OUR "PROGRESSIVE" TRAIN SERVICE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9173, 24 August 1908, Page 4

OUR "PROGRESSIVE" TRAIN SERVICE.

A Sydney visitor to Auckland during Fleet Week wrote a satire to an Auckland paper on an "enjoyable" ri'-'e to Elleralie races in a cattletruck. This very modern and comfortable railway conveyance is not infrequently seen on our local line, and on a chilly or damp day an excursion in one is indeed a unique experience. The imperfections of our railway service are not confined to the breakneck speed.of the trains, as everyone knows. Many minor evils are, however, capable of easy remedy, but i;one are attempted in a great number of cases. Fur example, there are provided on many carriages lavatories and latrines, but the Department discourages the use of them for night passengers by placing no light in chem. Possibly the reason is that ttie very brilliant illumination in the main part of the carriages demands all the available gas, but it cu'taii.-ly is awkward for a passenger to have to grope round in black darkness to avail himself of tb.3 conveniences provided Nothing in New Zealand progresses so slowly as the railway tervice, and in view of the insuperable obstacles to several sadlyneeded reforns, any imperfections at all remediable should be attended to.