SOUTHERN EXPRESSES

Evening Star, Issue 19328, 14 August 1926, Page 11

SOUTHERN EXPRESSES

SUGGESTIONS FOR NIGHT BURNING

[From Our Parliamentary Rkpoetee]

WELLINGTON, August 13. It was suggested "by Sir Joseph Ward during the discussion on the Railways Act Consolidation Bill to-night that traffic could be induced by greater facilities. While commending the Minister ol Railways in some respects ho had to differ from him on the policy of making the railways pay. This was killing the coal and timber industries. His own opinion was that the .railways _ should be a developmental, not a profit-mak-ing concern, and should not bo expected to earn more than 3J per cent, interest. Why should the southern people be deprived of a daily express service when the rails were there, and the engines waiting for use. His advice to the Minister was to run express services between Christchurch and Invercargill at night. The Minister of Railways replied that nothing would please him hotter than to run trains at night in the South Island, hut when inquiries were made regarding the prospects they had very little encouragement. However, the department was not against making a trial, which was the best way to judge the prospects.