WILD TRAIN SCENES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1408, 8 April 1912, Page 4

WILD TRAIN SCENES.

THE HOLIDAY RUSH. HOW DEPARTMENT MET IT. (By Tclegraph.-Spccial Correspondent.) Auckland, April 7. During the pre-Easter rush to anil from Auckland Hie inii K 0 n the railways was very heavy, and again proved groter than was apparently anticipated by the. Railway Department. Numerous are the complaints of overcrowding by unfortunate passengers, who were compelled to slaiui in tins carnages during the greater pari ot long journeys. From what can be gathered, ,t se ' cms t 0 | Jtt piiinl(illy evident that facilities in thu way ot rolling stecK are woefully lacking. j-'or instance, on the second Main Trunk expie.-s tiiat lelt Auckland on Thtirsitay night the carriages proviucd lor second, class passengers were the ordinary vehicles with longitudinal wooden seats, mslead of the crosswise cushioned chair K-ats provided on the lirsl express. This suggests that there is a lamentable shortage of carriages smlaulo for the Main. 'J ruiik express, and an indescribable lnelt of foresight on tho pait of the Department. Even the extension of the inadequate special accommodation by the ad. uitiou of the unsuitable corridor carriages failed to meet the demand for room, and many passengers have been, compelled to stand owing to tho rush lor accommodation. An instance of the inability of Ilia Department to copo with n little extraordinary trallin. was the contusion that prevailed on iho railway platlorm ifti xliurs-day morning prior" to tho dc-par-hire of the 10 o'clock Rolorua express. Tho ticket ollico was besieged by anxious intending passengers for sonic timo before the train started, but tho process of selling tickets proved extremely slow, and the tempers of these waiting were not improved by the delay. Many people who bad been down fully nn hour early were only able to get seats in (he front carriage of tho train almost at tho last moment. The ' scene ou tho platform between nine and 10 o'clock was one of absolute confusion. Potters were shouting out directions, while other porters were wheeling luggage-' to and fro, and passengers, dragging their portmanteaux through the crowd, were running hither and thither in their efforts to find a seat on the train. Just a little prior to tho departure of the train another carnage was added, and was speedily filled. Tho train eventually departed Willi about 150 passengers, occupying fifteen carriages, and all the seating accommodation being taken up. The ordinary 9.10 p.m. express to Wellington on Thursday night was not overcrowded, though it was fully occupied, ovidently as many passengers as could do so waiting for the second express, probably in the fear of being jammed out of the first. When the second did go, the outstanding feature of its loading was that the second-class accommodation was overcrowded, though there were a number of empty seats in the first-class compartments. Thcro wero many people who stood on the carriage platforms when the train left. Presumably, they would havo to exploro the train, and nestle in the unexpected luxury of first-class upholstery. They were lucky if they did, for tho prospect of travelling all the way tc 'Wellington in one of the old-fashioned cars is one of unadulterated misery. The station platform was, nf course, crowded with passengers, itnd the limited number of people who had paid for tho privilege of being jostled and bustled on the gloomy platform. One of the crying needs ot the Auckland railway station, apart from tho question of traffic, is an inadequate system of lighting. For some reason, some of the existing lamps were not lit. Tho 4.15 p.m. train, which left tha Auckland station for Waikato, had a full complement of passengers as it. departed, there being twp cattle trucks on the traia for (hose passengers who wero to be picked up at the other stations along tho route. Those who hove not travelled by catlTo trucks can hardly imagine the exquisite misery of such an experience. By tho time the (rain reached ifsdestination the people compelled thus to travel must have been in a pitiable plight, owing to draughtiness and general discomfort of the trucks. The Waikato train which arrived hers on Thursday afternoon also had cattle trucks, in which passengers were compelled to pass a dreary four hours.