Railway Publicity.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18263, 23 December 1924, Page 10

Railway Publicity.

Tho Railway Department haa gone to a good deal of trouble to bring out a book of 120 pages giving very full particulars of the services during the holidays. Wc have not checked this book throughout, but no doubt a study of it will enable the intending traveller to find out exactly when his train will start and when he will reach his destination. He -will also find scattered through the book a quantity of advice concerning tho value of courtesy, the wisdom of taking "safety first" as a motto, tho expediency of labelling one's luggage, and the usefulness of behaving quietly in a queue. Stupid and thoughtless peoplo are numerous enough, one may suppose, to make advice of this kind well worth the small space it occupies in the book. But there are some rather surprising omissions. Not long ago the Department took an office in town, at which, it is supposed, one may purchase tickets; but there is no indication in the book we are noticing that any tickets will be sold at this office except for the excursions to Otira and Timaru. Where it is not expressly stated it is distinctly implied that for tickets for other journeys one must go to the railway station and test the soundness of what the book says about queues. As foy- the price of tickets,-no information is given except in the case of two or three special excursions. For some reason or other the Department is very little inclined to publish its price-list. It talks of holiday rates, but does not say what they arc. The passenger is urged to produce the exact fare at the ticket-seller's window, but unless he is a Greymouth man bound for Ross on January 2nd, or a Rosa man intending to visit Greymouth he is unlikely to know what the fare will be. For the only information on the subject is a lino tucked away on page 153, under tho West Coast time-table, to the effect that "a fare list is exhibited near book"ing windows"—a direction too vague to be very useful in any case, and too well hidden in the took to be of any use at all to 99 per cent, of the public. It is characteristic of the Department that it should make this silly omission on one of the mo9t essential points.