HOLIDAY TRAVEL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 27 November 1942, Page 2

HOLIDAY TRAVEL

RAIL RESTRICTIONS IN NORTH ISLAND Wellington, This Day. There has been, as yet, no heavy booking for passenger travel on the railways for the holidays. The 100mile restriction still applies in the North Island, and only people who can give satisfactory reasons for travelling can proceed beyond that distance. Holiday relaxation does not rank as a satisfactory reason, and supporting evidence of convincing natui’e must be supplied before permits are granted.

The present rule is that no reservations ai*e permitted more than 14 days ahead, and this will be observed for the Chi’istmas holidays. It is not pi’oposed to run any trains additional to the normal North Island expresses. People who try to travel in 100mile hops will face considerable difficulty. When they leave th e train at their 100 ' mile limit to book for a further distance they will find someone else in their seats when they return to their train, as full use is made of every seat as possible, and reservations for intermediate stations are dovetailed with those of passengers joining the ti’ains at those stations.

Passengers proceeding from Wellington to the South Island can book on the railways there without mileage restriction, but northbound passengers arriving in Wellington can only book for the 100-mile limit. This is due to the lesser congestion of South Island services. In the seven four-weekly periods of this year to date the passenger traffic of the North Island railways has shown an increase of 547,000 passengers a month, compai-ed with pre-war figures, while the South Island increase is only 180.000 a month. These inci’eases are additional to phenomenal freight traffic increases.