SUBURBAN TRAINS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1452, 29 May 1912, Page 7

SUBURBAN TRAINS.

♦ IMPROVEMENTS DEMANDED. DEPUTATION TO THE HON. A. M. iLYKRS. A ilepntalion vepresentinp; rc.-idr-iil- of die suburban area along tlie Jlanawatu lino waited yesterday upon (lie Hon. A. Jf. Jlyers (Minister /or Tinilivays),.lo ask that tlie railway pcrvites connecting tho district, with the city should be improved. The deputation was introduced by Jlr. A. L. Uerdman, M.P., -who stated that ho had been nsked to perforin that duty for Jfr. W. IT. D. Bell, .M.l'., who was unavoidably absent in the Taranaki district. Mr. F. IloUlsworth (Jlay-ir of Onslow) said that ho took it that the whole object of tho suburban services wa.s to allow peoplo to live in tho suburbs. The borough of Onslow contained 2000 acres, MOO ot' which weto available for building and residential purposes. In Ills Jatio of 15 persons to tho acre, the borough could carry a population of 20,000. Its present population was only' about 1800. The smallness of tho borough population was largely to bo accounted for by the lack of train facilities. The deputation had come to urge tlmt these facilities should be improved. It had to request, first, that suburban trains should be run to and from Lamhton Station. At present, 3ir. iroid.iwoi-th stated, mileage was leckoneij to Bunny Street in dealing with these trains, 'but passengers were landed halt a mile further north. The second request of the deputation was that suburban trains should be run to time.' 1 Ml'. Holtlsworth mentioned several recent instances in which trains had run from twenty to forty minutes late. The third request of tho deputation was for extra trains. An extra train on Saturday at p.m. wns desired, and it was also asked that a passenger car should be put on the goods train leaving Thormton shortly after 8 p-m- Another request was that the 9.15 train should he run every night. Smoke at present constituted a serious nuisance, Mr. Holdsworth stated, on the suburban route under review, anil the deputation asked that steps should be taken to abate it. Finally, he asked fot an extra evening train on Sundays. Jtr. J. G. Harkness stated "sidenk of Johnsonvillc-and of tho district as far north as Paekakariki were representee on the deputation. These people felt that they had a very serious tho Government, on account of the » i in which they had been Jtreated in past, 'l'hero had been difhculti<?» m tho way of coping with the demands of suburban. traffic, but it was beginning to !» recognised, in Australia aud ot or ) c<nl tries, that shburlxin railways.must be constructed ahead of Tho Hutt Road'and Railway Bill of WOs had absolutely prohibited the construction of an electric or other tramway on the Hutt rood and since tho local Ijodies concerned were thus prevented from «=i«S means as their judgment considered best, to develop the district, they considered that tho railway facilities afforded them i in the future should be very much better than at thi present moment. It tlie Minister looked: into the matter he could not escape the conclusion that the suburbs had b?en very unfairly treated. Jho train' most used by business people was that which 'left Paekakariki at (>.»O a.m. It took almost two hours to run 2o miles, liie express trains covered the distance m 1 lionr 22 minutes, or 1 hour 2G minutes. Five to six hundred people travelled by the morning tra.in and Jtr. Hnvkuess submitted that it should be speeded up and also that it should be run to Lambtoii Station. The people using it were entitled to tho samo facilities as were enjoyed by people living at Petone or the Hutt. Mr. W. L. Thompson, chairman of tho Johnsonvilte Town Board, supported the requests advanced by previous speakers and stated that tlicso requests represented the minimum that would satisfy the peoplo concerned. At present tlio people of Johnsohville were charged for at lfiast one mile more than they were carried over. . They asked that they should-'either be taken to Lambtoii Station or the fares adjusted to tho distance that they had to travel. _ Mr. Myers, m replying, said that tlie deputation had raised a number of quesfcions which Totjiiired consideration. Tie was quite in sympathy with the statement made by one speaker that circumstances sometimes justified mi anticipation of trafllc. No one would be more gratified than himself to see 20,000 people living in Onslow Borough, and, naturally, whoever was Jlinisf-er for - Railways would 1)6 glad to malce provision for so largo a population. "With this feeling, he would l>e very triad to go into tho whole question. * Tho running of suburban trains to Lambton Station, "Mr. Myers continued, presented more difficulties than appeared on the surface. The construction of the central station would involve a-considerable expense, and in view of this itAvould cost more than present circumstances warranted to bring suburban trains to Lambton instead of Thorndon Station. Mr. Myers promised -to ascertain whether any justification existed for charging .suburban residents more than the distance actually travelled, and also promised to ronlce inquiries as to whether the smoke nuisance could bo abated.

As lo the statement that the Hutt Bond and Railway Bill of IDOS had prohibited tlio use of tho road for electrical tramway?, Jfr. Myers said that tlie Government was quite justified in saying, "we have spent a large amount of money, and \vs do not wish fo offer facilities for competition." "X will readily admit," added the Minister, "that taking up that position involves doing justice to your responsibilities by providing methods of travel at prices which would justify their receiving general approba-.| tion. So long as lam hero a= Minister for Railways, T accept that position fully. The greater tlie monopoly tho greater 1 sliould be the recognition by the Government of tit? necessity of carrying out its obligations." finally Mr. Myers promised to notify the member for the district as soon as he had come to a decision on tlio various questions raised. state¥ent — by the~mlnister" BETTER SERVICE PROMISED. The Minister for Railways informed a reporter last eve'iing that, in view of his departure for Napier this morning, he had looked carefully into tlie matters rai'sed yesterday by the Johnsonville and Xgiio * deputation. His investigations showed that while there had been occasions on which, owing to the late running of tlie long-distance trains, the outgoing suburban trains had been somewhat delayed. if. was not correct to say that the incoming trains were not running to time. Owing to the fact that iVgaio Station was very awkwardly 'situated. Hie crossing of trains at that, place could not always, be perfcrmed as expeditiously as at stations which were more favourably situated, and it was possible that if a crossing, siding, and tablet, station were provided at Khandallnh the delays at Ngaio might bo avoided. The establishment of a tablet station at Khandallali would be taken into consideration should it be found that tho delays of which complaint had been made continued. Steps would, however, be taken, to minimise the delnrs as much as possible, the Minister being desirous that trains should run well up to time. Tho 5.H) p.m. train will run as far as Johnsonvilln on but the renuest that a passenger.carnage should be placed on the 8 n.m. goods train cannot be complied with. Arrangement-': will be made for the 9.45 p.m. Irani to leave Thorndon about 10.20 p.m.. and lo run dailv, but no extension of the , Sunday services can be arranged at The iiucsfinn of reducing the smoke nuisance will be c.wfullv looked -info, and arrangements made to minimise it as much as possible. After looking closely no tlie request thai suburban trams should start from and run into Lambton Station, tho Minister finds lliat under existing arrangements it is not practicable to give effect to the request. Tlie alterations involved in connection Willi Hie (run services will, the 'Minisler inionn= u<, take cfiVH; as from July 1.