A RAILWAY GRIEVANCE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1017, 5 January 1911, Page 4

A RAILWAY GRIEVANCE.

EXCURSIONISTS INCONVENIENCED* Mr. Francis Greer, a resident of TawaFlat, complains strongly of the treat ment to which, with other excursionists, he was subjected while travelling by railway on January 2 last. With his family, Mr. Greer was a passenger over the latter part of the journey by the New Plymouth express. Arrived at Paekakariki, he was requested, along with other passengers bound for Tawa Flat, to alight and wait for a slow train, which would stop at that station. Ultimately, however,, the 'l'awa Flat passengers were told to re-' join the express as the slow train would not be running that day. Mr. Field, themember for Otaki, was aboard the ex-' press,' and at his solicitation tho officialsm control of the train agreed to stop at Porirua, but declined to accede to a further request to stop at Tawa Flat. Finally, Mr. Greer states, twenty passengers bound for Tawa Flat were set down at Porirua, and bad to walk home over a, distance of three miles. It commenced to rain as they left the station, and rained' heavily before they arrived at their destination. In the party there were at number of. ladies wearing white dresses,) and all were drenched. Mr. Greer con-< siders that tho treatment meted out to) these excursionists by , tho Railway De-J partment was abominable. ,He contends; that in default of providing the ordinary slow train, the Department should have stopped tho only train available •to 6uiS tho convenience of passengers. The states ment of the ; officails that no slow.trairil would run that afternoon, Mr. Greer' .characterises as false. A number of hisl own friends, he states, who had travelled' by the slow train, arrived at Tawa Flat after the people who walked from Porirua( had reached their homes. If this is the! best that a State Department can do, wai . Mr. Greer's parting remark, the sooner itj is removed from control of our railways the better.