RAILWAY SERVICES

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9623, 31 March 1917, Page 9

RAILWAY SERVICES

DRASTIC CURTAILMENT SUNDAY AND EXCURSION TRAINS DISCONTINUED. LIMITATION OF SUBURBAN TRAFFIC. Drastic curtailment of the railway services is about to bo enforced, mainly with a view to releasing men for inilitary work. Tlio following announcement on tho subject was made by the Hon. W. H. Hcrries, Minister for Railways, yesterday; “Up to December 7th, 1916, 2794 men of the permanent staff of the Railway Department had enlisted, which is approximately 25 per cent, of the whole permanent staff. In ®ddltion, it is estimated that fully 2000 men have enlisted out of the casual employees of the department. It will ho thus seen that tho men of the Railway Department have been most forward in enlisting and anxious to serve their country at tho front, and the department has not been backward in releasing as many men as it could spare, without going in" for a drastic curtailment of the. present services. The men remaining in the service have most cheerfully responded to the extra calls on their services occasioned by such a large depletion, . but the time lias now arrived when, if further men are to be allowed to leave the department to answer to the call of their country') a serious curtailment of services must take place. Up to the present the usual services have been carried on, ns it was not desired to seriously inconvenience the public until absolutely necessary. It was deemed impossible, to effect' any change in the height of tho travelling season without causing not only inconvenience but confusion. It was, therefore, thought best to delay the changes till the travelling season was over and the winter beginning.

“'A curtailment is now necessary, not only in order to allow more men to go to the front, and so to meet the requirements of the Military Service Boards, but also because it is necessary in the interests of those who are left to relieve them from the strain consequent on running the service at high pressure with a reduced staff. The further question of the shortage of coal has also to be considered. , Moreover, the Government has received intimation from the Minister for Munitions in England that a saving in such material foi maintenance and construction as is obtained from England is most desirable to allow of the maximum output of munitions, and that this can only be obtained ■ by following the example of the Old Country by radically reducing the train services. “If any considerable number of men are to be released, it is obvious that something more than the knocking oft of a few race trains is required, and that measures which may seem to the travelling public drastic must be adopted. The public, however, must, and, I am sure, will, realise that up

to tho present they have suffered very little from the war as far as travelling and transportation are concerned, and must now be prepared to put up with what may, in some cases, be considerable inconveniences, m order to help to carry the war to a successiul conclusion. “The main proposals of the department which have been approved of by Cabinet are as follow: (1) That tho 9.10 p.m. ’Wellington to Auckland and tho 12.40 p.m. Auckland to Wellington expresses be discontinued, and that the 8 a.m. Christchurch to Invercargill and the 6.10 a.m. Invercargill to Christchurch expresses he run to and from Christchurch and Dunedin only. (2) That all Sunday trains, including troop trains, with the exception of the night express from Auckland and the ferry train from Lyttelton to Christchurch, bo discontinued. (3) That suburban trains be limited to services conveying passengers from home to work and back, shopping and midday services be materially reduced, and the lines, except on Saturdays, be closed before 7 p.m., no facilities for rail travel being given after that time. (4) That other time-tahlo trains between town and country districts be reduced in number, and-'that, the time and hours of running be rearranged so that return journeys may be completed within 12 hours as nearly as possible. (6) That special trains for races, sports, and agricultural shows be discontinued. (6) That holiday excursion tickets, week-end tickets, and commutation tickets (workers’ weekly tickets excepted) be cancelled. (7) That the availability of single tickets be strictly limited to three days. (8) That the availability of return tickets be limited to three days. This will simplify the checking of trains, and reduce the work of accounting. (9) That the running of diningcars be discontinued, and meal intervals arranged at suitable stations' on the line. This will, reduce the weight of trains, and release the male staff of about 50 hands.

“It will be seen that the great object of the alteration of the train service will he to have as far as possible all the trains'run during a period covering 12 hours, thus doing away with double staffing, which, together with eliminating Sunday traffic, is tho best way of releasing men for the front.

‘.‘lt is not proposed at present to increase the ordinary passenger fares, not at all events until the effect of these alterations on the revenue is ascertained. All reduced fares, such as excursion fares, commutation tickets, etc,, will, however, be abolished. The goods traffic will be interfered with as little as possible, as it is as necessary to get the Imperial food supplies to port of shipment as it is to find men. The goods rates as a whole will not be touched, but some anomalies in the shape of differential rates and free and reduced carriage will probably quire to be adjusted for revenue purposes. “These proposals will, it is hoped, enable the Hail way Department to liberate for military purposes the greater portion of the men already drawn in the ballot for whom exemption has been applied. If the necessity for more men continues, a further reduction in train services and curtailment of\ facilities ■will require to be made. The depart-

ment cannot, of course, release any of its trained experts, and permanent exemption must be obtained for those who have already been drawn in the ballot. ‘‘This first curtailment, which it is proposed to bring into operation on May Ist. is of a somewhat drastic nature, and its primary object is, of course, the release of men for defence purposes; at the same time an endeavour has been made to provide for the necessities of the community. Many conveniences hitherto enjoyed must far the present ho discontinued and if a further- revision of services becomes essential to release still more men the local necessities will have to be disregarded to further the welfare of the Empire.” NAPIER EXPRESS DIVERTED WOMEN TO BE EMPLOYED AS CLEANERS. Faced with the necessity for allowing more men and still more men to obey the call of their country, the Railway Department has been compelled to adopt drastic measures, says the Napier “Daily Telegraph.” Some ol the changes which have been decided on will have a very far-reaching effect on the Hawke’s Bay section. Probably the most prominent change will be the diversion of tho mail train to the old Wairarapa route. It is stated that this proposal has been agreed upon by those in authority, and will have the effect of cutting out one through train between Wellington and Palmerston, and will give much needed relief to the Main Trunk line __ between Palmerston North and Wellington. Whether a Napier connection with, the Auckland expresses will be maintained is not known. The suburban trains between Hastings and Napier are to be cut down without compunction and among the services to go will bo the following: From Napier: 9.25, 11.20, 1.20 and 4.10; from Hastings: 10.25, 12.30, and 2.45. Another decision is one to engage u party of women cleaners at all the sectional stations. Several women in Napier have already accepted appointments. Thcdr work will be restricted to daylight hours, a section of male workers still being retained for duty over-night. In view of the decreased number of persons who will bo travelling, the department expects to be faced with a noted shrinkage in cash receipts, and in order to prevent the railways being run at a loss a substantial increase in the fares has been suggested. From statements made in official circles, it would appear that the department has decided to make an effort to reduce the numbers of travellers and, at the same time,\ to increase the earnings. Vvith .hat object in view some very heavy increases will shortly be authorised.