FASTER EXPRESS TRAINS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21277, 2 September 1932, Page 12

FASTER EXPRESS TRAINS

BJfITISH RAILWAYS new' winter schedules . '/ GREAT SPEEDS PROPOSED / ~ UP JO 71 MILES AN HOUR By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received September I, 6.5 p.m.) British Wireless RUGBY, Aug. 31 A fn/ther stage in tho policy of the British railway companies of accelerating the services will be attained on September 12 when the winter time-labtes will come into operation. The speed of tho Great Western Company's Cheltenham flier—already the fastest train in the world—is to be raised from 69.18 to 71.3 miles an hour. This will be the /first time in railway history that a train will have been scheduled to run regularly at a speed of 70 miles an hour or more. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company, which holds two European records for high speeds over long distances, has five expresses timed at an average speed of 60 miles an hour or m ore, including one which travels at more than 64 miles an honr.

For distances exceeding 150 miles on other lines the services are to be greatly accelerated.

UNDERGROUND LINES / FURTHER EXPANSION LONDONERS PREFER BUSES ' {Received September 1, 6.5 p.m.) British Wireless RUGBY, Aug, 31 .. Five new stations and four and a hall miles of railway track are to be added to the equipment of the underground railways within the next three weeks. The total number of stations then will be raised to 130 and the track mileage to 132 miles, including 46 miles of deep level tubes. : Extensions of lines in other directions will be completed later in the year. Trains run on London's underground railways from 5.30 a.m. to 12.30 a.m. the following day at'an average frequency of one every two and a-half minutes. However, the latest statistics show that, although 641,917,202 passengers travel underground every yoar the bus is the most popular means, of transport. Of every 496 journeys per head which were made in the past year by Londoners 236 were made in buses, 130 in trams, 78 in underground trains, 50 in suburban trams and two in coaches.