RAILWAY HOLIDAY TRAFFIC

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2961, 27 December 1916, Page 4

RAILWAY HOLIDAY TRAFFIC

6 AN UNPRECEDENTED SEASON GREAT DIFFICULTIES SURMOUNTED The Christmas season railway traffid tliis year has been phenomenally Heavy. The real difficultipj; began on Friday niglit, when the 9.10 p.m. train liad to* bo extended in length to 19 coaches beforo leaving Wellington. This very, long train was further extended on the run, until on leaving Tauinanmui ib held upwards of SOO peoplo for Auckland and district. This is the heaviest! express train that J)as been hauled over this section of track for several yearsj On tho Saturday morning following, the traffic was exceptionally heavy. Tho first rushes were for tlie Napier and New Plymouth expresses, but the real business of the day commenced when the booking offices opened for the mid-< day Auckland trains. Tlie most ruslled and the most closely guarded of all the through trains is the "limited"-

1.10 p.m. train wliicli has 176 secondclass seaits and 110 first-class seats.This train was dispatched on time, but the station had to bo closed at 0.50 p.m.; —a record for the station. The 2 o'clock express drew out with 16 carriages full, and the capacity was increased at Pal-* merston and Ohakuuo. So it happened; that the two extra trains pnt on ati 8.30 p.m. and 9.10 p.m. oil Saturday; were comparatively failures, tlie majority of tbo peonle having apparently; found seats in the bit? afternoon trains.However, the balancing trains from; Auckland were heavv. and as the out*« ward traffic from Wellington was gen-" erally verv much Greater than the in-i ward traffic the inward rolling stocls would be very welcome.

The through traffic to Auckland w.nsf demoralised more or less by the slit*, at Pukekohe. Tho engineering difficult ties of the moment were quicklv sur-« mounted, but the slip demoralised services, and prevented the traffic author- 1 ities from malting the best use of the* available rolling stock. Main Trunk carriages had to go to Rotorua, Thames, or anywhere as seemed most) suitable. Another trouble was that the reserved seat system had to be abolished for Friday and Saturday hecausei the old style coaches had to bo used for the run.

Everything was satisfactory about the railway management except the booking office arrangements. There is a down-town office which is expected to save hurrying travellers from vexation, but this office strictly observed the) bank holidays. It closed at 1 p.m. on Saturday and it has not been opened since. The unseemly crush at the Thorndon Station booking hall on Saturday might have been obviated by the judicious use of this office. As it happened the crush at the station was unprecedented, and at times alarming, if not dangerous. Seven women faints ed on Saturday. There was an ample staff to deal with, the people requiring tickets, but the building simply would not permit of the travellers reaching the booking desks always in time to catch the trains.

On Sunday the traffic from bothf Thorndon and Lambton Stations was moderate, but yesterday the booking was heavy. From Thorndon Station 717 passengers went to Awapuni races, 26(50 went to places between Wellington and Paekakariki, and 500 went on excursions between Paekakariki and Palmerston. '

The most remarkable feature of all the railway traffic has been that tho outward traffic has far exceeded the inward traffic: Of course the railway; men know that to-morrow or next day or next week they have to bring those people homo, and ! they have had to maka their arrangements accordingly. They have tried to meet the .case by sending out of Wellington yard every passenger-carrying wheel as soon as pos-* sible. Every outward vehicle, including guards' vans, has been fitted to take seats. Yesterday afternoon there was scarcely a wheel of any sort in the Thorndon yard. The Christmas season was approached with the grefltest apprehension. bv the railway management, but it is admitted that the services have been pushe<f through more regularly than the anthorities'could have properly demanded, and this fact has been specially noticed by tho General Manager. . In taking account of tho Railway Department's phenomenal performance, it should be noted that tho Department carried upwards of HOOO troops last week, in addition to the ordinary quota of civilian' passengers.