Railway Service

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 3, 19 January 1937, Page 6

Railway Service

(To the Editor) Sir, — One can readily sympathise with the passenger on an exeursion train who, according to your correspondent /'Putich with Care," had to put up with the 'atinoyance of the behaviour of half-drunken men and youths. A week or two back I had the same experience while travelling with my family. Several groups of men in different parts of the train were drunk, and drinking from time to time. This went on all the way from Hastings to Woodville and it is difficult to believe that the guard could go about his duties and not be aware of what was happening. My experience of railway travelling over the recent holiday period, however, was not all nnpleasant. The efforts of the department to improve the service were noticeable in many directions. One important improvement with which I was much impressed was the punctuality of trains. Hitherto the holiday rush _ has always seemed to be an excuse for trains to run well behind time, thus causing all sorts of ineonvenienee to the public. This state of affairs has completely changed if what I observed is the general rule. The rush of traffic seems to put the staff "on their toes" and trains can be relied upon to arrive and leave at scheduled time. But I have one other complaint— smoking in non-smoking carriages. The offenders in this respect are chiefly women and I have seen them offend under the eyes of the guard, yet that official took no notice nntil I asked him to do so. Men rarely br'eak the rules concerning smoking nnless given a lead by women. Once one or two start smoking others quickly follow suit and a carriage 'soon becomes uncomfortable to those who iise it to avoid a smoky atmosphere. — Yours, etc, "HOME AGAIN." Hastings Jan. 19, 1937.