PALMERSTON RAILWAY STATION

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 152, 22 March 1919, Page 2

PALMERSTON RAILWAY STATION

BETTER ■ FACILITIES SOUGHT. Uy ■ foicgraph.-Spccial Correspondent. .Palmerstoii N., March 21. Agitation is 011 foot to bring pressure to. Ue.rti' on" the authorities to provide l'almerston North with, a railway station and facilities' more commensurate with the importance of the town as a railway clearing station. It is generally eonceded that PiilmbrMOn. North is a solid business town, but the importance which it occupies as n distributing centre is, it i§ claimed, not realised to the extent it ought to be. This is borne out b.v the fact that the average number of vehicles- passing through the station daily, including the slack period ;of the winter months, wol'ks out at between 1400 to 1500. Of the actual business of tlio station fully 75 per cent, is taken up with transhipments, and this, of course, -entails an iinmenso amount of handling. 111 order to cope with this it is otten necessary for the staff to work till 0110 or two in the morning, and duv and night shifts have had to be put 011 in the yards. Tlio work is done under very adverse conditions, and in spite ot additions made to'the sidings the accommodation provided is .totally inadequate, while the goods slieds and stores are only sufficient for dealing with about half the quantity of freight handled. 'Ihe passenger traffic also has increased bv leaps and bounds, and the transhipments, as in tlio ease of goods, are extremely heavy, and it is estimated that at least sfto,fliw. packages of Dnssengers' luiwrce I are handled during tlio year. All tilings considered, the .need .of a-new railway station and increased, yawl accommodation was nevermore urgent than at tkft 1 nrescnt time,