THE RAILWAY NUISANCE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17096, 19 February 1916, Page 10

THE RAILWAY NUISANCE.

• TO THE EDITOR. Sir.—Credit is due to the Mayor for making uro of a recent opportunity to once again direct public attention to wit at. has long hern. net. alone an unmitigated nuisance, hut, a perpetual danger to thousands of our citizens. 1 am informed by one with an expel ience of, forty-two years in the service of the •Department that the root oi the evil is the totally inadequate yard space for shunting operations at the Christchurch station. This was noticeably so more than a quarter of a century ago, but the had old order still obtains. The railway yard is admittedly only about a quarter the area necessary for the hulk of the traffic and consequent shunting, atfif thus a eroding of Colombo Street is rendered three times necessary with all the accompanying danger and diabolical whistling of engines when under proper conditions once only would he adequate. The noise every night is infinitely worse than the “ third degree ” to numberless people within earshot. The turmoil usually starts -at 10.30 p.tu. and continues till 1.30 or 2 a.m.. and what, rest, we may reasonably ask. i.s to be obtained under such conditions? The whole practice is obsolete and unnecessary, and certainly would not bo tolerated anywhere else but in this plow going and long suffering community. Imagine the approaches to rhe Queen's Wharf at Wellington being utilised as is Colombo Street for shunting purposes! There, some time ago, the clerks in offices along the waterfront protested against, the noise occasioned by engiuo whistles at each corner as trains passed along, with the result that the practice was prohibited, and now the trains pass from Te Aro station to Tliorndon without inflicting this torture, and still nothing calamitous has happened. The writer has resided in all the chief centres of the Dominion and travelled throughout the Oonini on weal tli States, and nowheie, except in Christchurch, have I seen such antiquated methods persisted in. Signalling can. and should, be done noiselessly, both day and night, and. moreover, the centre of railway traffic should he removed quite outside the confines- of (treater Christchurch—-as a matter of. fact this should have been done twenty years ago at least. Now that the Mayor has made public reference to this nuisance 1 trust that the matter will be taken up by our local M.P.'s aiul that they will do their utmost to secure for the neople they represent the same consideration that is given to those of other large centres.— I am. etc., PROGRESS.