The Daily News. FRIDAY, MAY 20, 1921. THE TRAIN SERVICES.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 May 1921, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, MAY 20, 1921. THE TRAIN SERVICES.

The General Manager of Railways is at last about to pay his long overdue visit to New Plymouth, and thus give the people of the town and province an opportunity of representing to him the very great disabilities under which Taranaki is laboring in connection with railway conditions and the necessity for immediate improvement. It is a fact that cannot be gainsaid that Taranaki is behind any other part of the Dominion in railway facilities, which are very little better to-day than they were twenty years ago, when the district was in the early stages of development and the population about half of what it is to-day. The trains are just about as slow, and the rolling stock as antiquated, as they were then. Indeed, the express train to Wellington in those days was in many respects more up-to-date than it is at present. Then, of course, there was no main trunk service, and the Department did endeavor to make of Lhe New Plymouth-Wellington service an express in the real meaning of the word. Since then, however, the service has been side-tracked until it is little better than a glorified local service. The seating accommodation is greatly inferior to that on the other express trains; no provision for some time has been made for heating the carriages in winter; the sanitary arrangements leave much to be desired; there is frequently an insufficiency of seating accommodation; and the engine power is often totally inadequate to pull the trains at any speed up the inclines. From Wanganui to Wellington the train stops at practically every station, small and large, the service being regarded as a local instead of a through one, while the stoppages of the Main Trunk trains and the WellingtonNapier train are ffcw and far between. Taranaki has a right to an improved service, and should not be satisfied with anything less than a real express service. As for the purely local services, they could hardly have been devised with less regard for the convenience of the public, and the effect has been to drive the great bulk of the traffic on to the roads. Who, for instance, thinks of using other than the mail train to and from Waitara or Inglewood and New Plymouth? The ’buses are a great deal more convenient, and they deservedly obtain most of the patronage. Taranaki is a compact, closely settled district, advancing in population more rapidly than perhaps any other, part of the Dominion, and deserves more convenient and up-to-date train services, which should play an important part in its development and prosperity. But the Department has never risen to the occasion, never of its own accord made one move, to our knowledge, to anticipate the needs, or even meet the needs, of the public. On the contrary it 'has consistently opposed any proposal to bring the train services into line with the requirements of trade and the travelling public. If the railways are run similarly in other parts it is no wonder they show a substantial and increasingly heavy loss. In the first place the trains are altogether too slow for modern demands. People are not going to use a train when the speed averages only about half that of a motor car. Take the mid-day up train from Hawera. It leaves the latter station at 12.45, it dawdles along until it reaches Stratford, at 2.23, rests there until 3.15, and then crawls on to New Plymouth, where it eventually arrives at 5.35, when it runs up to time! Five hours, ye gods, to traverse 48 miles’ The trouble is, of course, that it is a mixed train. The mid-day train from New Plymouth to. Hawera is certainly a little faster, but it is timed to depart at an hour that inflicts a maximum of inconvenience upon the public. Both these trains were decidedly more convenient in the old days. The southern train reached New Plymouth a little after three, and the northern one left New Plymouth after I luncheon instead of just before. Much

better would it be to revert to the old services. 'During the war the province put up uncomplainingly with whatever services the Department could provide, but it has a right now to obtain services its importance and necessities demand. Then there is the question of increasing the sorting shed accommodation at New Plymouth. The Department does not seem to realise that shipping is growing apace, and that overseas ships are discharging large cargoes regularly at Moturoa. Years ago the sheds were often congested by goods coming by the coastal boats, so it is not surprising that importers throughout the province with the inauguration of direct shipping are now experiencing the greatest troubles and delays over getting their shipments. This is a great drawback to the port, the interestsof which otherwise are being so vigorously pushed, and a decided loss and disappointment to everyone concerned in the shipments. Some time ago it was stated that the Department proposed to put extensions in hand, but they have not materialised. Why? Meantime, the congestion grows more and more acute. The Harbor Board’s harbor improvement plans have also been hung up because the board cannot obtain satisfaction from the Railway Department in regard to its requirements at the port. These are all vital matters to the province, and should be adequately represented to and pressed upon Mr. McVilly, who, it is to be hoped, will see their force, and lose no further time in meeting the legitimate and pressing wants of this sorely handicapped province.