KING COUNTRY TRAINS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 257, 7 May 1910, Page 5

KING COUNTRY TRAINS.

The correspondence published below between Mr P. D. Hargreaves and the District Traffic Manager, illustrates once more the difficulties settlers and residents in the King Country have to put up with when wishing to travel south to Te Kuiti and return the same day. The lack of facilities is a disgrace to our rapidly growing district: To the Editor. Sir, —I enclose a series of communications I have had with the railway officials re a permit to travel to Te Kuiti by the-9.45 a.m. goods train from Otorohanga. My case was similar to dozens of others who desire to go to Te Kuiti, but are prevented by the action of the department in Auckland. As we have no stationmaster here (a flag station) it is out of the question to attempt to get a permit as suggested by the District Traffic Manager in his of the 26th April. What we want is is a proper passenger service which would enable us to go southward in the morning and northward in the afternoon, which could be done by a simple arrangement of trains, and until the traffic warranted a passenger car attached to the morning goods train. We are told that if passengers were carried on a goods train it would have to run to time (we are not particular to an hour). .Surely the travel ling public are the first to be considered, but apparently the department thinks otherwise. —I am, etc., P. D. HARGREAVES. Otorohanga, May 2nd, 1910. Auckland, 14th April, 1910. Mr P. D. Hargreaves, Otorohanga. Dear Sir,—ln reply to your letter of the 11th inst., I have- to inform you that it is not usual to grant permits to ride in vans'of goods trains except in cases of emergency. The ordinary passenger trains should, of course, be used in preference to the goods trains. If you will kindly advise me the reason it is necessary you should use the goods train on 27th inst. your application wlil be further considered. —T. W. WAITE, District Traffic Manager. Otorohanga, April 18th, 1910. To the District Traffic Manager N.Z. Railways, Auckland. Sir,—ln answer to yours of the 14th inst., I would be glad if you could inform me how it is to travel by a goods train even in a (case of emergency as a refusal from | the guard is what I had received in the past, even after stating my case: unless furnished with a permit from your office, which "in a case of emergency" is out of the question. This is an instance in point. Since communication commenced on the 11th inst, and before I can get an answer it iwill be the 23rd or 25th inst., as we

have a weekly mail service. MyKr reasons for wishing to travel by theSl 9.45 a.m. g"ods train on the 27t.h inst.,g|; are that I have to attend an important!! monthly meeting on that date, and as® 1 I have a considerable amount of busi-|S' ness to transact I desire to have plenty||l of time in Te Kuiti, which I shouldW have by travelling by the morning® train, whereas the ordinary passenger® train arrives in Te Kuiti at 4 p.m.,® which leaves little time for in fact, banking business is out of the® question. I have t6 return by the® 6.30 a.m. train from Te Kuiti on the® 28th so that unless I travel by then desired train, a second journey willg have to be made at a future date,|| which, owing to the busy time ofg the year, would cause a great deal® of inconvenience. I trust this ex-|| planation is explicit and sufficient toßj | obtain a permit to travel by theg| desired goods train. —Yours faith-|| fully, P. D. HARGREAVES. Ig Auckland, 26th April, 1910, 11 Mr P. D. Hargreaves, Otoro- i hanga. \ Dear Sir,—ln reply to your letter 8 |of the 18th inst , I have to inform you j Ithat the guard of a goods train is not | I authorised to issue permits for passengers to us 6 the van of his train. I Unless a permit is produced, signed by 1 a stationmaster, he'eannot allow pas- 1 i sengers to travel in his van. Even g Ithen there are certain restrictions, | | such as carriage of explosives, loose | mails, etc., which prevent the use of | I a permit. Where a proper passenger | =ervice follows a goods train it is not | desired that the latter trains be used | for passenger traffic. I regret lam | unable to authorise you to ride in thel van of the goods train because of the | circumstances stated in your letter 6fp 18th inst.—Yours faithfully, T. W.l WAITE, District Traffic Manager. 1