s telecommunications equipment for railway business and authorise its use by the public (business needs permitting). The messages were to be translated by the Chief Commissioner’s staff and in the case of non-official business charges for the service were levied according to the rates set by the Post-Master General.(5)

The Chief Commissioner could enter into contracts or agreements as specified below:
(a) With the Post-Master General in relation to carriage of mail items; other matters relating to the postal service; workings of the telegraphic communications and the transmission of messages;
(b) With other parties for the execution of work authorised in various railway legislation; provision of materials or labour; the supply of locomotives or other vehicles and any other matter related to his responsibilities.

All contracts were to be in writing and to specify the work to be done, any materials to be supplied; the price; the time in which the contract was to be completed and penalties for non-performance of the contract. The Commissioner was required to seek the approval of the Governor for contracts outside New South Wales and for contracts that exceeded a specified price (initially £20,000). It was within the Commissioner’s authority to agree with a contracted party on consideration for breaches of contract. (6)

The Commissioner could carry or convey any passengers and goods on railway services and levy tolls and charges upon them. Such charges were to be levied according to set rates and seen to be administered fairly. Regulations could stipulate the manner in which tolls were paid. Non-payment of tolls, providing false information and other offences could be dealt with by the Commissioner by seizure of goods, or charging fines. (7)

The Chief Commissioner was also required to:
Maintain the railways efficiently and to take care of passengers and goods while on its services;
See that regular inspection of the railways is undertaken and make arrangements for the repair or replacement of railway lines, bridges, viaducts and other infrastructure and the duplication and extension of railways lines where necessary. During repairs the Commissioner was to make alternative arrangements for the safe conveyance of passengers and goods;
Provide appropriate facilities for the interchange of traffic; and to
Maintain weighing equipment by regular calibration; (8)

The Chief Commissioner was required to report as follows:
When a Bill for a new railway line was before Parliament to report before the second reading on the estimated traffic and any other returns that might be received from the railway line;
Provide a quarterly report to the Minister showing traffic returns, the condition of the railway lines, special rates levies and appointments, and removals of staff. This report was also to be tabled in Parliament;
Submit an annual report which was to be laid before both houses of Parliament each January.
The Commissioner was also required to submit estimates or income and expenditure each financial year. (9)

In relation to Tramways the Chief Commission had the following responsibilities:
To construct tramways within the City of Sydney and the Suburbs with the approval of the Governor;
To construct tramways from railway stations at a maximum line length of fifty miles; and tramlines to quarries or similar works for the purpose of transporting materials; the plans and books of reference of these tramways were to be placed before parliament and if approved by the Governor the work could proceed;
The Chief Commissioner had access to the tramlines that had been so authorised unless the land was owned by a local government authority, corporation or person; .
To acquire land for the purpose of tramway construction;
To maintain the tramways ‘in perfect order an repair’ and likewise the sections of roadway between the tracks and immediately adjacent to them;
To repair any damage to facilities (including sewers, drain, gas and water mains) occasioned during the construction or functioning of the tramways; and .
To erect buildings for the purposes of tramway service. (10)

In relation to traction and motor omnibuses the Commissioner could
Use locomotive or other tractive power;
Convert to electric traction making all of the necessary infrastructure modifications;
Impose fines on anyone interfering with the system of electrical traction;and
Acquire motor omnibuses and run these according to routes approved by the Governor. (11)

The engineering staff for the construction of new lines was formerly with the Department of Public Works, the lines being handed over to the Chief Commissioner of Railways upon completion. In 1917 the responsibility for this work was returned to the Chief Commissioner of Railways. While a local application to the Public Works Department still took place, the trial surveys, estimates, and reports where prepared by the Chief Commissioner of Railways for Ministerial approval and subsequent Parliamentary sanction. Construction of the new rail lines would then be carried out. (12)

The electrification of the City and Suburban Railway of Sydney commenced under an agreement with Messrs. Norton Griffiths & Co. in 1916, but on the agreement terminating in May 1917, work was resumed under the control of Chief Commissioner of Railways. This work continued until July 1917 when it was stopped by direction of the Government. Electrification work was not recommenced until February 1922. (13)

The Chief Electrical Engineer was also responsible for the power supply and distribution on the tramways, lighting, the design of cars and equipment for the electric and steam tramway rolling stock, tramcar repair, telegraph and telephone systems, stationary electric motors, plus the purchase and maintenance of motor cars. The Chief Commissioner of Railways controlled three main generating stations - Ultimo (Sydney), White Bay (Sydney) and Zara Street (Newcastle) - a network of substations and transformer houses. (14)

Before 1916 railway refreshment rooms were leased to contractors but as leases "fell in" the Chief Commissioner for Railways took over this role. A Suggestions and Inventions Branch was established in 1915 with the object of interesting railway staff in their particular work and rewarding them for any suggestions of proved value. In 1919 a Statistical Branch of the New South Wales Railways was established. (15) The Railways Garden Section was established in March 1923 at Homebush to provide shrubs and plants for railway stations throughout the State. (16)

The Transport Act (No.18, 1930) removed the responsibility for tramway and omnibus services from the Railway Commissioner and vested them in transport trusts under the control of a Commissioner of Road Transport.

A Department of Transport was established on 22 March 1932 (17) by the Ministry of Transport Act (No.3, 1932) which enabled the merging of the transport administration authorities. The offices of the Railway Commissioners (the Chief Railway Commissioner and the two Assistant Commissioners), Transport Trusts, the Commissioner of Road Transport, the Tramways Management Board, the Main Roads Board and the State Transport (Coordination) Board were abolished and their functions transferred to the Transport Commissioners of New South Wales. (18)


Endnotes:
(1) Railway Commissioners Appointment Act, 1906 s. 4
(2) NSW Government Gazette 4 April 1907 p. 2073
(3) Loc. Cit.
(4) Railway Commissioners Appointment Act, 1906 s. 4
(5) Government Railways Act (No. 2) 1912 s. 15-20
(6) Ibid s. 21- 23
(7) Ibid s. 24- 32
(8) Ibid s. 33- 37
(9) Ibid s. 38- 41
(10) Ibid. s. 42- 50
(11) Ibid. s. 51- 57
(12) Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Railway and Tramway Services in the Joint Volumes of Papers presented to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly 1924 Volume III, p.175.
(13) Ibid. p.202
(14) Ibid. pp. 205-206
(15) Ibid. pp. 238-239
(16) Preston, R.G. 125 Years of the Sydney to Parramatta Railway, New South Wales Rail Transport Museum, Burwood 1980 p.90
(17) New South Wales Government Gazette No.37, 22 March 1932, Vol 1, p.140
(18) Official Yearbook of New South Wales 1932-33, p.577