OTIRA TUNNEL,

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume LIII, Issue 5533, 1 October 1929, Page 3

OTIRA TUNNEL,

DANGEROUS 1 SPBEID ALLEGED

IMore than a little apprehension was felt by some of the: passengers on the Greymouth-Christchurch express on 'Saturday at the excessive speec! of the train aften it left Arthur's Pass. So concerned were they, says the "Sun" that they complained about it on the journey.

The carriages at times, it is stated 1 , swayed alarmingly, and one passenger declared- that when going through a tunnel l one of the carriages tilted so much that it hit the wall of the tunnel. .At Springfield protests were made in writing to the station master, and at ißolleston an official boarded the train and took further statements from the passengers. The matter is .being- . inquired' into by the Railway Department, and an official statement is being prepared. Referring to the i'nei'dent to-day, the railway authorities said that the speed was not at any time such as would endanger the safety of the train. High speed was admitted, but this, it was stated, was because the train had left' Arthur's Pass nine minutes late, and had been again held up at Craigieburn to wait' for a goods train. It arrived 1 at Springfield on time.

According to the story told by the guard there were only seven passengers who complained about the speed, and there were 10 who did not r.ctice anything unusual. Also there were certain speed restrictions between iCraigieburn and Springfield, ar.d these were cibserved in the usual way.

The suggestion that the carriage rtruck the side of the tunnel is discauli'cl as improbable.

In. this tunnel—number B—the track curves a little, and it was possitbb that the carriages hitting the curve wculd rway more than usual. Theie is about a two-foot clearance in the- tunnel, and the carriage it is p'oir.t?d out, would have to sway to an a lamming and possibly dangerous angle to touch the side.

It i' believed' that the carriages were inspected by railway officials

tc-day