ABNORMAL TRAIN TRAFFIC

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17872, 29 August 1921, Page 4

ABNORMAL TRAIN TRAFFIC

HEAVIEST SINCE EASTER.

VISITORS TO THE TEST MATCH.

The widespread interest displayed in the test match between the Springboks and the New Zealand Rugby football team was strikingly illustrated at the Auckland railway station during the week-end, when abnormally large crowds of visitors arrived and departed by a specially, augmented train service. The traffic was the heaviest experienced on the railways since Easter.

Hundreds of people arrived from the Waikato and towns on the Main Trunk on Saturday morning, leaving m.iarge numbers on Saturday and bunday evening. Special trains were put on to cope with the extra traffic, and busy scenes were witnessed at the railway stations down the line as passengers were taken up and put down.

The first morning Main Trunk express from Wellington on Saturday morning was divided into two sections on its arrival at Frankton Junction, so great was the traffic it was called upon to carry. The first section arrived in Auckland at 7.23 a.m., 45 minutes after scheduled time. It consisted of 14 passenger carriages, excluding luggage and postal vans, and carried about 600 people. The second section of this train arrived about 15 minutes afterwards, and consisted of 12 passenger carriages, carrying 550 people. These were" the two heaviest trains into Auckland since Easter. Special trains were also run from Frankton and from Mercer, and both were well patronised. The. return of the visitors to their homes commenced on Saturday evening, when the special train back to Frankton and the usual Waikato train left Auckland crowded with passengers. Last evening two express trains left for Wellington, the first at 7.10 p.m. with 400 passengers, and the second, scheduled to leave at 7.40, leaving at 8.5 p.m., with 560 passengers and 15 passenger carriages, including a Ministerial coach. An extra, train, stopping at the principal stations between Auckland and Taumaruirui left at 8.50 p.m., instead of 8 p.m. as scheduled. This-carried'about 500 passengers many of -whom found only standing room.