THE THROUGH EXPRESS,

Southland Times, Issue 19545, 8 May 1925, Page 6

THE THROUGH EXPRESS,

While the Railway Department’s efforts to speed up the express service between Invercargill and Christchurch are welcome as an evidence of the policy of improvement through the organisation, it is a pity that the re-arrangement of the time-table, which makes a later start from Invercargill possible, is dependent on faster running, and is not assisted by the elimination of some of the stops which tend to give the express the character of a long-distance train during a series of local services. At first it was understood that the late start given to the express from Invercargill would be made possible by the use of a slower train running from Invercargill to Gore and reaching the latter station shortly before the arrival of the faster train, so that passengers from the intervening stations could board the express there. The express by this arrangement would have been able to undertake a non-stop run to Gore, and thus could cut down the running time without any increase in the average speed. There may have been some criticism of this plan from the stations involved, but as the alteration would have made for a more rapid service, and could have been used in conjunction with a similar system in the northern portions of the line, making the southward trip easier and earlier, the advantages should have outweighed any arguments used against the change. As it is the run from Invercargill to Gore cannot be made much faster on the time-table, because the optional stops must be taken into account in the running schedule, and the run is probably timed to suit a journey to Gore with every stop made. On the southward run, of course, each one of the stops would have to be made to suit the convenience of country travellers, who would also have the advantage of getting to their homes earlier. The daily through service between Christchurch and Invercargill is of prime necessity, and this view was put forcibly before the Minister of Railways at the dinner in connection wfth the opening of the Monowai Scheme and the Ohai Railway, but the Department will be impressed by its necessity only if Southland people unite in pressing for it, just as the further speeding of the journey can be achieved if in the interests of the whole province the good people using the intervening stations catch a feeder train to Gore and weigh against the small inconvenience the advantages of an earlier arrival at night and the general advantage to Southland.