SECOND-CLASS RAIL PASSENGERS

Dominion, Volume 38, Issue 20, 18 October 1944, Page 6

SECOND-CLASS RAIL PASSENGERS

Better Seats Promised Better seating and improved travelling conditions for second-class passengers on railways were urged by several members when the Railways Department estimates were before the House yesterday. Less differentiation in .the classes of travelling was also suggested. Air. Langstone (Government, Waitnariuo) said the second-class passengers contributed most of the passenger revenue and they were entitled to better accommodation. On the broader issue of transport he suggested there should be a national transport board to control all air, rail and shipping passenger services.

Air. Doidge (Opposition. Tauranga) made a plea for improved ventilation, stating that the present conditions favoured the spread of infection in epidemics. An appeal should be made to the public to observe better habits on trains, he continued, referring to the litter of food scraps frequently encountered. “Very often these things result from sheer bad manners,” be added. The Minister of Railways, Mr. Semple, replied that the new type of secondclass carriages being designed would provide seating accommodation almost as good as the present first-class. The ventilation system had been found unsatisfactory and it would also be remodelled.