PAPAKURA TRAIN SERVICE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 225, 20 September 1913, Page 9

PAPAKURA TRAIN SERVICE.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —Kindly allow mc, through the medium of your valuable paper, to draw attention to a few points in the Auck-!and-Pa.pakura railway service. 1. Take the 6.40 a.m. from Papakura; as regards speed this is very fair, arriving at Auckland l generally in 65 minutes for 20 miles, but the mysterious hitch in this trip is this: when we (come 200 or 250 passengers) arrive at Penrose, we have to break up conversation and find another eeat in a train arriving from Onehunga with a-faout 30 passengers, and -resume our journey to Auckland, our late train going to Onehunga. This ie a mystery which every new passenger tries to solve but gives up in despair, as I have, aleo done. Perhaps someone can solve this mystery. 2. The return journey ie made by a large number of business people by the 4.25 'Mercer train, "which, perhaps, is the largest ordinary train, and' takee anything from 5.40 to 6 o'clock to reach Papalctrra, a solid hour and a-half or more to do what can be done in 65 minutes, with a change included, by the 6.40 a.m. train. The reaeon is this. We stop at Newmarket, Penrose, and Otahuhu, on an average (which I timed for a month) of from eight to twelve minutes. 'What for I. cannot staxe, although I watched carefully, except Penrose, where we leieurely shunted. The other stations averaged from half to two minutes; how the pooT Mercer pas&engers get on, I don't know. On one occasion last month we waited 3-5 minutes at Otahuhu for a goods train to come from P&pakura. There were from 250 to 300 passengers kept waiting on this occasion (but "good 6" don't grumble, though). 3. The 5.41, many point out, is too late for the following reasons: Those leaving business at 5 have to wait about until 5.41. and those leaving business at 6, of course, cannot -travel beyond Papatoetoe, but no doubt the traffic manager has been asked to suit this hour. What I would suggest is that a euburban committee composed of representatives from each suburb go into these matters, and' put their views dearly before the traffic manager, who, I am sure, will do his beet to help them when he knows exactly what they want (I am speaking from past experience). This would be much better than grumbling along with a chance for the Railway Department to J remedy things, and thus encourage suburban settlement, which cannot be attained , without access. 4. One more point: The funny side about the 12.33 on Saturday (which is a ! great improvement on .the old order, for which we are thankful). Ere we leave jAnekland, a guard , hurries through each carriage, calling out, "This train , dnoe not stop this 6ide of Crossing." and there, is an exodus of passengers for intermediate stations: nevertlielees, we do etop at every station. This is dffne every Saturday, and at every station people are told , we do not stop. Xot naughty, tn.it funny, isn't it? —I am, etc., SUBURBAN.