AIR-CONDITIONING

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 139, 29 June 1937, Page 6

AIR-CONDITIONING

* System to be Provided on Railways PASSENGER COMFORT Provision for efficient air-eondition-Ing in tbe carriages in nse on the New Zealand railways is now well in hand, according to an announcement made tbia morning in Napier 1 y the Minister of Railways, tbe Hon. D, G. Sullivan. \fr Sullivan outlined tbe policy of tbe Government to make tbe nationally-con-trolled Tail service of tbe Dominion as efficient and comfortable as possible. 4 4 Tbe comfort of passengers is a matter in wbicb tbe Goverument is closely interested, and a very tborougb investigation bas been made by tbe Railway Department in regard to tbe practice and experience of air-conditioning on railway passenger-carrying vebicles in other eountries," said Mr Sullivan. f4A survey of tbe position bas also been made ;so far as New Zealand conditions are concerned, and as a result of the in•formation -obtained it is clear tbat the comfort. and satisfaction of passengers would be considerably -increased if an installation- of a suitable air-condition-ing system were undertaken. For New Zealan d, tbe type required need not be elaborate but can be of such a nature tbat 5t will rcsult in the exelusion of dust and smol;e fro tho, carriages while the air in thom is mechanicallv fed with clebn purified air." Tbe system, be said, would be operat«C electrically to provide a practicallv cpnstant and predetermined tempernfnre in ihe -ears. It was tbe intention tbat this temperature sbould be maintained witbin close limits, . Irrespective of tbe temperature autside tbe ears. Provision would not be made for reducmg tbe temperature m tbe ears below tbat prevailing outsldc, as a system to do tbis would be extremely costly, coraplicated and weighty, besides being unnecessary in New Zealand, wbere extremee of heat were not encountered.^ M tb present time tbe Eailway Depr.rtment was making tests of tbe more simple system referred to on.one of tbo N.rth Island sleeping-cars, and the proposal was to provide tbis system in the JSew xolling stock now being built for biain-line services wbere tbis was found desirable. - # The cost of the system was onlv about tme-sixtb of tbat required in conntries wbere v.igh temperatures had to he provided against, and it was equally effective in tlie provision of clean" and . punfied'flir nf the. desired and prede* itennined temperature. The decision in tbis matter would be made in accordance witb tbe Government 's clear-cut policy for making tbe nationally-owned * railways as serviceablo as it was bumanly possible to make tbea fpr tbf