Electric Rail Service

Hutt News, Volume 20, Issue 16, 10 April 1946, Page 7

Electric Rail Service

WELLINGTON TO HUTT VALLEY TRAINS WITHIN TWO YEARS A report read by Cr. F. Lonsdale at the last meeting of the Lower Hutt City Council stated that electric trains would run to Waterloo within two years and to Upper Hutt within three years, while later they would probably run much further than Upper Hutt. Cr. Lonsdale said that members of the Council's Transport Committee had conferred with Mr. Sawers, representing the Railways Department, and Mr. McKay of the Railways Road Services Department, who had given assurances regarding the early electrification of the railway and had stated that when this was done the railway buses between Wellington and Hutt Valley would be tapered off. Good Internal Service Mr. Sawers had stated that during peak hours, say from, 7.30 to 9 o'clock in the morning and 4.30 to 6 o'clock in the afternoon, electric trains would run to and from Wellington very frequently—probably every few moments —and a very< large number of. buses would be required to bring passengers from the surrounding district to the railway stations. Between the peak hours, it was obvious that the buses could not remain idle; they must either produce revenue or the service would collapse, and it was, therefore, the intention of the authorities to utilise these buses in every available district to bring the people into the shopping area. Once this system was in operation Lower Hutt would have an internal service that would be equal to anything in any other town. The Mayor said that there was no need to worry about the internal service. Mr. Sawers was anxious to run a good feeder service to the railways, but at other than peak times there would be a big fleet of buses available for bringing passengers to the shopping areas. Cr. E. P. Hay expressed gratification that the matter "had been grappled with so well. ,