Railway Agreement.

Manawatu Herald, 11 October 1902, Page 2

Railway Agreement.

THE GOVERNMENT AND THE MANAWATU COMPANY.

An agreement has been come to between the Government and the Wellington and Maoawatu Railway Company which, While facilitating the operations of the contracting partie?, will prove a convenience to the travelling public in a number of respects. The agreement provides that passengers, parcels, horses, carriages and dogs may be booked from starting point to destination station over both lines on continuous mileage rates computed on the Government scale, and the allocation to the company and Government respectively shall be on the mileage basis. The Government rolling stock, composing the mail train from New Plymouth, will be run through to the company’s Wellington station ; and similarly the mail train which leaves the company’s station will run through to New Plymouth, thus obviating the necessity of passengers changing carriages at Palmerston North.

Under the arrangements three sets of carriages will be required lor the mail service between Wellington and New Plymouth, of which it is intended that the Government shall find two and the company one. Goods traffic and horses and carriages booked through the passenger department may be interchanged at Wellington and Longhorn; passenger, parcels and coaching traffic not otherwise specified only at Longburn. A stipulation is made that the respective rolling' stock of the Government and the company shall not be used for local traffic. All locomotive power for the haulage of the mail trains between Wellington and Longburn is to be provided by the company. Trucks returning to the parent line may be loaded with goods for the parent tine. Provision is made by which the tonnage of goods passing over from one lino to the other is stipulated. For instance no four-wheeled truck is to carry less than 1£ tons, and foe bogie trucks the minimum is doubled.

Arrangements are made for demurrage on carriages and trucks held on the respective lines beyond stipu- . latod periods. Provision is made for the furnishing of monthly accounts, and the facilitating of ~ traffic bjr the officers employed by both of tfaoting parties. \ * The company has agreed to supply the Minister with schedules of fares, rates and charges fixed by the company, and the Minister - may causa the same to ha gazetted for the information of the public. Through goods consigned-to the company’s ■station for shipment at the Bailway or Glasgow Wharves are . to be shunted free to those destinations by the Government authorities, bnt 'the ordinary charges will he made shunting the company’s local coo* ' signmeuts. Neither party will ba responsible to the other for damages to persons or property travelling on the respective lines unless such damage or 'loss is clearly traceable to errors of servants employed by the respective parties or defeats occur in their respective appliances. The company is to run one train daily from Wellington to Longhorn, and one train daily from Longbucn to Wellington, to connect with -the Government daily services between Longburn and New Plymouth. The agreement will take effect as from the 18th inst.—N.Z. Times,