SOLDIERS' RAIL PASSES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17276, 27 September 1919, Page 8

SOLDIERS' RAIL PASSES.

RESULT OF RESTRICTIONS.

- OVER 30,000 OUTSTANDING.

NEW SCHEME IN OPERATION. [BY TELEGRAPH.OWN CORRESPONDENT.] WELLINGTON, Friday. During the restricted railway services, soldiers were advised by the Defence authorities not to take out their four weeks' railway privilege ticket, as they could not obtain the usual advantages. The majority of the men accepted th.a advice, and as there was an unusually large number of arrivals during the period of the " cut," no fewer than 30.000 orders for the four weeks free travelling are outstanding. This presents a serious problem to the authorities, because the Railway Department is not altogether clear of iia difficulties, and is consequently only able to deal with 5000 of these privilege orders per month. Thus, to avoid serious congestion on the railways, and to reduce the incon venien' a to the" soldier to a minimum, the Deform Department has extended the period during which outstanding privilege orders m.v/ be exchanged for the rail ticket to Juris 1. 1920, and has prepared a deta.led scheme under which the number of tickets to be accepted each month by the Rail-Any Department will be carefully allocated to the various military districts in strict proportion to the relative numbers of returned men in those districts who are waiting to travel. The soldier who holds an order for the four weeks rail privilege will not be able to exchange it for the ticket (as was the case before the railway restriction) at ,i Defence office, but he must first make sure that the order will be accepted for the particular month in which he desires to travel, by notifying the Defence Department's local representative in writing, as early as possible, which month he de sires to use the railway ticket, giving at leaet a month's notice.

All applications will be disposed of in order of date of application. The group officer will inform each applicant by letter whether the application has been approved or transferred to a subsequent month.