SUBURBAN TRAIN SERVICE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 926, 20 September 1910, Page 9

SUBURBAN TRAIN SERVICE.

CLAIMS OF PLIMMERTON URGED. A request that the suburban train area should bo .extended to Plimmerton in regard to railway rates was made to the Minister for' Railways (Hon. J. A. Millar) yesterday by a deputation, introduced by Air. W. 11. Field,. M.P. Mr. Field pointed out that it took nearly two hours for the train to get into Wellington from Plimmerton, a distance of 18 miles, and ho asked that the speed should bo accelerated. He also suggested that in order that people working in town could got out to Plimmerton in the evening, the train now leaving Wellington for Palmerston North at 4.15 p.m.' should be kept back until 5.20 or 5.30; also that the speed of the train sliould bo increased so that it would not reach Palmerston much later than the present train does. i Mr. TV. Grey, in supporting Mr. Field, read a letter from the Palmerston North Chamber of Commerce, and from a prominent resident of Levin, suggesting that the delay of the 4.15 train from Wellington for the north .would occasion no inconvenience, and would, in fact, bo welcomed, so long as the time of the train was "speeded up." • The Hon. T. K. Macdonald and Mr. A. Smith supported the request for a better suburban service, and the inclusion ot Plimmerton within the suburban area. The Hon. J. A. Millar (in the course of his reply) said that the present service was, in his opinion, a generous one. There were nine trains per day between Palmerston North and Wellington. If the deputation had asked for any additional trains, he would have had to tell them that he felt that x tho present service was ample. This year a further 135 miles of railways would be taken over from tho Public Works Department'. Every one of'tliese lines was going- to be run at ah absolute loss, because they allied to nowhere. ' Branch lines always entailed a severe 'loss'.for a number of ,years. It was impossible to sanction.an increase in the suburban ;railway area.. As the deputation well knew, he had been fighting throughout his term of office to bring tne Vailways up to paying point. 'He was therefore not going to do anything that would bring the earning . power of the railways down. The. aim was'to the railways pay their way. If the country, wanted any-other policy they,would have to get another Minister for Railways. That was easily , settled. When the suburban railway areas were established,'the objiVi Was to avoid congestion' in the cities. It had. so'happened, however, that at times trains had had 'to be run, carrying only ten'people.-Replying to an interjection with reference to the Hutt golf. links.train,: he said that it 'brought in ,£I4OO per annum. ■ , Mr. Millar went on to remark that the Hutt suburban service was one of. the few that ■, were-..remunerative. ■ The Christchurch-Rangiora; service,, on the ?:ther hand,. was not' paying; it served, armers only. If this non-paying service' meant that the suburban was J$ be de-: manded in all cases, it would simply; result in' the 10-mile suburban area: .being gazetted for everywhere. ..There' would be no exceptions. The' Lyttelton-Ghrist--church service and the Dunedin-Port Chalmers'=service both paid,'but the Dun-edin-Mosgiel service, which was within' the 10-mile area,- did not pay. There had been a demand for the increase of the suburban area at Auckland from' Mount Eden one could see enough vacant land to "carry a million-people. One reason why the extension.of the suburban area had Been refused was that lorig-disr tance travellers took advantage of the suburban rates and then booked through for .the.-remainder of ; their journey ; at ordinary rates. In that Way the, Department was losing "thousands of pourids'ahV nually. Of course, so long as there was. a gazetted rate, passengers had a'right to do this. The deputation could rest as-', sured that the whole matter, would, be fully gone into.' He might tell them,* 1 however, that speeding up a.train meant' a greatly increased coal consumption.' Dis- : satisfaction also arose if stations were cut out. If the usual guarantee were given against loss, he was. prepared' to give a, trial of a train, to: stop at Porirua.> In., conclusion, Mr. Millar remarked that mquiiy would be made to ascertain if the 4.15 p.nil train to Palmerston .-North; could •bq accelerated. '. .''';-.*--' ,'