THE "LIMITED"

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 6, 8 January 1925, Page 8

THE "LIMITED"

DISCOMFORTS EXAGGERATED _ ' -■/

A VERY USEFUL TRAIN.

So much had been heard from passengers on the new limited express trains between Auckland and Wellington, in the shape of excessive speed, inability of passengers to remain in. bunks or seats, railway sickness, and the possibility of a dreadful smash, that a "Post"'reporter embarked on a trip to Auckland with a certain amount of trepidation. Whether the fact that he was very tired and a hardened traveller had anything to do with the results or not, it has to. be recorded that he slept soundly from Marton to within a few., miles of Frankton Junction, where a well-served and very welcome breakfast was found waiting. The return journey from Auckland provided a very similar experience/ and though he was under the necessity of dis.embarking at Marton, arrival at that station found him still between the sheets, enforcing a quick removal, bag and-baggage, in ai half-dressed condition. Journeying on from Marton to Wellington was also quite uneventful. / . Although it might be unwise for a mere layman to pronounce very definite judgment, the train does .not appear to travel'a-great deal, faster than the ordinary express. The time is saved by reducing both^ the number and duration of stoppages; In reality this is a boon to-the general health of" the community, for the capacity for tea, oranges, and chocolate of the .travelling public on the ordinary express, with its numerous stops, can be described only as amazing. Although delay has been: reduced to the bare minimum, and only a- short 20 minutes is allowed for breakfast at Frankton on the northward journey,: and no provision at all for that meal, on the southward, .that time is quite sufficient for all. One,, misses, of course, the leisurely stroll and cigarette after a meal, with the added attractions of local colour and scenery, but the absence of these is all tHe more appreciated by those anxious to. get to their journey's end. ! .The accommodation provided in the sleeping cars is a.great improvement on that of the old trains. Wire mattresses make the hard corrugations of the old type of cars but a painful memory.' In addition the beds being arranged fore and aft, are thus more conducive to rest and sleep. It is suggested here that a bar or board on the edge of the bunks would give a greater sense'of security. Possibly ■;the -railway authorities have cal-. culated and- found harmless-the forces tending to .throw, a passenger from . his bed', when . 'the train is; swinging round, bends, but that is cold comfort to'him of the'top berth, who has an ignorant disbelief of any form of science ■ and thinks only, how hard the floor -would be to fall upon.from the height; of four feet. >'.■' .'." ' '''-..• :. .' '. [ ■'-.■■'■.:■.

Summed up, the saving in time is made by reducing delays en .route, added to which there is a slight increase in speed. Those who spend a good deal of time on tile trains probably unite in hoping that the - "limited". Jias come to stay. ■■■'