The tyranny of terrain & the chance of a railway

BYJEFFREY MANE FEBI

THEY CALL US CAMELS. They call us white horses. They call us semi-trailers. They call us many names. Names of things we don’t know much of.

We’re they who walk with the strength of our grandfathers; those bygone men who had tamed angry rivers; appeased bellowing clouds and walked with mists. Our coffee beans shall not go to waste! Our coffee beans shall not go to waste! O no – no – no; shall not go to waste!

On many a rugged hill, where clouds most often than not come to watch and cry over them that rise on any given gloomy day with sweaty brows, blistered shoulders and burdened hearts; a father, a mother, or a child continues on a journey this day; a journey that began 38 years ago. The destination however seems further still.

On a rocky ridge where violent winds come to play, a mother firmly cuddles in her weary arms a package from which a pair of sickly eyes peered into her eyes; though devoid of animation, manifests life and all its flaws quiet dramatically. It is only a matter of steps before life itself is shut out.

At the foot of a ridge, way down below, over a fast flowing river, a rope bridge swings dangerously to the left then right under a massive load. A stretcher, of wood and reinforced used-rice bags, is being ferried across on shoulders; a step at a time.

 One wrong step and death is inevitable. A skinny arm, like a dried tree bark, reaches out and attempts to grasp a side pole as if to steady the unsteady stretcher.

On a lookout, a resting place where multitudes have paused here to gaze and marvel at the beauty of the seemingly unending mountain ranges, waterfalls and the evergreen faces of those ranges; a teenager pulls out a piece of newspaper leaf from a side bag.

Before he rolls his dried tobacco leaves, he reads: …the gov…ern...ment… and stops. However the next word is pronounced and whatever the bloody hell it means isn’t going to harass his exhausted mind; not now. Soon he’ll be puffing his exhaustion into tiny circular and skinny columns of drifting mists of vapour.

These typify the struggles of many of our rural Eastern Highlanders. Places like Unavi, Gimi, Marrawaka, Unggai and Wesan, for instance are daily impoverished by the tyranny of our rugged terrains.

Other places in Papua New Guinea: Teleformin, Menyyama, and Salt-Nomane to name a few encounter similarly daunting circumstances.

The prevailing challenge is how to connect these largely organically rich and pristine areas to vital government infrastructure and or how to deliver vital government services to them on a daily basis.

Roads seem to be the answer at the outset however, over time PNG has learned that they become increasingly problematic due to neglect as we know. In addition, soil type, high tropical rain falls and sheer vastness of these ranges and the likely enormous costs of maintenance makes building roads an overwhelming challenge if it isn’t impossible.

This brings to mind railways and trains. Though untested technology in the PNG situation, it’s worth a try.

The next face of development and growth envisioned in the PNG Vision 2050 could ride on the back of trains and railways connecting the potentially rich and under-utilised rural Eastern Highlands and other rural areas of PNG.

Comments

[Peter R Jokisie]

Awesome, i love the play of words and rhythm in it, reminds me of Sweeney Todd, hehe. Keep up the good work Jeff.

[Clyde Willis]

You could easily build one along the coast, and the maintenance may be cost saving ultimately. Modern track laying and maintaining machines can do this quickly.

Our roads in wet weather are destroyed quickly by heavy trucks. If heavy freight was transported by rail, our roads would last way longer...

Road transport vehicles truly destroy many of our expensive roads. Tunnel making machines are high tech and fast to make now, quick and easy to build in the highlands too.

If trains can climb up mountains in the Himalayas and Kuranda etc then our high tech tools can make it viable.

If you can transfer the weight and cost of maintaining bitumen highway, then the nation will benefit.

Key freight routes could be independently built instead of roads only, and later railways can be linked to join longer distance coverage.

[Peter Kranz]

Hey people - railways have been dreamed of and sometimes built in PNG since the 1890's!

There's an interesting collections of records and documents about railways in PNG here -

http://www.pngbuai.com/300socialsciences/transport/

If you go to Bootless Bay and drive down the road to the Motupore/Loloata wharf off the Magi Highway you can still see the remains of the old Owen Stanley-Bootless Bay mining railway track.

[Jeff Febi]

There need not be a province wide or country wide network!

I mean, only connecting the rural areas to an urban centre or highway that will enable rural dwellers ease of access to facilities and school materials and medicine can easily be transported back to them on a daily basis.

[Regina Dorum]

And I thought I was the only one who actually thought of trains in PNG, enough to lure voters my way when I contest for national elections!

Looks like I was not the only one. It is really a great idea and our government should look into the possibilty. Great writing, Jeffrey.

[Mrs Barbara Short]

Great writing, Jeffrey. And a great idea, which is something worth thinking about.

There have been lots of small railway lines built in PNG over the years, mainly near the coast. My husband has a copy of the book written about them.

The Kuranda railway behind Cairns, is one that conquered conditions similar to parts of PNG highlands. It's not a silly idea.

I suggest you speak to your local member of parliament about it.