RAILWAY MANAGEMENT?

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 20, 24 January 1912, Page 2

RAILWAY MANAGEMENT?

.xo xki zniTom. Sir,— l do not hold with those who on every slight provocation fly to tho Press to air thfeir grievances, but the inoonvenienoe tho public is forced to suffer at the hß,nds of 1 the Railway Department oalls for Bomo adverse comment. Recently the Minister* for Railways acceded to the request that residents on the Manawatu lino should bo put on the same footing ac those on other main lines as regards the suburban area. For this concession of right tho people are thankful, but the accommodation provided to render it possible for them to mako the best use of the concession is simply laughable if it were not bo annoying. For a week or bo beforo and after Christmas ' extra carriages were put, on the 4.15 train, two o£ which were always taken off at Johneonville; but .for the last week or ten days three oarriages havd beeh taken off, tho aooommodation left being Often very inadequate for tho traffic to tha next two or three stations. One day last week the guard was remonstrated with, and on looking over the carriages he very properly recoupled one of tho three. This was muoh appreciated by those who would otherwise have had to stand. This afternoon the orusb was very muoh worse than usual, and the guard was again asked to consider the passengers and leave an extra carriage onj but, being of a different disposition, replied that ho had his orders from Wellington, and would oavry them out. One of the offioials at Jonnsonville was then approached, He said he could not help, it, and would guarantee he would find me a scat, whioh he did by going into a crowded smoker and ordering some passengers to close up, saving, "Thore you are." But I declined with thanks, being a non-smoker, and the atmosphere was thiok, I oan aßsure you t I then took tho trouble to walk right through the oarriages, and oountod 19 adults, mostly females, and five ohildren standing, v, 1 again annealed to an Qflloial tigged out, in gold braid, but 'without result; he sent the train away whilst I was speaking to him. Plimmerton ib a busy place during the summer months, many people coming and going all the time, but it is very dimoult to goj. to or come from. Although several train* pass through, none stop till that leaving the city at 9.30 arrives, and when you get thero nono will stop to pjok you up again until 7 o'olook at night. People coming from the North for a few weeks by the sea are even in a worse plight. Only this morning I saw a family, with a lot of luggage, who desired to return to their horno — somewhere on tho Wanganui line— forced to take the down train to Wellington at 7.20 a.m., unload their stuff atPorirua, and wait there to join the Wanganui train, whioh stops at Porima.but.not at Plimmerton. Such waste of time, labour, and money is enough to put ' anyone off their holiday. I think sir (> ypu will agree with me that whilst the Minister for Railways deserves every t oredit for his endeavour to make the railways pay, yet th© people, who are really- his employers, deserve better treatment. Any manager who ra^ a private company on tho lines our railways are run on would himself got tho run very quiqkly. With a stationmaster at t every station, each in tolophonio communication with his follow at the next station, surely it would be possible to arrange a stop when required. — I am, etc., W. H. BENNETT, Master Builder. Wellington, 23rd January.