Discomfort of Travel

NZ Truth, Issue 1213, 28 February 1929, Page 6

Discomfort of Travel

♦ ■■'[N drawing attention to the coti- .•,-...- dition of the passenger "rolling stock" that does service on 1 '"tile- railway routes, "N.Z. Truth" : has no hesitation m describing 1 tin carriages as antiquated, uncomfortable and hopelessly out-of-date. Certain marked improvements hay( been made m the speeding-up of mair line trains, and a genuine attempt has been made to popularise the railways as a means of passenger transport. But having said this much there is little else to say •■ about the railway system as an efficiently-conducted public service. • ■ The carriages, both first and second class, are, especially m hot summer weather, nothing less than dust-choked grimy cages m which passengers have to suffer the utmost discomfort. Railway travelling is something oC an ordeal, borne from sheer necessity rather than from choice, and little, if anything 1 , is, or. has , been, done to improve matters. •It is, of course, beyond cavil that, when carriage windows are open and the train is travelling at a fair speed, a certain amount of dust must be drawn into the compartment, but this is only one of the discomforts. What is required is better seating accommodation and more uprto-datc appointments. The jolting and rattling of springs, hard, uncomfortable seats — "upholstered" after the fashion • .of. waiting-room chairs — are all indica■tlve of bygone standards thaOare not - m keeping with modern ideas of comfortable travel. The rolling-stock at present on the ■ rails should be replaced as soon as a change would be consistent with the finances available, but certainly made— if only m gradual stages. We hear a good deal about the motor competition nowadays, and naturally, the railway "heads" ' are deeply concerned, but until the Department; brings the railways right up to date the service car will inevitablj increase m popularity. As. an overseas visitor remarked recently with a wealth of expression: "First,- class carriages! First-class cattle trucks is a better term." j Is that, then, . the opinion of oui tourists? Not much hope of building up a large tourist' traffic if the Railway Department sends visitors away with euchan impx'ession.