RAIL TRAFFIC

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23226, 21 December 1938, Page 14

RAIL TRAFFIC

CLIMAX APPEOACHING MANY EXTRA EXPRESSES HEAVY ADVANCE BOOKINGS EXODUS FROM WELLINGTON Although traffic on the railways has boon very brisk in the past week the business done will be quite eclipsed in the next few days. There is overy indication that the climax on Friday will exceed that of last year. , From to-day the number of extra expresses will increase rapidly. Four trains will leave for Wellington today and four will arrive from there. Six Wellington expresses will leave Auckland to-morrow, while on Friday there will be no fewer than seven, one more than on Christmas Eve last year. Other special trains on Friday will include an express at 9.40 p.m. for New Plymouth, a combined train for Rotorua and Tauranga at 10.35 p.m. and extra expressos to Opua at 8.5 a.m. and 10.25 p.m. With tho normal trains to Rotorua, Opua and Taneatua, they will bring the total number of expresses leaving Auckland on Friday to .15. The rush will continue on Saturday, when 'thore will be four expresses for Wellington, in addition to special trains for Opua, Rbtorua, Tauranga and New Plymouth. Bookings on most of these trains are very heavy, especially for the expresses leaving for Wellington on Friday. Three of theso are quite fully booked and most of tho others have only odd seats left. For tho first timo ou record eight express trains will leave Wellington on Friday for Auckland. Of these, bookings are still availablo on only one. Bookings wore heavy for weeks in advance, and, although it was originally intended to run seven trains, it was necessary last week to arrange for another express, which will leave Wellington at 8.55 p.m. A total of IK exprossea will leave Wellington on Friday.

HEAVY ROTORUA BOOKINGS MOTOR CAMP IMPROVEMENTS [by telegraph—own correspondent] ROTORUA, Tuesday Although as yet there is little sign of the settled weather conditions which can usually bo expected at this period of the vea'r, prospects particularly bright for a record holiday season in Rotorua. Special efforts have been made by the Borough Council Advancement Committee to make this year's carnival festivities better than for some years past, the evening programmes being particularly bright. As usual accommodation will again be one of the major problems during the holiday period. For some time past most of tie hotels and boarding houses have been turning away bookings, while the motor camping grounds also appear to be heavily booked. Motorists, however, should find no great difficulty in securing accommodation at the camps, particularly as two new areas have been opened up, while improvements have been carried out to existing camps. AIRWAYS PASSENGERS 352 BOOKED FOR SATURDAY RONGOTAI AERODROME RECORD [by telegraph—OWN correspondent] WELLINGTON, Tuesday A record for the number of commercial, aircraft using a New Zealand aerodrome in one day will probably bo established at Rongotai, Wellington, next Saturday, The Christmas bookings are so heavy this year that many extra trips between Wellington and other centres will be necessary to cope with the passenger traffic offering. So far, 21 Cook Strait Airways machines are scheduled to arrive <vt Rongatai on Saturday, and 21 are scheduled to depart. In addition, Union Airways of New Zealand, Limited, will have five Lockheed Electras arriving and five depnrting. This will mean a total of 52 air liners arriving at and departing from Rongotai. Between them the aircraft will carry more than 352 passengers.