FRUIT BY RAIL.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 245, 16 October 1925, Page 4

FRUIT BY RAIL.

CANTERBURY'S COMPLAINT, j SETTLED BY CONFERENCE. Canterbury, like several other pro- ; vin?es, lias a grievance against the ' Railway Department in regard to the carriage of fruit. Tlie particular tlifli- ; culty there lias been caused by a recent ! pronouncement of the Prime Minister, •; that it would not be possible this year j to carry fruit on the expresses from j Christchurcb. to Dunedin and Inver- ', cargill. At a conference last week Mr. ■ C. Fineran, for the fruitgrowers, stated | that Mr. Coates had given as his reason j the fact of increased passenger traffic to Dunedin on account of the Exhibition. The goods trains, he contended, would not meet the requirements of the fruitgrowers, because the extra period occupied in transit would cause the fruits to become over-ripe. He suggested that the fruit should be conveyed south on an express goods train. If the matter stood as was at present intended, the Government was giving the fruitgrowers a worse service, and j was making them pay extra freight for it. Mr. H. Chapman. District Traffic Manager of Railways, said that in ; order to meet customers, the Depart- j ment had allowed small quantities of fruit to be conveyed on the expresses. The traflic in this direction had now grown considerably, and the fruitgrowers were demanding their previous privilege as a right. Mr. Pope referred to the great increase in tomato production in and around Christchurch, and stated that tomatoes comprised the bulk of the soft fruit carried on the expresses. Christchurch tonmto-growers supplic/tt practically the whole of the southern districts.

Mr. Chapman said it seemed to liim that what the fruitgrowers were really asking wae to leave the passengers behind in order to take the fruit.

After a full discussion a tentative agreement was made, whereby the Department will accept consignments of fruit by a goods train leaving Christchurch at 7.30 a.m.. as well as by a midnight goods train.