THE NAPIER EXPRESS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1840, 28 August 1913, Page 8

THE NAPIER EXPRESS.

"SPEEDING-UP" PROMISED,'? AN ENGINE-DRIVER'S TASK. : Thfcro was. ah extended discussion in the House of .Itepresentatives yesterday : ' on agitated question of speeding up the Napier express. The member for Waipawa (Mr. 6. Hunter) asked the-Minister for-Railways whether 'ho w\as an'aro that'since the two light, engines.Recently U3ed on tho .Na- 1 , pie'f-Palmerstqn/ Jsorth section-: of tho - railways jhad-been replaced by an engine ■ - of 'a'iinoro ' j>i>v.'orful-'.typo . the engine- ' dniy.or. ihad- a .difficulty, inrunning his engine at sucli low. speed'as ; to avoid reaoMng'tho various stations'ahead of tW"time-table,. and' whether. ho would mako inquiries into'tho matter •' with-a | viow. tojmeeting the engine-driver's difficulty.'.' Tho Hon.,.W. H. Hemes replied:— there has been' a, change m the class of employed -bn tho- Napder-Palmerston North lino in connection;, with tho express trains. /This. has- ; resulted from tlie re-placement-of-wooden bridges with up-to-date steel structures.' ( When light engines avere. employed it was frequently nocessary to double-head—that is, attach'two'engines to tho Napier express. Th«i,.work,,is now.dono under ordinary , circumstances by ono locomotive, whicfli on days on. .which the -traffic .is 1 light is not" pushed to ita utmost to maintain time. When, howover, tho maximum train is' attached thoro is very little margin in tlie-times now allowed,_ taking'tlio number of-stops into consideration. With regard to the question of .cutting out stops for tlie benefit of, tho long'distance'passengers On the .Napier line, my investigations show that for a period of ,six months (including the Easter holidays) the number of. passengers booked from Napier, Farndon, Hastings, - Te Auto, Otane, Waipawa, and Waipukurau to Johnsonville, Thorudon, Lambton, Petone,'and the Lower Hutt has only 'averaged'thirty-fivo'per day, or less than ono car-load!, In tho reverse direc- ■ tion tho passengers booked from t'he ' Lower Hutt, : Petone, Lambton, Thorn- . don',' and Johnsonville to the stations oil tho Napier line already named have averaged about thirty-five per day.- Tho timo-table is' now under review ; and, . if it is found practicable to accelerate tho train, it will be done."

Mr. Hunter said that/ he was glad that the agitation on the subject was likely to > bear, fruit, and that the train was to'bo'speedod up in the Bear future. When the Minister came to.revise the time-table, he would lifilve no difficulty in greatly accelerating the rate at which the train now. travelled between Wellington and Napier. . Mr. Campbell also expressed gratification all the Minister's reply.. On two occasions in his ■ experience the train •had been an hour late upon its journey, and yet had arrived at the end of its journey at tho usual time.. This showed that, at least an hour could bo cut off the journey. Time .was wasted also in stopping at unnecessary stations, in stopping at two places, within an hour's travelling, 'for hinch, and in stopping at two places close together for morning tea.

Tho Minister said that something would be done when the time-table was • being revised'in the'spring. Ho would do has best to have the speed accelerated. (Hear, hear.) Hon. members were * awaje, however, that last time the timetable was revised tho time of the journey was increased by 40 minutes, instead of being reduced, and they would have to take the risk. If the train were speade4 up' by cutting ont some stations, lie did not want how... m'embtrs to come to him afterwards .arid ciimplfiin Vabout (he stations being 'cut out: ,