RAILWAY BUSINESS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 305, 26 December 1928, Page 3

RAILWAY BUSINESS.

HEAVY HOLIDAY TRAFFIC.

RECORD FOR THE SEASON.

BOXING DAY EXCURSIONS SPOILT,

With the exception of trains arriving from Hamilton and other comparatively nearby places with race crowds, the Christmas railway rush may be said to be over. There are far more people travelling than at ordinary times, but for a holiday season the traffic has become normal, and the bustle of last week is now only a memory. There were large crowds anticipated for local excursion trains this morning to Henderson and other popular places, but the rain was the deciding factor, and trains for various resorts were practically empty. Boxing Day has always been regarded as one of the big days of the year for Sunday school and other picnics, and great disappointment is being felt by the youngsters that the day many of them have been looking forward to for many weeks should have turned out so wet.

Undeterred by the copious showers, the sport-loving community filed into the city from an early hour, and their only concern was as to whether or not the "sprints" would be held. The racing authorities could not see their way to announce a postponement, and thousands went out to Ellerslie by tram, train, bus and motor car, happy in the thought that the god of luck would be with them for their bravery. The faces of many will have undergone a change before thev return.

The railway traffic this season has been unusually heavy, and it is stated that all previous records have been broken. Arrivals by rail between December 17 and Christmas Eve numbered 23.350. This will give some indication of the way the hotel and boardinghouse accommodation has been taxed. The departures for the same period totalled 16,500. An estimate has been prepared giving the number of people passing through the railway station during the week preceding Christmas as 45,000. A large volume of business was handled at the central booking office in Queen Street, but despite this convenient innovation 11,000 tickets were issued at the railway station between December 17 and 24. Telegrams for reservations to the total of 1600 were received during the week, representing the allotment of 3500 seats. In addition, 3890 seats were reserved at the station.

There has been particularly heavy traffic on the trains from Wellington. During the week ending on Christmas Eve 12,480 passengers arrived by the expresses out of a total of 23,350 passengers arriving by all expresses. Departures by all expresses numbered 16,360, the Main Trunk trains taking 7460 of these. For the week 29 expresses arrived, the daily average being four. There were 25 expresses for Wellington. One train arrived with 1000 passengers, while others carried from 500 to 800. Expresses from Rotorua brought 2700 excursionists during the week, 2370 passengers arrived from the North, and 1570 from Tauranga and Thames. Departures for Rotorua numbered 3160, for East Coast stations 2430, and for the North 3130.