THE LIMITED.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 18 December 1924, Page 5

THE LIMITED.

INAUGURATION OF SERVICE. (BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION. mi 1 . + WELLINGTON, Dec. 17. w ir ”. mi tod express services between Velungton and Auckland was inaueurIW, wu UU - d + ay evenin g> and the trains Lf™ 1 n . oltles were fairly well patronised. It is really too early vet, however, to expect a rush of passengers, as kiKm ,SerVlCe * S n °k sufficiently well “You can’t expect much tor a start,” said one railway official yesterday, “but by Chris tin as we’ll have more passengers than we want.” In all respects Sunday night’s inauguration was a success, and it is anticipated that the new service will prove very popular, especially with business men who can ill afford the time occupied by the ordinary Main Irunk express. No difficulty was experienced_ on Sunday in adhering to, advertised times, all arrangements be!iitch Camed ° Ut without the slightest , A 1 W el * ington b u«ness man who fravelled from Auckland on Sunday spoke in terms of enthusiasm regarding the He stated that he arrived at Auckland by the ordinary express on Saturday morning, and after transacting some business he went round to book a seat by the Limited. His first visit to the booking office was not very successful, as he was informed that there were only one or two seats available* Not altogether appreciating these scats from the point of view of com- | tort, he decided to leave the matter over until later in the day, in the hope that some prospective traveller would cancel his reservation. The hope was realised, and he was able to obtain a suitable seat. He was somewhat surprised when on proceeding to the train in the evening he found that the carriages were by no means crowde<L His inquiries regarding the cause or,this brought forth the rather surprising information that a number of passengers had cancelled bookings, their liking for swift travelling having apparently cooled down considerably since the reservations were made. “There was nothing alarming about the trip, however,” said the business man. “All went smo-othly, and we arrived safely, without attempting any short outs or other sensational means of transit. Altogether it was .a- fine experience.” He added that in his opinion the time of travelling could be even further cut down, probably by an hour. The train from Wellington on Sumday consisted of nine vehicles —six ordinary carriages, two sleeping cars, and a van. There were about 120 passengers. '