RAILWAY SERVICES

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3056, 18 April 1917, Page 8

RAILWAY SERVICES

« IMMEDIATE REDUCTION IMPERATIVE TO SAVE COAL STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER The Government has decided upon an immediate reduction of railway services, to take effect on Monday next. The cut is to he bigger than tliat announced fdr May b, and the,'object of, it is to save coal. Regarding the curtailment, the Hon. W. ri. Hemes (Minister of Railways) made the following statement last evening :— "Consequent on the serious shortage of coal throughout the Dominion, the Government considers that the time has arrived when it is imperatively necessary to curtail the transport facilities in the Dominion. "Although the Railway Department has fair) stocks of coal in hand, it has not been able to build up the necessary reserves owing to the requirements of transports and essential industries, and also to the 'go-slow' policy practiesd lately by the New Zealand miners, and the difficulty of obtaining ships' ■ to bring over coal from New South Wales. The recent ill-advised action of the miners on the West Coast has accentuated the position, and make drastic curtailment an absolute nacessity without waiting for May 1, r.he date on which the staff-saving scheme was to be inaugurated.

"From Monday next, a 'coal-saving' train. service will consequently be brought into operation, and will apply to both passenger and goods tralbV. in order that the coal stocks of ilie Railway Department may - l-e eked out ,is long as possible, it will be necessary to limi* tbo. goods traffic .strictly to foodstuffs fyi local couiump'tMii, and for export for use of the Imperial authorities, perishable articles, animal fodder, and such items of general merchandise, as are' considered to come under the heading of essential. "Goods such as timber, builders' materials, fencing,material, green flax and flax in bales, cement, corrugated iron, vehicles of all descriptions, straw, all minerals except coal and coke, and goodsr which come generally under classes 'N,' 'P,' and 'Q,' and lime for manures, will not be carried on the railways.

"It will, therefore, be seen taat the misguided action of tho cr>al miners will have a serious effect on many of our essential industries, which give employment to-a very considerable number of workers, and from which the railways derive a large amount of traffic. ,

"It is very desirable that those members of the community who are now away from their homes should be immediately warned through tho Press to return not later than Saturday, April 21j as after that date a strictly limited passenger and goods business only can be provided for until such time as the coal miners resume work, and ample coal stocks have been accumulated.

"This intimation is given so that the public may have the longest warning possible. It is hoped, however, that the visit to the West.Coast of the ActingPrime Minister and the Hon. Mr. MacDonald, Minister of Minos, may have the effect of making the miners see that the most patriotic thing they can do, and the test way in which they can serve their country, • would-be to return to work before Monday, in which case these curtailments, which admittedly will entail inconvenience antr loss to the public, may be avoided." •

[The reference to Classes N, P, and Q in the statement is to the method Adopted by the Department of denominating all goods for the purpose _ of charging freight, different rates being charged for different classes of goods. The classes N, P, and Q. embrace generally goods similar to those named by the Minister.] , .'■ SOLDIERS' LEAVE EFFECT ON MEN IN CAMP.

The new time-table as it affects tho Upper Hutt line will moan a slight curtailment of troop trains between Trentham and the city, but _it will scarcely make any alteration in the leave granted to the troops in training. At present, a troop train runs into Wellington and out' again each evening. Under the new arrangement it is understood that there will he two •troop trains into and out of the city every Wednesday and Saturday. Each of these will oarry one thousand' men, which will mean that the whole of the troops in camp will be able to visit the city once a week. In .addition to these trains, it is expected that there will be a troop train leaving, Lambton at 6 o'clock on Monday morning, to carry back to camp the soldiers who bad been granted week-end leave. Similar Monday morning trains will Tun to Featherston, and the troops in that camp will thus have week-end leave by turns, which will enable them to spend from Saturday evening till •Monday morning in the city. The loss of training incurred by arriving in camp; on Monday morning instead of, Sunday night, will be made up during the week.