AN OVERCROWDED TRAIN.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1344, 23 January 1912, Page 4

AN OVERCROWDED TRAIN.

i RUSH FOR SEATS ON THE EXPRESS. l 1 (By Telegraph— Special Correspondents Auckland, January 22. ' A glaring example of the necessity for [ doubling the express train service between ' Auckland and AYellingtou was furnished 1 last evening. Although ten rassenger carriages were provided on the 9.15 p.m. train for Wellington, these proved alto- ! gether inadequate for the number of persons who desired to travel. The whole 1 of the seating accommodation was peon • taken un, and those who arrived later J found tliemselves faced with the unpleasj ant prospoct. of having to stand through ' a considerable portion of the long and 5 tiresome journey. The railway officials met the situation at the last moment by putting on an extra carriage, but this was not accomplished without a serious element of danger. The lamp at the eastern end of the plntformbein.g out, the operation was conducted in inky darkness, and f as the carriage was shunted on, the wnitt ing passengers, many of them carrying - heavy luggage, rushed the platforms. For the space of about half a minute it ; seemeil as if several of the passengers, in I their mad rush, must fall beneath the moving carriage, but fortunately no casuf alty occurred. The train when it left the station had a total of 14 carriages, comprising one postal, two goods, and 11 " passenger cars. The total number of pas--1 sengers aboard was estimated at 305.