RAILWAY MANAGEMENT. TO THE IDITOR.

Evening Post, Volume XXXIX, Issue 103, 3 May 1890, Page 3

RAILWAY MANAGEMENT. TO THE IDITOR.

Sir— Allow me through your column!) to call attention to a sriovanco that passengers by the first train from Lower Hutt to town aie at present subjoot to. I refer to the utter want of punctuality in the arrival of tho train at Wellington. It is a regular thing for the train to crawl in to the station on an average ten minutes late daily. The reason of this is the large amount of Bhnnting that is now the practice by this train. Shunting at Petone, Ngahauranga, and Kaiwarra has now assumed such a serious enoroaohmont on the running time of the train that it is a wondor there has been no outory by the indignanb and little-considered passengers ; but they hardly thought it was to be a permanent nuisance. The statement is made that this large amount of shunting is due to the fact that two engines now have to do the work that legitimately should be done by three. Ido not know if this is correct, but I know that whoever is responsible for the delay has anything but bloasings bestowed on him since it began. It is not treating passengers at all fairly that they should be unable to say whethor they will be able to get to their work in time. I hope that whoevor is the cause of this late arriving will see fit to revert to the old state of affairs, and allow of the train reaohing town at its proper time. I am, Ao., PAEBENOKR. TO THE EDITOR. Sir— lt is often said that tho trains on tho Wellington and Masterton Railway are run to suit the people of the Lower Hntt ; beyond that favourod station there ia not the Blightest consideration shown for travellers. Saturday is the only day on which return tiokets are issued from tho Upper Hutt, and settlers naturally tako advantage thereof. For their convenience in returning, the train loaving Wellington at 1 15 p.m. is a goods train beyond the Lower Hntt, but on Saturdays a passeneer carriage is attaohod. Wore it not for the voxatious and unnecessary delay it would be a boon, but it seems almost incredible to state that it takes two hours, less ten minutes, to do the journey of 20 miles. There is usually a waste of about 20 minutes at the Silvorstream station, waiting on the train for Wellington oroaaing, but on tho last two Saturdays tho detention thoro hap been an hour, loss seven minntos. To givo an instance of what was done last Saturday, a settlor who lives about two miles beyond the Upper Hntt, instead of waiting till the train arrived, drove to Silverstream, where we had been waiting half and hour, and took her husband off the train, and got home ten minutes before those who remained in the train. No ono can Eay such management is the way to encourage traffic. Again, tho first train in the morning leaves the Upper Hntt at 7.45 a.m., and runs at a good rate to Hayward's, where the Wairarapa train crosses. From there to the Lower Hutt the rate is slow. A quarter of an hour is wasted at the Lower Hutt foi po apparent reason. What I and others avail'