EASTER RAIL TRAFFIC.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 78, 3 April 1926, Page 16

EASTER RAIL TRAFFIC.

FULL TRAINS THURSDAY NIGHT HUNDREDS FOR ROTORUA. iLAST NIGHT'S EXPRESSES EMPTY. Easter rail traffic has been particularly heavy this year, the peak being reached on Thursday evening. The real rush commenced on Thursday morning, when the Whangarei, Thames and Rotorua expresses left for their respective destinations. Each of them was full, and in the case of the Rotorua and Thames trains extra accommodation had to ibe provided. On the other hand, the daylight Limited for Wellington was what railway men would call a very light train. Inwards passenger traffic was just as heavy as that outwards all through the day. Trains from the country brought their full quotas, and the railway arrival platforms were hives of industry when the evening expresses commenced to come in. It was when the time for the departure of the Main Trunk expresses arrived on Thursday evening that the station facilities for handling big crowds were taxed to their utmost, and even beyond it. Had it not been for the excellent supervision by the whole of the staff on duty, there would have been much inconvenience caused. The huge crowds were handled most expeditiously, and the three expresses, which got away for Wellington on time, were full. The Limited and the ordinary 7.45 p.m. express had been' fully booked" up for some days ahead, and the 8.40 special managed to accommodate comfortably all who had failed to make reservations. The night trains to 'Whangarei and Rotorua were packed with people. The latter had 19 carriages, and even then people were compelled to stand. Two cars were taken off at Frankton, thus 6howing that many Waikato travellers made use of this particular train, which left after 10 p.m. The "up" daylight Limited from Wellington was over an hour late in arriving, and it was estimated that it carried over 150 people standing. The special from the King Country was also very late in reaching Auckland with her full load of human freight. Both these trains had been .blocked down the line on account of a goods train ahead of them being hung up on an incline. Yesterday's express to the Thames was another very full train, and it was closely followed by the Rotorua express as far as the number of passengers were concerned. The express from Wellington -which arrived during the morning was a good train, but nothing out of the ordinary, for this time of the year. Last night there was a distinct contrast, and the number of passengers travelling had dwindled down to a mere handful in comparison. The Limited, which got away at 7.10 p.m. sharp, was only half filled, and there were scores of empty seats. The ordinary express was worse. All her passengers could have been comfortably accommodated in four carriages. There were ten cars without a passenger in them, and cars in the front of the train left the station unlighted. Four or five of the vehicles were being returned to Wellington, from whence they had come full of passengers during the last few days. This morning saw another falling-off in the passenger traffic, the daylight Limited for Wellington hardly being patronised. It is expected that there will be a fairly heavy rush of traffic to-morrow and Monday evenings.