BEHIND TIME

Northern Advocate, 20 December 1920, Page 4

BEHIND TIME

RAILWAY DELAYS,

THE WHANGAREI (SECTION.

■MIXED-TRAIN ANNOYANCES.

Th e fact of the generally late,, arrival :n Whangarei of the first dailydown train seeme to have its counterpart at the other end of the section, as shown by the substance of the following letter, which -Mr V. H. Reed, .M.P., recently wrote and despatched to the Minister of Railways, the-Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey:— "You will remember my asking you in Parliament to give your personal attention to seyeral matters I then mentioned. Since returning here, I have received deputations in reference itfo some of the difficulties which the disltrict is suffering from in connection with railway services. The most exasperating is the present time-talble on the section, and I have just received a letter, signed by you, but from the Department, to the effect that no better service can be given. It is just on account of this sort of letter that I asked for your p"r-cr.r.l cor.3:d-rr.t!on.

''Let me explain and you will see how utterly impossible the Department is to deal with. The distance from Onerahi Wharf to Kawakawa is 51 miles and the morning train, with passengers from the Auckland steamer, is advertised to leave there ay 6.45 a.m. and to arrive at Kawakawa at 11.5 a.m. That is bad enough for a main tram service conveying pas--sengers to and from the Count'cs of Bay of Islands and Hokianga with a popUiUiipn.of about 13,000, but, still worse, the train-newer keej> s time.. For instance, last Saturday and today (Saturday), the train passed through Kawakawa at 1 o'clock and 12.40 p-.m. respectively, that is 2 ■hours and 1 hour and 35 minutes lace. For this week the times at Kawakawa nave been: Monday, 12 noon; Tuesday, 12.20; Wednesday, 12.20; Thursday 12.15; Friday, 12:25. In other words, the train has arrived in Kawakawa during the week from an hour and a quarter ito 2 hours Me every day. A member of the Royal Commission on Railways, now in th« North, asked me if the men on the section were loafing on the job that delayed the train (and, incidentally, kept them waiting an hour and ahalf on the platform), but I assured him that was not so—in fact it seems incredible that the men car. get through the work on the trams they are called upon to do.. In the circumstances you can readily under« Stand the trains are;little used for passenger traffic as between th c various inland stations. "Last, Saturday, I am informed,.a passenger, having business to transact at Russell, left Kaikohe": by the 7.10 a.m. train, expecting to reach Russell at 12 noon. He got.there at 2.35 ip.m. and had to catch the return launch at 2.45 and arrived back at Kaikohe some time after 9 o'clock at night Jn other words, taking, the only train service offering (that on Saturday) of doing the return journey, in the day, he travelled- 28 miies by rail and 4 miles by water and had 10 minutes at his destination, between 7 o'icloick in the morning and 9 o'clock at night. To-day passengers to Russell arrived at 2.15 'p.m. and had to leave on their.return journey at 2. 4*5 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays are the-principal passenger days because they are the Auckland steamer days; and Saturdays are the chief mail days, and mails are carried oh the trains on that day for every post office in the Counties of Bay of Islands, Hokianga, Whangaroa and Mangonui. The train being 2 hours late on 'Saturdays, therefore, throws the whole northern mail ser- j vices out and causes considerable inconvenience and annoyance. Some of th e mails (and passengers travelling with them) have as far as 70 miles to go the same day, and the delay of 2 hours necessitates travelling we"l into th e night, - ■ ■ "To the outsider it appears as if the service is overloaded with, work, and the irregularity of running the trains has killed th e passenger traffic. . Whatever the cause, the public is exasperated and is asking for 3 passenger trains in the week that will run to time and travel "faster than 12 miles an hour, the present schedule time. These trains are wanted to fit in with the steamer service M Auckland from Whangarei. I know that the Department will continue to say that such an alteration would 'necessitate another train being run for goods which can conveniently be handled by the present service,' and I know that there is no chance of the public being considered in this connection unless you give the matter your personal consideration."

The foregoing letter "was written by Mrißeed on.receipt of*the following from the Minister: "Wilth reference to that portion of your letter of 11th nltimo and your representations urging the acceleration of the train services oh the Whangarei Sec-tion-and also the establishment of a daily train from the Kaikohe. Branch to Opua, I have the honour to in form you that the matter has received very careful consideration but it is regretted' additions to the existing time-table cannot be made under present conditions. It will be recog nised that the time allowed th e present trains is necessary to enable them to perform work and shunting en route. The effect of cutting down the schedule"*time would Ibe to preclude the trains doing the wayside shunting and thereby necessitate another train b e ing run for good's which can be conveniently handled by the present service. This would increase the cost.of working the traffic quite beyond what would be justified, more especially in view of the absolute necessity for ejeonomy imposed upon me by the present financial position."