SUBURBAN RAIL SERVICE

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27444, 2 September 1954, Page 3

SUBURBAN RAIL SERVICE

LYTTELTON-HORNBY PROPOSAL Extension of the suburban railway services from Lyttelton to Hornby for the carriage of greater numbers of workers was suggested during a meeting of the Canterbury Progress League yesterday, but there was no resolution. The Lyttelton service was being discussed -"when Mr L. C. Walker said he thought the league should, at some time, devote an hour’s consideration to trains for workers. Personally, he thought, the Lyttelton trains should run from “I would extend them to Hornby, and give hundreds more workers a service,” said the president (Mr E. C. Bathurst).

“I would rather concentrate on the tunnel road and good road services to the port and its surrounding bays,” said Mr H. E. Radley. Another member suggested that the Railways Commission should be asked when rail-cars might be placed on the Christchurch suburban service. Carriages on the Lyttelton railway line were out-of-date by modern standards but sufficiently comfortable for the short journey involved, especially when the long hauls must have preference for new carriages, said the secretary (Mr T. M. Charters), reporting on a day’s personal investigation. From his observations he could understand the Railways Department’s complaints about seats being used to rest heavy boots or carry fish and chips. The timetable seemed adequate for the traffic available, although naturally there were morning and evening peak periods when more old carriages had to be brought into service. Mr Charters said no major improvement' was likely before rail-cars made better carriages available.