IN STATE OF CHAOS

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXX, Issue 13624, 23 April 1942, Page 8

IN STATE OF CHAOS

GERMANY'S RAILWAY SYSTEM

"TIED INTO TANGLED KNOT"

The American journal "Newsweek" states: "Nine years of Nazism and war have tied the State-owned German Reichsbahn into a tangled knot. The Reichsbahn was one of Europe's model railway systems. To-day railway conditions in Germany are as chaotic as they ever were in Russia or Italy. Running on haphazard schedules, the trains are crammed with jostling and surly passengers fighting for every seat and every inch of rack space. Wrecks are frequent and casualties high, although details are suppressed. AH along the 73,000-mile rail network of Greater Germany, merchandise piles up at stations and in warehouses through lack of transport. Every new success of Germany only complicates the problem. There are huge troop movements in all directions, and it is necessary to feed, clothe, and fuel a continent formerly supplied largely by sea, and stress Reichsbahn. The seizure of a dozen countries has augmented the rolling stock, but repair and replacement needs have grown with it. British bombardments, sabotage, and continuous accidents have made matters worse. Freight cars are loaded up to one ton beyond their normal capacity. Whenever possible, shipments are diverted to inland waterways. Goods ordinarily freighted by rail are trucked by parcel post, Sacks of flour and potatoes are squeezed into passenger trains. All this had not been enough. By a drastic decree of March 22 the rail dictator has banned all civilian travel unless specially authorised. Germans who joy-ride face the prospect of a trip to a concentration camp.