The Daily News TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1903. RAILWAY TIME TABLE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 188, 11 August 1903, Page 2

The Daily News TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1903. RAILWAY TIME TABLE.

The rceiticg of the Chamber of Comintrce to cocsider the railway timeSable is of more thin ordinary importance aDd the subject requires to be created with more than ordinary i-iie and circumh'pection. It is vary e.ahy for tha lonian to pass resolu'iont. to make the moso drastic change?, bu tho difficulties have to be considered by tha railway expert, and unless' resoluiocs arj motlarafcly worded and thf riifficul.ies recognised, we fear representations made will carry very Jittle weight. In considering a time-tab'o he convenience of the public is doubt; lets tho first consideration, but the otLer considerations aro the reconciling of the many conflicting interests, of the capacity of tho roiling stock, weigh' and pjwer of engines, gtadop, at:d mileaga to sui'ab o -s oppint! plac s. itc, lit appears to us that th? qus i ns Lr the Ghaiubtr are: in what respect-is tha pre-ent timu-tablal eking, at d in what way it caa be im proved to huit the r. quirem<n's of tbe listriefc. These questions mu3>. not be dealt with in too narrow a e pirit, and it must bjrtmjmtered that the convenience of other towns has to be considered as well as New Plymou'h. So far as we have seen, tbe discus ioi has p oceedtd on a very narrow basis, each town expecting to get a timetable to suit itself. The cl ief points with the Department are the through trcfflo to Wellington and the local traffic If the first train in the morning fiom this end left at s=>y 6.45 it might be timed to rench Eltham or Hawe.'a early enough to arrive beforo the mail trair, and serve as a pick up train for the mail train, which could leave later, say 8.30, and by decreasing the number of stoppages pick up the difference, arriving at Patea as now. One saving could be made by doing away with the 10 minutes stoppage at Hawera, unnecessary now there is a refreshment car on the train, The first train in from Hawera might also be timed to leave Hawera at 7 instead of 7.30 and arrive at New ply mouth at 10 o'clock. Tbe train from Waitara, which would meet the first tiaia out from New

Plymouth, at Sentry HilJ, should alee ' run into New Plymouth, which would ' be a great advantage to those aex'out to get into town early, as in tint case ' it would arrive in town about 8 a.m. and return to meet the e\rly morning . train from Hiwera, getting into Waitara about.9 or 9.30. We weredis- ' pesed to favour the first train in the morning starting from Patea and re ' turning thejo at night; but wfatn (he small traffic between Patea and Ha were, by such a a train, and the heavy grades on thio piece of Jine are considersd, wo fear such a com so wou'd ba fatal t an earlier arrival of the morniDg trair, ' and we fiad all down the line as Far aHawera earlier moriiing taaics (not the Hiiil train) ar6 dtsired, At Hawern, Stratford and New Plymouth children l ore prevented from taking adv&nt-ge of ilia schools through tbes--s lute trains, and the mail train not picking up pas j srngeis as the smaller station?. N.- ! ;dui,t cbo wholo question will foj dis- i jcuared to-night, and wo merely deaie ' !to tin ovv ouf a lew suggestions, withou ' ' prejudicing the matter.