TRAIN SERVICES

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3042, 31 March 1917, Page 12

TRAIN SERVICES

-'-...- ♦ . v A.HEAVY CURTAILMENT ANNOUNCED PLEASURE TRAFFIC TO STOP l . SUBURBAN TRAINS ; LIMITED .. ■■■' '■' EXCURSION AND WEEK-END TICKETS ■=■■.■ TO BE CANCELLED The' Hon. W. H. Hemes, Minister . of Railways, ha,- made the following : statement regarding curtailment of railway services:— ' ' Up to December 7, 19]6, 2794 men ■' of tiie permanent staff of the Railway 1 'Department'haoVenlistcd, which isap- : ' proximately 25. per cent, of tlio whole ■ permanent staff. 'In addition, it is ■ estimated that fully' 2000 • men ■ have ' enlisted out of the casual employees of • tho Department. It will be thus seen '. .that the men of the Railway Department have been most forward in cn- ! listing and anxious to serve their country; at. the front, and the Department 1 has not beeu backward in releasing as many men as-it could,spare, without going in ! for a d'rastic curtailment of '■ the present services. Tho men remaining m tho Service have most cheerfully ■ responded to, the. extra calk, on their '■. services occasioned .by such a large depletion, but ,th 6." time has now arrived when if further men are to bo allowed to leave the. Department to answer to tho call of" ihehv country,, a serious 1 curtailment of services must, take ' 'place. ;', .' '.. . '.' ■'■•. Up to the present, the usual services ' havo-been! carried on, and it was not "'desired to Seriously: inconvenience the ' public until, absolutely . necessary. It was deemed impossible to effect any change in theheight of the travelling Reason without causing not only inconivenience but confusion. It was there'fore thought, besfcto .delay,'the changes ' T till the.travelling season was over and ;. -the winter,-beginning...--. ''.... |." .A. curtailment is now necessary, iiot ■only in order to allow more men to go '.- to the front;, and.so: to meet tho requirements of the- Military Service ' ,Boards, but also 'because it is necessary in the- interests of those who are •left to relieve them from the strain • consequent on; running, the service at high pressure with a reduced staff. The , further question'of the shortage of coal ,; jlias. also, to bo' considered.* Moreover, I the Government has 1 , received l intima- , !tion -from tho Minister for Munitions' .'■'.in-England thata, saving in such, material for maintenance and construction «s ; is... obtained from. England is. most-desirable to allow the ;' maximum output of ,■ munitions, and '. -'that this can- only be obtained by following the example of the Old Country by radically .reducing the train eer- . vices. . ■'<■'■■.' If any considerable number of 'men , are to be released, it is obvious that something more than knocking off a few race trains is'required,'and that Pleasures .which may seem to the travelling public drastic must be'adopted. I The public, however, must, and 1 am j sure will realise that, up to the present j they have "suffered very little from the war as far<as travelling and transportation are concerned, and. must now be prepared to put up with what muy in some cases be considerable inconveniences, : in order .'to, help.-to carry/.the. war, to a sucoessfulvcbnclusion.;! ': : g-jTIVe L maih ; pfoppsals_' of the -Depart- .' input-, which, havo.'.bpen appfo'vedrof by ' '•.Gabirio't-are'as' follow':— : V.\''"' ?""■ : (1) That the'9.lo p.m. We'lling- : ton to Auckland'.andthe 12.40 p.m.., Auckland to Wellington expresses be discontinued,' and that, the 8 ; a.m: Christohurch to Invercargilf '■ and the 6.10 a.m."• Invercargill to ' --'Christchurclf expresses be ;rim to . , ' and from 'Christcbuf oh • and' Dune- ' .din only: '•: ' , ' . '". ;i .(2) That all' Sunday trains; including, troop trains,, with'the exception of the night express from • Auckland and the. ferry 'train from ' Lyttelton to Ohristchureh, be. discontinued. . (3) That suburban trains be limited to services convoying passengers from borne to work and ■ .hack, shopping and midday services; bo materially reduced, -and the: lines, except .om Satfltdays,.. be. : closed before. 7,p.m., no facilities for rail travel being given after that time. • , , ' | '.. (4) That,other time-table trains; i between town-and country districts' j bo reduced in number, and that the j time and ..hours, of. running be re- . i arranged;. so that return journeys, may be. completed within 12-hours' ' ' as nearly as-.possible.' , (5) .That special trains for races, sports,,.and agricultural.-shows be ' .discontinued. ... ... ~«-.... ... .' ,". (6)- That holiday-, excursion. tic- '.'[.•' ketsj.-week-end.'tickets,-and com- ■ ! mutation (workers'. weekly i tickets excepted) be cancelled-■.--.•'-(7) That : the availability': of single • •■tickets-be' strictly' limited Jo three . -^days; -; (8) That the''availability of retijrn tickets''be-;'ilimit.ed:; to three days. This will-..-simplify, the checking of trains, and reduce;,the.,;work of accounting.- "";"'' : '-'. ■-• .ri"''.'..-.. (9) That-.-the running;, of dining ■ .'. ' cars bo-discontinued, and meal in- 1 , tervals- arranged: at suitable sta- • tionS' on the-line. This will rediicothe weight of trains,, arid release ■ the male'staff erf about 50 hands. , It will be seen that'the great object of the alteration of the train service will bo to have'as_far as possible all the trains run during a period covering twelve hours, thus doing away with double, staffing, which, together with, eliminating Sunday, traffic, is the best way'of releasing men for the front. It is not proposed at present to increase tho ordinary passenger fares, not at all. events -until the effect of these alterations on the revenuo.is ascertained. All reduced fares, such as excursion fares, commutation tickets, iotc., will, however, be abolished. The goods traffic will be interfered with as I little as possible, as it is as necessary Ito get tlte. Imperial, food supplies to jnort of'shipment as it is to find men. |~Tlie goods rates .'as, a .whole willno-t i be touched,' but .some anomalies in the 'shape of differential rates and free and I reduced carriage, will probably require to he adjusted for revenue purposes. These proposals, will it is hoped, enable the Railway Department to liberate, for military purposes the greater portion '• of the '..men! already drawn in the iballot.for whom.- exemption •• has been applied.-. If. the necessity for '• more men continues, a further reduction in train services and curtailment of facilities will require to be made. The Department cannot,' of course, release any of .its trained experts,, and ' permanent exemption must bo obtained i for those.-who havo already, been drawn in the ..ballot'; This, first -.curtailment, which it is ! proposed to bring into operation on May 1, is of a somewhat.drastic lia- ■ ture, and its primary object is,, of course, tho release of men for Defonco purposes; at the same time an eu.desn'our : has been mado to provide necessities; of'.tho community. Many .conveniences hitherto enjoyed must for J tbc''pre'soiit bo discontinued, and, if a further revision of services becomes essential, to release still moro -linen.-'the local necessities'will have to '■■•be disregarded to-further tho welfare of the Empire.