PLIMMERTON TRAINS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 17, 21 January 1939, Page 12

PLIMMERTON TRAINS

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —In this, my first letter to the | Press, I earnestly desire to draw your attention to the conditions under which the Flimmerton people are suffering with the present railway service. Yesterday morning, the 11th inst., the 6.59 train from Plimmerton to Wellington was held back 20 minutes to allow a goods train through—not a stock train, but only goods. Over 100 people were late for work, and I was informei by my employer he was fed-up with late-comers; and so I was, in common with many others, put on the mat through this railway system. We are late arriving every other morning, and if we lose our jobs we can thank the railway for it. We have appealed time and again to the General Manager, but it's no use. The people of Plimmerton and district are now taking steps, to get a licence for a private bus service from Plimmerton, Paremata, and Porirua to Wellktgton. No tsains during the day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.—l am, etc., W. J. BOWSIE. In reply to the above letter the Railway Department states that in the past month the 6.59 a.m, train from Plimmerton (due Wellington at 7.36 a.m.) has arrived at Wellington "on time" three times out of every four (not "late^ every other morning" as alleged by this correspondent), and only once has it been more th,an nine minutes, late in arrival. The average late arrival throughout the month has been less than 2 minutes.' On January 11 this train, which is scheduled to leave Faekakariki at 6.37 a.m., was de-1 layed by a goods train ahead which, owing to adverse weather conditions, required longer to run up the bank from Paekakariki to Pukerua Bay than was anticipated. The passenger train could not, of course, be despatch-1 ed from Paekakariki until the goods train arrived at the latter station.

The Department fully appreciates the necessity for landing the morning sub urban trains into Wellington on time and every effort is made to do so, j but with the single line between Pae- j kakariki and Tawa Flat conveying very heavy goods and passenger traffic at this time of the day slight de- j lays on occasions are unavoidable. It is' to avoid just such delays as that mentioned by Mr, Bowsie that the Govvernment approved of the Department's proposals for the duplication of the line between Plimmerton' and Pukerua Bay, a work which is now in course of construction. The correspondent, the Department states^ is in error in stating that there are "no trains ''duringthe day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m." In addition to the morning and evening trains a train leaves Wellington for Paekakariki at 1.15 p.m. daily, and on Saturdays'a train leaves Wellington at 12.18 p.m. There is .also, a train leaving Paekakariki for Wellington on Saturdays at 12.31 p.m., and, from Mondays to Fridays inclusive, a bus which leaves Karehana Bay at 12.15 p.m. runs to Wellington through Plimmerton, Paremata, s arid Porirua. Anyone living in this area is aware that there is insufficient regular .traffic available to warrant running either bus or train services in addition to those mentioned. But for those occasion? when there is traffic available special services are run. The whole position is being carefully watched by the Department, and should additional regular services be warranted in the future they will, of; course, be provided. ',■■•"