MANY COMPLAINTS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 735, 7 February 1910, Page 5

MANY COMPLAINTS.

THE RAILWAY SERVICE.

A TWICE-BOOKED SLEEPING BERTH. ' j

MOBE ABOUT THE TIME-TABLE. (Bt Telegraph.—Special OorreiDondenU' Auckland, February 6. Captain C. C. Burke Davis, an English visitor, at present staying at the Hot": Springs Hotel, Okoroire, liaa forwarded, to tho "Herald" for publication the following letter, which he has addressed to Mr. .Ronayne (general manager of railways), and to which ho complains ho h& not received any reply;—

"lake Hotel, Rotorua, , ' . 'Dceombcr 27, 1909. "Bear sir,—l beg to bring, the following particulars to your nohco: On my arn-' vol at Wellington. last • tho : * 22nd, from Sydney, I went at 9.30 a.m. ■ w the railway station to book Sleeping ' berths for. Eptoriia., i; As there wero no two-berth cabins vacant I booked two separate sleeping, berths for myself and wife, expressly on tho condition that' my . wife should have a lower berth (as 6h6 was, invariably ill in>a"top one).: - Consequently,' the clerk booked' No: 20, : bottom berth, for my wife, and "top Otto ' ; for; mo. On taking onr places in the train the conductor 'produced his list,' whieh showed mv wife's name had: been: soratched .through opposite No. 20; and ' : she was allotted No. 13, a top berth, whioh,- of course, she could not occupy: - and the No. 20 : bfirth had been allotted .. a male passenger. The cf>n6cqu(m6o was -■ > 1 that my wife, had ,to sit up all night in "8 day caniago, and-had no sleep at , all. Had I been informed of this chang* v- - befora the train started I would have waited for another day or two, afi time' 11 wds.no object to me, but only finding this' out after the: train started there was no ; ' alternative. As a matter of fact, this JNo. ai berth was sold to me when it had already been sold, aa tho male passenger told me hov,had-booked it a couple of before .we started. This fact puts . anything, but a nice : completion >on> tlia ■ transaction, and as a pleasure-seeker in • this, country, my first experience is a : very disagreeable one. 1 must ask you to be,good enough to give instructions for the refund of 10s. (the amount paid for my wife's. berth).",: In a further letter Captain Burke Davis asks the reason for the delay in»' ' ■ roply. and states that the matter cannot '" be allowed to, rest till he has - received - satisfaction.

"Not the. Only Pill."

■ notthe.pnly pill made up for the Railway.Department to swallow. Th« : - : ' writes — S correspondent" of the "Star'V '

i ■ the. Auckland v district,'' i from Holonaville to Ohakune, anyone who : travels can hear complaints. about thd 1 ' prcseut local ; train 6ernccs.' Starting at Helensville, . the first complaint to one - ol the slowness of: the moil trains run- * Mag between the city and that point. ' vL„ M lw? by one who ocght to plow that trains take two minutes longer i ; to make tho tnp now than, tlev, did' twenty ytors ago; and,'.besides that, thefa' 15 a constant overloading of , trains. • As recently.-as.,- last Mohday. .tHe . mail train''••• Wellsford had to break its [°°£ and take it in two sections -to Waithe gradd between. Avondale' and Waikumeto proving too. stiff for an 'A' class engine: The;' next .complaint is the suburban " running at an 4, h(ls been freely - discussed through papers.-: It is, .however, -SiWi : portion of. the Auckland section .that .the 5 present running tho <•' yariopa. can ,bo most eeriotiAly 8SS tI S ; r ? n - "k, outsider can see. v ■«. present service, is a moet in. emoient and.inoonvenient lonei ! It is not t ttat more' trains are required, iliTv tt6 °* somo of them ■ should be so altered aa to vallow passen-: o J ?a i Tel - : P?? 6 conveniently between 1 intermediate: stations.: On the Frankton-! i aaroa sectionß'th«re are three outward' 1 -trains ,11. a.m. and 8 p.m.,. and firo' 4 Wst of thetorenty-fonr : i rsXt "t> ? mllnr tWng occurs on < tho iraakton-Rptbrua- section* and until 1 recently on: the .Prankton-Te Kuiti section. Looking carefully, tnrough the time-table -twi. 0 P re6ent service in conneohon with the sections mentifm&d ii laid down • toi suit. the running of goods trains from Auckland in tho early morning, and. no thing but an absolute revision "...tto _ runiung, of.- th 6 present service Sirs" a toti6(Mtor y G ' a '° ol

' One-Day Journey*. - "Tie Department cannot surely say-that . ' it is good , management for trains to' b« ' ; follomng.'one,; another as thoy do now. and 'if they contend' that' the trains-fere..- " paying weL/ 'a fact that la not disputed, how much-more profitable would it be if ■ ' the sam 6 trains were run at times that frould enable,: passengers to go to and trombone place to another in'any direction in; oneway P. At the present time v •It is impossible to journey from iPranb • tonito any.rtomi on the Eotorua Eechon and,; back m the one day, That also applies to_ the towns between Franktoii and To Kmh, until recently, but nosr there is. a goodß,.train ; lcaving l Frantton ; for. southern .stations - botvfeen six and sqven _ui: 'the -morning and . permits toir travel in the; guard's van are occasionally ; fiTOn. .This train would-prove very •' ful' to, the . settlers between I'Tankton and Taumarunui, and why the Department : 5 does not make iit a mixed train it ii hard to say. The people of the Waikato and upper part of the King Country want early' morning ■ trains ; runnings out ' from Frankton,: ana the request is only ' a reasonable one and' one that could bo complied , with If the Department would, take the matter iir hand- seriously. :■ : , If ■ the goods; for the various districtr " mentioned Were "assembled at Frankton ■ ' ; during the-night, morning trains carry- • mg goods and passengers could then b* dispatched from Frankton and return in the;evening, thereby giving effective Bor-.'\-: vices both-ways besides making a con- ■ hecting . , service ; withy the north Main Trunk express. - * ■

. Further South.

Going further south there are also ad< . verse comments, On thelocal service be- .' tween Ohakune and Taumarunui, and th* > sottlers have' real good cause for complaint. It is not possible to travel: north. • to any. station; between , Ohakune and Taumarunui and get. back in the on# day, for the only day tram is one that leaves Ohakune at'4.lo in the afternoOh. 1 The, Department may. contend that- there ' is hot-enough', traffic to warrant the running of the extra train" feskcd for' by the residents :of _phakune and /the.'ret-'.'.i tiers, of tie Waimarino district, but it\ is' well known that special trains ar« running nearly, every day between.Ohakune and ; Taumanmui now, and that beuig so ithe ,Department , would' find it difficult to substantiate any such claim. If the pfesent train now leaving 'IYank-y ton.' in - the .; "morning ; and arriving at " Taumarunui . between two ■: and- thrcfc o'clock in' the afternoon could be coi* tinned on to Ohakune as a nlixed traifi»' ■ • : and return to' Taumarunui early next ' motning in time to catch tho 8.10 train ' to Auckland, it would prove ; a'very convenient; and profitable service. Sieing; that , it; is the settler^that is most affected present service it ia to : • bo hoped that the Department will endeavour to alter the running and make ; a moro convenient: and proiitablo tiihotablo." ■: