SUNDAY EXCURSIONS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 60, 8 September 1938, Page 8

SUNDAY EXCURSIONS

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —I would like to draw the attention, through the medium of your newspaper, of some responsible member of the Railway Department to the conditions under which passengers are expected to travel on the Sunday excursion trains. I refer in particular to Sunday evening, when there were no seats available from Otaki southwards, on the Palmerstoit NorthWellington train. As an instance: hi the front carriage of the train, which was a sleeping carriage, eleven people were compelled to stand in the very narrow side corridor for most of the journey from Otaki. This is not an isolated case, as the same conditions prevail every Sunday night, and although complaints are numerous, nothing ever seems to be done about it.

The Railway Department for some reason withdraws one of the Sunday trains during the winter months. This may have been necessary during depression times when passengers were not so numerous, but the case is exactly opposite now, and the Department is only discouraging patronage by not providing adequate seating accommodation. I would invite some responsible official to travel down next Sunday night and see for

himself the , conditions under which people are expected to travel. —I am, etc.,

TRAVELLER.

In reply to the above, the Railway Department states that the excursion train from Palmerston North on the Sunday referred to consisted of 14 carriages. It had seating accommodation for 544 passengers when leaving Otaki and the total number of passengers on *the train after leaving Otaki was 508. From this it is clear that there was no occasion for any Otaki passengers to stand on any portion of the journey to Wellington. It is true that every seat was occupied leaving Paekakariki and that some passengers who joined there had to stand for at least a portion of the journey, but this was not due to any failure on the part of the Department to provide adequately for the whole of the passenger traffic returning from Paekakariki on the evening in question. Actually, the first train from Otaki (Paekakariki depart 5.24 p.m.) was a little over half-full leaving Paekakariki, while the second (leaving there at 7.33 p.m.) was less than half-full. It is not practicable to place more than 14 carriages on the last train (the train from Palmerston North which leaves Paekakariki at 8.18 p.m.), and maintain schedule time. It might be mentioned that passengers can reserve their seats on any particular train they desire, and by doing so are assured of a seat under all circumstances.