The Daily News. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1920. TARANAKI TRAIN SERVICES.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 December 1920, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1920. TARANAKI TRAIN SERVICES.

Some time ago the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce moved in the.direction of improving the Taranaki train services, as well as the mail service- to Wellington. As the result of an interview with the General Manager of Railways, the Chamber appointed a special committee to go into the whole question and bring down proposals for an improved time-table, one that would be satisfactory to Taranaki as a whole and achieve the desired end: the speeding up of the mail train. This special com-mittee-carried out its work, and its'proposed time-fa V:' receiving the approval of the council of the Chamber, the whole matter was placed personally before the other Taranaki Chambers of Commerce, receiving their support in each instance. The .Hawera Chamber was critical, but when the various features vfere explained, it endorsed the proposals. Since then there has been an agitation in Hawera against the suggested time-table, chiefly on account of the lateness of the arrival of the morning train. Now the Star, reversing its previous attitude, opposes the proposals, which it alleges are made more in the interests of Xew Plymouth than in the

interests »f the province, and particularly of the southern part of it. It suys: "What this town must have is a train guaranteed to arrive here from the north between S.riO and f1.3(l a.m." It takes the provincial trains two and a half hours and more to do the journey at present, and the mail train half-an-huur less. So that if the train' in advance of the mail is to reach Hawera at, say !) o'clock, it must leave New Plymouth at G. 30, which is hardly practicable. The mail train cannot be speeded up unless the slower train goes ahead of it and collects passengers from the smaller stations. The earliest hour at which such a train can leave New Plymouth—or any oiher Taranaki station—is seven o'clock, and this is what was proposed. There is, however, one way by which the mail train could reach Hawera earlier, and it is by arran"inf for it to pass the slower train at Strafford. This, however, would necessitate people living at Normanby and Te Roti coming up to Kltiiam and catching the mail train there instead of going on to Hawera. Such an arrangement is not likely to commend itself to the country people concerned, and really would be against the interests of Hawera itself. The .Star points out that many children attending the Hawera schools u»e the

south mail train. As at present the latter does not stop at Te Roti and only irregularly at Normanby, only children from Ellhiini would be ailed cd. I'lider the proposed time-table they would arrive in Hawera at 10.'J.1, or 25 minutes earlier than students have been arriving at New Plymouth for many years past. The Star further states: ".It is not so important for the mail train to leave Taranaki later than it does at present, as it is for the train to arrive in Wellington earlier." ,It is obvious that unless we are prepared, to assist ourselves in accelerating the mail service, we cannot reasonably expect the Department to speed up the train on the rest of the journey for our especial benefit. The Department indeed lias made it clear that it will not even consider any revision unless a practicable scheme, backed by the whole of the province, is brought down. Half-an-hour

can be saved in Taranaki by eliminating the smaller stations, and, if the same course is followed outside, another hour can be added, a difference of U hours, surely a saving that is worth striving for I This reduction besides would mean making regulais connection with both northern and southern steamers. The Taranaki Chamber suggested that the train from Hawera should be altered to leave at 7.0 a.m. instead of 7.25. The Star says: "If 7.20 a.m. is too early for the mail train to leave New Plymouth then 7 a.m. wolild be too early for our first northern train to leave Hawera." This shows how imperfectly the writer understands the position. The Taranaki Chamber suggested that the first train, travelling ahead of the mail, should leave New Plymouth at 7 a.m., so that it asks Hawera to agree to no more than it is itself prepared to accept. If it were po-sible for the mail train to leave at 7 a.m. and the saving of 1A hours could be effected on the journey to Wellington, no objection we feel sure, would be taken by New Plymouth, but because that is impracticable the Taranaki Chamber suggests what seems to be the only alternative of changing the present 7.4.'! train to 7 a.m. to act as feeder for the mail train. It is a pity there should be any division over a matter of such, real advantage to Taranaki. The train services to-day are no better than they were twenty years despite tile great development thatVs taken place during that period, and the time has surely come when a real effort should be made to improve them. N T o improvement, however, is possible unless all parts pull together, and examine any proposals put forward' to that end in a broad and friendly spirit. If the Star correctly reflects the feelings of Hawera then we are afraid that little headway can be made in this important direction at present, which would be a great pity.