RAILWAY FACILITIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16964, 28 March 1917, Page 5

RAILWAY FACILITIES

DRASTIC CURTAILMENT PROBABIJ2. TRAVELLING TO BE DISCOURAGED. CFeom Our Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON. March 27.-'A The Minister of Railways will make a statement in ,_tho course of a day or two regarding , the scneme of the department for tno running of reduced services on the railways. u'or some time the Government has been upbraided because it persisted in running race trains. It is a fact that the little agitation has come mainly from people wno do not think race trams should ever be run, or races hold, even in peace times; 'lhe Minister has already indicated that he does not propose to tinker with the business by simply cutting out race trains and leaving all other. unessential traffic to go •on as usual. The' object of the new timetable, will not be to make it difficult r for certain of the people to engage in. forma of sport of whicli certain otner people diet not approve,-but to release men from-'the Railway Department for military servicers The Minister has promised that thQ'iairtailment will be sufficiently drastic to'' &> uncomfortable. ' It may be taken ; : for granted that not only race trains, but'' all other pleasure trains, including Sunday trains, will be stopped, and that there -will bo no more excursion fares to encourage peoplo to travel Indeed, it is imperative that peoplo 'slia.ll be discouraged from travel, ling if the department is to / succeed in iia object of saving men. .. -y Tho chango will come into operation' on May 1, which is the beginning of the "winter season, whon the traffic is lighter ; : ;buit, if in the summer more passengers are offeaS ing than oan be carried in the trams, it'.'will not be possible for the authorities to put on more trains, and they will have to increase the fares in order to induce people to istay at home. On express lines i,t will 'not . ,be possible to run the present generous services. and travellers will have to put . lip with facilities such as wore available about 10 yeans ago. Only one express peir ; day will be run on tho two groat Main-Trunk lines. The running of aJI lat-e trains, which necessitated the retention of station staffs on duty late in the evening or night, !>witt also have to cease if the maximum saving of men is to be accomplished, and suburban and branch lines servioes will have to be re. duced. It goes without saying that : there can be no more race trains and no moro agricultural sljow trains, and in a gireat many districts this means that there "a" bo no moro races and no more shows. ; r/- : '