Some Rail-car Runs To Be Curtailed

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31306, 28 February 1967, Page 3

Some Rail-car Runs To Be Curtailed

(New Zealand Press Association* WELLINGTON, February 27. The Minister of Railways (Mr Gordon) announced tonight that the Government would curtail some twin-unit rail-car services and investigate the possibility of using the rail-cars on new fast medium-distance services.

He said the first services to be stopped would probably be on the Auckland-Papakura and Dunedin-Mosgiel suburban routes.

Mr Gordon said that some long - distance runs would also be cut back within the next few months. No dates for the curtailment of any services have yet been announced.

The Minister explained in a statement that people pressing for extension to rail-car services apparently did not realise that existing services were losing £250,000 a year.

Mr Gordon said on routes where services were to be curtailed, buses would be used to cope with suburban passenger loadings and coaches would be used on long rural runs. Short Hauls I “Much of this loss,” said Mr Gordon, “is incurred on the short hauls on which maintenance costs are high and returns low—particularly at suburban concession fares.” He said the stage had now been reached where the cost of renewing the motors in all 35 twin-unit cars would exceed £1 million to give service for the next 10 years. “The Government has agreed to purchase sufficient new crank-cases to enable most services to continue,” he said, “particularly where it is found impossible or impracticable, to provide alternative road transport.” Immediate Study Mr Gordon said the Railways Department had been authorised to make an immediate study of the possibility of using some of the

cars on fast medium-distance runs which showed a prospect of good passenger loadings. “A load factor of approximately 80 per cent is needed for a service to break even,” said the Minister. He said the first such service might be experimentally introduced between Hamilton and Auckland—up in the morning and back in the evening with only one stop. A service between Palmerston North and Wellington would also be investigated. Mr Gordon also announced that arrangements were being made to install a new type of seating in some of the twin-unit rail-cars. Seat Experiment “Initially it had been hoped to fit four aircraft-type seats to some cars as an experiment,” he said. “But this has been proved impracticable because of the variation in the sub-frames of the seats which would have meant a difference of 7in in height.” Mr Gordon said the department was now planning on improving the car seats with softer padding, more comfortable head-rests and individual arm-rests.