PALMERSTON-FOXTON RAILWAY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 452, 13 March 1909, Page 3

PALMERSTON-FOXTON RAILWAY.

At yesterday’s meeting of the Palmerston Chamber of Commerce, a letter was received from the General Manager of Railways, Mr Ronayne, in which he stated that so far as he had been able to discover there had been no shortage of trucks at Foxton, as complained of by the Chamber of Commerce, but if they could give any specific instance where delays had occurred he would be pleased to look further into the matter.

Mr Ronayne also wrote with regard to the Palmerston NorthFoxton train service, and stated that after having looked carefully into the matter he found that the business did not warrant the running of regular trains on Wednesday and Friday afternoons. When the traffic required it special goods trains were run, and this practice would be continued so long as business warranted it. It occasionally happened that a vessel arrived on a Tuesday or Thursday afternoou, aud was not fully discharged till Wednesday or Friday at midday. In such cases the cargo could not always be sorted out aud loaded up in time for the trains on Wednesday and Friday mornings, aud in some instances it would not all be ready tor afternoou trains on those days. Mr Johnson stated with regard to the first letter he had been informed that on the occasion when boats had been delayed at the bar the Department had sometimes to get together aud send down 200 trucks to meet requirements, and under the circumstances it was no wonder if there was an occasional delay.

Mr Cohen stated that there might be limes when there was a reasonable excuse for delays, but the activity shown surely an indication that the Department should be prepared to deal with any demand that might arise.

The matter was not discussed further.