Mail normal in week

Press, 22 February 1978, Page 6

Mail normal in week

The mail piled up in Christchurch because of the Wellington railwaymen’s strike should take only about a week to clear. Yesterdav there were about 550 bags of letter mail and about 1700 bags of sec-ond-class and parcel mail accumulated at the Chief Post Office According to the Assistant Chief Postmaster at Christchurch (Mr E. A. G. Grandi) extra shifts and overtime will be worked to clear the Mail which had been held up longest by the strike

1 would be dealt with first, (said Mr Grandi. Although it was difficult (to estimate precisely, it ■should be about a week be'fore things were back to -normal. However, c’rcum- ■ stances such as an influx of mail from overseas could delay the clearance. It might take much longer * to clear rhe backlog of rail (freight, however. According to the Railways assistant district traffic manager (Mr D. J. Bradley), it will be two or three weeks at least before freight is flowing freely. Although no freight destined for the North Island

had been accepted after the strike began, there had been a four-dav backlog before it started. This involved about 900 waggons. , In addition, private vehicles would be given high ■ priority in the Cook Strait rail ferries, and less rail traffic would be carried. “On top of that we are [going to have all the goods [which consignors have been [unable to rail during the last [week,” Mr Bradley said. Mr Bradley would only ; offer the hope that the [situation might be apI r>roaching normal before Easter. If it was not, the - heavy-vehicle bookings in I the ferries by holidaymakers would again squeeze out rail traffic. Inter-island freight was ( slightly heavier than usual, ; the National Airways Corjporation reported yesterday. [There was no problem in i coping, however. I Passenger bookings were definitely up, and although many flights were booked out, there were still a few seats left. N" extra service had to be sc)»duled. Patronage during the last two days had not been as heaw as during the weekend however.