SOME RAILWAY PROBLEMS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1815, 30 July 1913, Page 11

SOME RAILWAY PROBLEMS.

Sir,—Perhaps it would not ba out of placo fur an old railway servant to review tame of the recent topics on railway matters at present agitating the public, seeing that we have io many 'budding general managers who are ever ready to claim that. their way of managing the New Zealand railways is the best. This is oils of the products of tho State system. I can imagine the laugh these gentlemen would raise in Britain, where railway management is considered a very highly skilled profession. To begin with, we have, that periodical agitation for tbo closing of the Te Aro, line, which is baing urged by some of the prominent members of the Harbour Board and certain membars of the Chamber of Commerce. One is' constrained to ask what do these gentlemen know about railway working, or where did t'hey get their experience. [ ajti quite suro they did not get it in New Zealand. Then wo have tho agitation for a new railway station, and I was somewhat amused to see that' The Dominion has joined in tho cry. Unfortuntely, the members of tho Cabinet who met the tc:ent deputation seem to havo some queer opinions of managing railways.' Of course i the Government have twenty or' thirty, thousand pounds to ornament a railway station, well and good, but no private ■ company would think of doing, so. Railway stations all over tho world are for i.sefulTiess, not for show. The great' thing that all railway companies consider in building i new stations is to provide for platform | accommodation for tho quick dispatch of trains. Most of the terminal stations in most of the principal towns in Britain aro not much of an ornament to the outside observer. Indeed, X havo seen some of tho very important ones below, the surrounding buildings. Of course the accommodation on tno platforms 19 ouite up to date in furnishings, etc. Tho real, ornamental stations aro out in tho country districts. Some of tho, companies have a system of giving prizes to these stations every year. Some of the fcttid officials inspect these stations iml awardthem, according to their appearance, first, second, or third 'prize. Some of these country stations are quite artistic in appearance, but this is tho rub: they are mado so by the station staff, which usually consists of a station agent and one or two porters. The platforms are usually laid out with flower beds and pot plants, which is quite refreshing to the oye._ I wonder how much of that is dono in New Zealand? The few that I have seen are mere eyesores. ' ; Then we como to the reasonable agitation for the running of the train cciring from the Manawatu lino to Lambton Station. Most of the recent Ministers havo had this before them since tho Government took over the Manawatu line, and I suppose they were all guided by the heads of the Department, and.said it could not be done, and it must be remembered that Eomo of these heads we,re quito ready to step up into the .general manager's (itair. I wonder what they would do if they bad a train arriving- at their station every three minutes for a good many hours of the day. They would see the use fc.r the Te Ato line then. Now let us loa'c at the recent railway accident at Now Lynn, Auckland, and the request for an inquiry. It seems that under the system, or want of one, for Ilia safe working of trains, followed in New Zealand, thoro is great, need for an improvement. The Department was practically at fault for this slipshod system. If any responsible officer on the railways in Britain." under til® Board cf Trade regula-tions,-did anything like what was s;.|d to lilave b?en done at New Lynn, they wruld soon find themselves in trouble. Working iincW' tho tablet system and Board of Trade regulations, it would l>o an ofienee of the first magnitude for any cfficer to allow anv engine or train to leave a station while another engine or train was in'circuit from an opposite direction until such time as that train had been brought to a stand, either by hand signal or semaphore, and made aware, of ■whnt was about to bs <iOne. I.» seems thot if Parliament (loss <rrant a public inquiry there is Toom for a £ood deal to be eaul on the present methods of working. _ am, etc., Tnos> M JIILLIGAN.