EXPRESS TIME-TABLE

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6911, 17 May 1929, Page 3

EXPRESS TIME-TABLE

VIEWS OF BUSINESS MEN SERIOUS EFFECT ON MAILS Surprise was expressed by several business men in Auckland on Monday concerning the rumoured change to be made in the time table of the Main Trunk express. “We shall certainly (ind it awkward,” said one, “if the letters which we now receive at 5.30 or 9 a.m. do not reach us until, say, 11.30. We should, of. course, have to depend mainly on the mail which reaches Auckland by the Limited at about 9.30 each morning.” “I cannot give you an official opinion, as the council has not yet considered the matter.” said Dr E. P. Neale, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce Mentioning a few points which had occurred to him personally, Dr Neale said that if the suggested change were carried into effect, passengers leaving Dunedin for Auckland on Friday morning would arrive in Wellington on Sunday morning, and would then have to wait 30 hours for the first train to the north. A further point was that whereas at. present there was only a week-end gap of 29 hours between trains leaving Wellington, there would, under the proposed ehauge, be a gap of 47 hours. This would, of course, affect both passengers and mails. If the business mails from Wellington to Auckland were concentrated on the Limited, it was only reasonable to suppose that it would not bo possible for the Postal department to deliver the letters by that mail as early in the forenoon as at present. Under the suggested scheme Auck land business firms would not be able to deal with correspondence from Wel- . lington on Saturday, as no mail would reach them between Friday afternoon and Monday forenoon. The proposed alteration would prob* ably give a better service from Wellington to Rotorua and the Bay of Plenty, but the service would be worse between New Plymouth and Auckland. Another point was that passengers travelling by an express which left Wellington ‘in the evening after the Limited would, under present conditions, have either to have breakfast at Taumaruuui at about 6 a.m., or at Frankton at about 10 o’clock. When inquiry was made at the office of the Chief Postmaster ,it was ascertained that so far the proposal has not come under tho notice of the Postal department.