Slips delay new express train

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32701, 2 September 1971, Page 14

Slips delay new express train

Slips near Palmerston North and the difficulties of scheduling an extra train on the main trunk line between Auckland and Wellington resulted in the new Silver Star sleeper train arriving in Wellington more than an hour and 20 minutes late yesterday morning. The train was delayed for a considerable time at one slip on the line during the night, and eventually pushed through the last of it. When it arrived in Wellington the front of the diesel engine and some of the carriages were well plastered with glutinous mud and clay.

But most.of the 120-odd passengers aboard, sleeping in their air-conditioned, sound-proofed cabins, were unaware of the incident until they awoke after day-break.

The Silver Star does not enter regular service until September 5, and on its present publicity and “training” trips, has to share the main

line with existing services, such as the “Limited,” which take precedence. This has also caused some delays. On yesterday’s trip from

Auckland to Wellington, the Silver Star was to arrive in the capital at 9.50 a.m.; it eventually arrived about 10.15 a.m.

When regular services start, the trains will leave Auckland and Wellington at 8 p.m. each day, arriving at their destinations at 8.30 a.m. the next day.