RAILWAY TRAVELLING

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 128, 28 February 1928, Page 10

RAILWAY TRAVELLING

Sir.—Many thanks for your interest m my letter of the 13th inst. to the extent of referring it to the Railway Derartment for a statement. Nevertheless, their explanations fail to "explain,” and certainly do not supply any good and sutlicient reasons why the travelling public. should patronise the railways m preierenco to service cars, on this much neglected section at least. To refer to their statement —the reason for cheeking mv luggage to AAcUington only was that I had not definitely decided to go to Masterton until alter leaving the South Island. However, my wife's luggage was elmckcd right through, and did not go forward Io Masterton until tho afternoon train. Had we gone on by the morning train, it would have necessitated a second trip io the station in Hie evening to collect that luggage. Looking at it from a national .viewpoint, one should undoubtedly suppotl national undertakings, provided, of course, that they are prepared to give fhe same service and comfort as that provided by private enterprise, kervico car competition must be costing the. department many thousands of pounds worth of business annually on this section alone, and yet seeming.v nothing ’* being done to combat it. lhe essen ini weapons are convenient timetnmes. trains run strictly Io _ fhe advertts-'d time, comfortable carriage accommodation, and advertising. This last seems tn bo a feature, the value of which the (lonartment is slowly but surely On the question of convenient trains; ■\ passenger from wi s uni »o catch the Night Limited from I'nlmorston North Ims no option but to take Hie train leaving at 2.55 p.m. This, as tho department truthfully describes, is n "mixed goods”; very mixed! Attached to it is one solitary carriage, not over clean, and combining all rue virtues ot a first and second class smoker, a first mid second class ordinary Seats are of the long nneomfortaide tree so popular in the ANclorian era. A' freonent intervals one’s toot are violently trampled upon bv a nbeerv fnecu paper bov. who makes wild dashes from his seclusion in the .second smoker to fling tho dnilv news to tho settlors’ cottages alongside tho lino. , , ~ There is no doubt that tho railway officials themselves do their utmost to remove this offensive rolling stock—nnd. Incidentally, a few inoffensive passengers too! At Atani’ativnoka. the usual lial. hour shunt took olm-o. and from n hundred cards no fl'f Un<’. tho omrino lot six "J” trucks, laden will) shoon, run down the incline untended, collide violontlv with the carriages, and rebound about ten foot. T.iiclrilv. T saw them corning. But mv follnw-n.assopoer. when be i-0.-'overod consciousness, averred Hmt ho did not. -'nd so wo wended onr wonrv wav. with tho sohsconoi't nt AVoodvillo ns minted in mv last letter If is prcropicroiis fo tbiu 1 * fbnf till® in the only connection with what i" r.robnblv , tho most m’nortanf train on 11.„ Now rnilwnv sv«tom. and until somethin'* is done to brine if nn-to-do 1 ", the department cannot hone tn regain its share of tbo trnnvnort business in this section.— T am of';. TRAVEI LA. Palmerston North, February 18.