SUBURBAN RAILWAY TRAFFIC

Evening Post, Volume C, Issue 87, 9 October 1920, Page 12

SUBURBAN RAILWAY TRAFFIC

TO THE EDITOR.

S k® ■Posfc is to be congratulated on the stand it has .taken in connection with suburban railway traffic. Undoubtedly the time has arrived when something should be done in connection with | this matter.. First of all, the question oi tares is one on whioh the suburbanite might ask for consideration, inasmuch as in the main the 'ordinary return suburban fares ware recently increased considerably higher than other ordinary passenger fares. Again, if tie Department can afford to give a 27 per cent reduction to the purchaser of an annual season ticket, why cannot a SO per cent reduction be given to the purchaser of a monthly season ticket? Why should the moneyed man receive such consideration and the smaller salaried man be ignored, .irrespective of the national ! point of view, of encouragement to tie people to reside in the suburbs and the relief of the congestion of the city, with ite detrimental surroundings and environments from a health point of view? You touch very ably on the mattei of tram facilities. Why could not a train leave at S.S p.m. for Lower Hutt direot another at 5.10, Petone and Lower Hutt, and one at 5.15 for Upper Hutt, first .stop Lower Hutt, making the trains smaller and easier to handle? To my mind, the suburban traffic requires reorganising; size of trains should be minimised; there should be minimised stopping, minimised delay by handling unduly long trains and the consequent attaching and detaching of vehicles en route. It should be a matter of "on and away," and in many instances the stops should be no more than an ordinary tram stop. Could this be accomplished? Yes, by a rearrangement of the time-table, and by the introduction of a uniform class of travel and carriage, with an extra centre exit, to close automatically with the motion of the train (thia is practicable, such doors being in nee in Australia), and only opened from the inside, without any loss of seating accommodation. With a uniform cai and a uniform class of travel, this would mean an increase in accommodation, a consequent lessening of the haulage tonnage, and a considerable reduction in the cost of construction of carriages. There can be no logical argument against "the uniform class, as the time occupied by train journey in the majority of cases would not exceed that of suburbaji train journeys, but, on the contrary, the time in most instances would be considerably less, to say nothing of the general increased comfort of train ride as against the tram ride. Further, the suggestions here enumerated would greatly relieve the_ rushing about from one end of the train to the other, picking out different classes of carriages. When dealing with the matter from the above point of view, a further question then presents itself: Would not then the fares and ticket system be simplified? I believe they would. With one class of travel in the suburbs (remembering that the very great bulk travel second class), could not the suburban area be cut into sections, eliminating all the pence, working on a silver coin basis, thus_ avoiding the odd change worry, facilitating the issue of tickets, both by guards and at >the stations. Could not at main stations a machine or a number of machines be used for the issue of the tickets ? Surely, when the Post Office can get machines to issue halfpenny stamps, machines can be perfected to issue Is, Is 3d, la 6d, 2s, or 2s 6d tickets—only, one denomination for one machine. The section system would operate against the near suburban areas, the like of Kaiwarra, and, to my mind, rightly so/ and extend any benefits to the longerdistance passengers. The near centra* would be accommodated by train services, and such is the general experience, I believe. •In fact, were, it not so m many large centres the railway traffic could not cope with it; especially does this apply on the other side. _ Insofar as your article deals with Wellington, would it be permissible to ask the railway people to what extent would a dock at the north end of Laonbton assist, just behind the cottages on Thorn-don-quay, and would it not he a. comparatively inexpensive proposition? The new station is years and years from completion, and it appears probable that something will have to be done to more effectively and efficiently cope with the traffic before the new station arrives.— I am, etc.,

WAKE UP.

6th October