RAILWAYS AND THE PUBLIC.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 712, 7 March 1922, Page 7

RAILWAYS AND THE PUBLIC.

A CANADIAN VISITOR’S IMPRESSIONS. A Canadian whe its new residing in New Zealand told a reporter that this Dominion‘was a great place, but the administration and methods were a joke. “The first thing Americans and Canadians demanded to make America progressive was efficiency, and that combined with resourcefulness. Take your wretched railway service,” said the visitor. “It would not be tolerated for two minutees in this age of efficiency in America, efficiency being the backbone of development. Not long ago I left Winnipeg, en route for New York. I had occasion to stop at Buffalo,, and while going down the street I observed the railway bopking offices, so I entered and inquired what it would cost to go from there to New York. The clerk took my name and address. Next day a representative of the railway line at whose office I called waited on me and said they were prepared to book me through to New York, and he proceeded to show me cost and time table. He added, they would also take my luggage on the train free of cost, and guarantee its safety. “I agreed td utilise the service, and and was given a ticket on which the company guaranteed to pay) me 4s foi every minute the train was late, except when made so by act of God in arriving at New York. These railways are privately owned and a credit. When they were taken over during the war by the Government, thousands of pounds were lost. I took my ticket to the stafon and was shown to a carriage, got rny berth and went to sleep. You are never disturbed by guards or officials once you are cn the crain.

“They have a system by which they know exactly how many people are travelling from station to station, at each of which the carriages which people leave are taken off and the waiting occupied carriages are hooked on to the train. There is no waiting at a station for a train to arrive. Before the train arrives you are in your carriage. Po there are no idle seats, and everybody travels comfortably. I don’t see why such a system could not ne .neugurdeed in New Zealand, wb-'te you have less people to handle at the different stations cn the main fines.