THE MISMANAGED MAIN TRUNK LINE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1416, 17 April 1912, Page 5

THE MISMANAGED MAIN TRUNK LINE.

Sir,—Kindly allow-me a little''space iu your valuable columns to add my quota of "growls" to (he many that have apparently been wasted upon those, responsible for the running of the most shame-fully-mismanaged lino of railway that I, after an experience of railway travelling covering almost every civilised country of the- world, have had the misfortune to havo had experience of. I refer; Sir, to the North Island Main Trunk line. Business takes mo backwards and forwards between Auckland"aiid'"Wellington very frequently, and I therefore know, to my sorrow that the many complaints that havo been ventilated in The Dominion from those who havo tho misfortune fo be compelled to travel on this line are only too true. This is a fair sample of what passengers have frequently to put up .with, viz.: Travelling down, per second express, from Auckland on Thursday last, 1, with a number of other through'passengers, who had occupied seats in. a second-class carriage all the way from Auckland, was unceremoniously "told by the official in charge of the l'almcrston North station to get out: the carriage comes oft' here!" Now, Sir, tho carriage I was in was full of passengers, many .being ladies travelling without escort, and in some cases with young children, and, as is usual in a long journey, we had made ourselves as comfortable, as the circumstances would permit: luggage unstrapped, rugs and cushions spread out, etc., naturally thinking that, having paid for seuis, anp! having occupied them right through the'previous night, and for the best portion of the day, wo would be allowed to continue to do so until the train reached 'Wellington. But in thus thinking wo had apparently forgotien that wo were travelling on a New Zealand Government line. Well, Sir, as I stated before, we had to bundle out, luggage and all, and-seek, in most cases unsuccessfully, for seats in a very much overcrowded train. Personally, I. had to stand on the carriage platform until tho train reached Wellington; many, others'did the same. This is only one of the many things that occur daily on this line, but it is one of tho things that makes people laugh a sarcastic laugh when they read in Government subsidised organs that our New. Zealand railways compare more than favourably with any similar lines in other parts of the world.—l am, etc.. A VICTIM.