TRAIN TO AUCKLAND.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4810, 13 February 1925, Page 3

TRAIN TO AUCKLAND.

BWNiNO SBBVICB FROM THiIMES* VIEWS AT CONFERENCE. An important conference, attended by delegates from a number of Chambers of Commerce was held at the Parish Hall, To Aroha, on Wednesday last. Mr H. Welsh, business agent for the Railway Department, . and Mr C. E. Macmillan, M.P., were present. Mr H. E. D. Wilcox, president of the Te Aroha Chamber of Commerce, presided. The Paeroa Chamber was represented by its president Mr E. W. Porritt. A number of letters were read from chambers which had been asked to send delegates. The Te Kuiti Chamber advised that its district considered it was well •served with evening train services, Tauranga advised that it was prepared to support Te Aroha in its efforts. The Te Awamutu Chamber advised that though they recognized the desirability of an evening train they hesitated to associate themselves with the movement. Thames wrote assuring the chamber of its hearty support. J. A. Cahill, secretary to the Auckland Commercial Travellers’ and Warehousemen’s Association, wrote stating that travellers working the district favoured the suggestion, and would be pleased to assist in carrying out any decision to improve the - service. Mr Willcox briefly welcomed Mr C. E. Macmillan, M.P., and the visiting .delegates to the conference, and said that the distance a number of delegates had travelled to attend the conference was surely a fair indication that ..the project .was of paramount importance to a large area of territory. He briefly explained that the conference had been called >-0 discuss with the commercial agent of tlie Railway Department (Mr Welsh) a. proposal to run an evening through train from Thames to Auckland. The proposal was that the present “ wildcat” from Thames to Frankton Junction should be run through io Auc(and, and be timed to arrive there

before the last trams cease running. ' Such a train would carry passengers from the Thames and Rotorua lines and pick up passengers from Te Awamutii and Te Kuiti. The chairman stressed the advantages that such a train would be to the travelling public.

Mr Osborne, president of Morrinsville Chamber of Commerce, explained the advantages that would accrue to bis town if the service eould be given effect to. . Mr B. C. Taylor (Matamata) said

that he favoured the present 4 p.m. train from Matamata leaving earlier, and being speeded up so as to reach Frankton in time to connect with the proposed train to Auckland. His chamber was anxious to avoid the break at Frankton, which at present . existed The chairman said that the main point to be considered by the conference was to get the train to run from Frankton to Auckland. The qufetsion of arranging a schedule suitable to district lines should be left to the Railway Department to con- . eider. Mr E. W.l Porrit, president of the Paeroa Chamber of Commerce, said that his chamber was in sympathy with the project, but it would not press the matter unless it could be shown that the undertaking would he commercially sound, and that the ■service wa« really wanted by the public. He favoured a full discussion being held, and suggested that Mr Welsh should retire while the matter ■ was discussed. The chairman concurred, and Mr Welsh unhesitatingly-left- the buildPrcceeding. Mr Porritt explained tli at so far as Paeroa was concerned a thoroughly reliable jsteamer service and reasonable rates were available, in addition to the railway service. The Waihou River service was one of the greatest assets the district had, and it would be a. serious matter for ♦ lie department to suggest that the ' shipping company should not be patronised. and lie understood that the Railway Department was looking for this-assurance. Then, again, he had been led to undenstand that there was a possibility of an evening through train being run, to the possible exclusion of the present 6.40 a.m. twin to Auckland. The loss of the morning train, he pointed out, would be a seri--eus one to Paeroa and district, and unless the department could give an assurance that the existing service would not be curtailed he would be loathe to support the project. Mr B. Coulter (Te Arolia) said that if the department adopted the attitude suggested by Mr Porritt it would be preposterous. He understood that the Thames line was one of the best paying lines in the North Island. That ■should be considered, and a line of ~uch iniportance deserved consideration. The difficulty seemed to be to arrange for the train to return to Thames, but he believed that could be overcome. It was not feasible to consider taking off the steamer service.'

Mr Porritt said that if the river seivice was withdrawn the preferential tariff from Waihou to Thames would be withdrawn. . - Mr C. Rayner, Te Aroha, was of the opinion that the operation of a shipping company should not be taken into consideration. It Would be a ■ short-sighted policy, he thought for the Railway Department to say that tlie train would be granted on condition that the river steamers, were withdrawn. The chairman agreed that the river •service 7 was beyond the scope for argiiEient, and the Railway Department should be prepared to meet its

’own • competition. Mr T. E. McMillan, Matamata, mov- | 'ed that the matter of the steamer traffic on the Waihou River be not considered. To withdraw the steamer service so far as Paeroa and district were concerned would be suicidal, he contended. The conference should not '4. expect to gain its service at the expense of Paeroa’s river service. It was resolved that the railway

service be discussed on its merits. In reply, Mr Welsh said that ne would be pleased to place the matter before his department. ROUND TRIP TO AUCKLAND. Mr Coulter suggested that the department might make an endeavour to work in co-operation with the shipping company and institute a round trip excursion to Auckland. He favoured a. trip being run by the department from Thames to Auckland, returning by steamer, or vice versa. He said that such a proposal would not only establish a certain amount of goodwill between the department and the company, but ne believed such an excursion would be popular and receive hearty support from the public.

Several others present spoke • in support of the suggestion. Mr Welsh stated that sp long as the public was prepared to give whole hearted support, no doubt many excursions would be made practicable.

SECOND-CLASS ACCOMMODATION.

Mr A. Fitzpatrick (Cambridge) introduced the subject of better accommodation for second-class travelling. He pointed out that nearly seventyfive per cent, of the public travelled second-class on the railways, and he contended that the accommodation and facilities in that class were inadequate and out of date. The distinction between the first and secondclasses was too great, and he contended that if railway travelling was io be made more popular the department would ha ; ve to spread itself and cater more thoroughly for the requirements and comfort of its passengeis.

Mr Welsh explained that an alteration to the rolling stock necessarily meant the expenditure of a large amount of money. The department was glad ,to receive suggestions for improvements to its services, and he could assure the meeting that a large number of improvements in every department could be expected before long. The department was fully alive to the fact that to meet its competitors every endeavour would have to be made to carry out improvements. and by studying the requirements and conveniences of the public to popularise the service. It was recognized that reform in the service was necessary, and it would be gradually brought about, and the greater tiie public support received the greater would be the improvements. The railways were the property of the people, and as such should be supported In conclusion, he said that it had been a privilege to attend the conference, and whilst he was not ip a position to make definite promises he would assure the meeting that the various suggestions would receive the department’s careful consideration. He felt sure that much good had been done by attending such a representative gathering and hearing the reasonable suggestions which had been brought forward.

A hearty vote of thanks to Mr Welsh and the' chairman concluded the meeting.

Mr C.E. McMillan, M.P., said that he understood the conference was asking for a passenger train, and that goods did not enter seriously into the discussion. He thought that tne evening service would be a decided advantage to settlers at Matata and Tauranga, whether the passengers joined the trair at Waihi, Paeroa, or Frankton.

Mr Harris, Walton, supported. The' chairman said that the meeting was unanimous in its request for the extra train from .the district to Auckland, but he thought it was necessary to discuss some scheme for malting the return journey a payable proposition to the department. Mr Coulter thought that if the trains were speeded up the whole of the services would show' a working profit. Mr Cauldwell, Tc Aroha, favoured cubing out the “wild cat”-trains altogether. if this was done he believed that train travelling would be more generally supported. He did. not anticipate any difficulty in arranging for the return train to be run on a. payable basis, especially if the present 4 y.in. train from Auckland to Frank'.o” was run several hours later. Mr A. Board, secretary of the Tc Arolia Chamber of Commerce, read a letter from the Hon. Minister tor Railways in which it was stated that the disadvantages of accommodation at Frankton in connection with the present service were not serious, and any alteration would not find favour with the public. The chairman said .that a vote J® appreciation was due to the department for running the limited express between Auckland and Wellington, and its retention should be urged. The suggestion was approved of by the meeting. Mr H. Welsh, business agent, N.Z. Railways, was then invited to the conference. and the views of the meeting were placed before him by the chair-

man. In answer to the conference Mr Welsh said that the question of an extra train was a matter of economics, and he regretted that the meeting had not shown how the proposition was to be made a payable one. The department had not been shown that the provision of the train would decrease the number of passengers wno used the river service to Auckland. The Thames people had asked the Government some time ago to spend v4O 000 for locomotives to be built at Thames so as to keep Thames workmen in employment and generally benefit the town. At the same time Thames was not prepared to unanimously support the existing railway services in preference to the steamer services. A request had been made for an extra train, and the department was prepared to bear any loss, but it was reasonable to expect the support of the public. He contended that the railway service as a whole was not an inefficient one. Any reasonable complaints made would be thoroughly investigated, and if the department was at fault the matter would be out right. He assured the meeting that many reforms in the department were about to take place, and public convenience would receive full considera-

tion, but the onus was on the public to support the department in its efforts. The speaker enumerated the development work and concessions which the department had made available, and which the public was only too ready to overlook or forget. Unlimited support from the public was expected and necessary. Mr C. E. McMillan, M.P., assured Mr Welsh that larger support from the settlers of the Bay of Plenty would be forthcoming if the department would lay itself out to cater for the convenience of the travelling public. Mr Coulter said that the matter under discussion was purely a commercial undertaking, and there should be no conflict of opinion between the various towns. He contended that the request, from Thames to allow the new locomotives to be built there was a reasonable one, and infinitely preferable to having them built in America.

Mr Coul,ter instanced cases showing the efforts made by the shipping company to meet claims for damage to goods or short shipments, whereas in many instances the Railway Department kept the matter in view, and very often forgot all about the claim. The carriage of goods and the convenience -of the public, he contended were matters not studied by the department, and he asked if the department could not popularise its services by working in with the shipping companies. The departmental officials had admitted that the Thames-Frank-ton train was paying handsomely, in spite of. the competition with the steamers. The department had also to face the matter of motor traffic, which was developing rapidly and could be expected .to still further increase as the highways were improved. Mr C. Andrews, Te Aroha mentioned a number of anomalies that existed in the present service. He favoured the running of goods trains only, and speeding up the passenger trains. The speaker quoted instances of loss being sustained by the department in connection with the running of race trains. He said that the enormous production of the Thames. Valley in dairy produce alone demanded that the department should give the settlers every consideration. He favoured the department making its freight rates more public, and contended that if the railway rates were made better known hundreds of tons of goods would be forwarded by rail ; but very often the department was reluctant to supply information ci make its rates known to the public, where,as the shipping company was only too willing to supply a detailed schedule of rates for the carriage of goodis by steamers, as well as passenger fares. Several other speakers assured Mr Welsh of support from their districts. To finalise the discussion the chairman moved : “That this meeting of Chambers of Commerce, representing settlers of Matamata, Morrinsville, Tauranga, Rotorua, Te Aroha, Paeroa, Thames, and Cambridge, urge upon the Railway Department the necessity of providing a through evening train from Thames to Auckland; also that tiie department be urged to retain the present limited express.” Seconded by Mr B. C. Taylor (Matamata), and carried unanimously.

-Mr Welsh thanked the meeting for the opportunity afforded him of hearing the views of the settlers in the district and he assured the gathering that the request for a through train would be presented to his department forthwith. While he could not say definitely that the train would be run he stated that the claims of tiie district would receive every contsiderafioji. In the near future the public would find that the whole of the existing services would be reorganised, and wherever practicable the convenience of the public would be studied and every effort made to popularise railway travelling.