MAIN TRUNK LINE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 293, 5 December 1908, Page 3

MAIN TRUNK LINE

AHHAXCJSiIENTS FOll CHMSTiIAS | TKAFFFIC. In the planning 0 f Christmas jour leys, tlic North Island Main Trunk line looms large m most .people's programme, and there is a good deal of inquiry about the opening date of the tlnou-li service between the two big cities (says the .New Zealand Times). To the exair sionist who likes to cover a big stretch 01 c oimtry i n little more than a week end, the Mam Trunk service will be a disappointment, for the continuous jour ncy of nineteen hours will no t be inaugurated this side of the new year llurty-six miles of tire central section are still in tlie hands of the Public Works Department, a great deal of work being yet unnnished. The main hue itself is laid and fully ballasted, but a good track is only one of the many requirements with a fast service. Th/>re are safety appliances such as the tablet system, and accommodation must be available for a large stall' of men along the line. Jkny necessary buildings are , not yet ready, and Ohakuao station, tlic most advanced on the central section, is still without its platform. Sid-' mgs and station yards have still to be provided for at many points, fencin"lias to be completed, and until all these essentials are ready, anything but a comparatively slow temporary service would, it is held, be unsafe.

A two-days service, such as is beiii" run ut present, will certainly not meet the demands of Christinas holiday traffic.

' We will have to put on a through train each way, .similar to the Parliamentary special," remarked the General Manager of Bailways, when asked what were the arrangements for Christmas traffic over .the new arterial line. " There would be very few stops, and we would probably do the journey in twenty hours, leaving Wellington at 10 p.m., and Auckland at the same hour, for it would not be safe to run over the unfinished part of the line at night . This continuous journey will be as an auxiliary to the existing, arrangement. We will do the best we can for the public, hut we won't promise very much," Asked if excursion rates would prevail, Mr Eonayne said this would probable be the case, the second excursion return being £2 2s Sd between Wellington and Auckland, and tile first-class return £3 lis 3d. Finally, the General Manager repeated his warning that the public, despite all the department would lie able to do for their comfort, will pre bably have to " rough it" on the through journey. Young men would be well advised if they took a small tent, in which to spend the night at Ohakune. They could camp in the bush, where there is plenty of firewood and water.