The Timaru Herald THURSDAY, MAY 31, 1923. THE STATION.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18084, 31 May 1923, Page 6

The Timaru Herald THURSDAY, MAY 31, 1923. THE STATION.

Till' - , Government tolls us in today s telegrams that, the ThornUojj atrocity, winch Has boon known tor many years as a runway station, ns soon to bo no moro. Doubtless the (iuverninum feels that it Has accomplished something' highly orodriauio by deciding at last to improve a hopelessly inadequate terminus. jJ.jgn.Ly creditable Ure deed would buon when tiio liiiey scheme —wo moan no pun—was published yours ago; but tbo Do vein meat can only be criticised tor not Having gone on witH the work ten years since. And wlien stations arc spoken of, Timaru, another Jliley "promise” cannot be forgotten. The then General Manager of Hallways not only promised dimaru a now station, but 110 went further. Jlis generosity was so noble that a now station yard was included in his resume of comprehensive improvements. General comment some years ago was that the promise, as far as I'imaru was concerned, was a political move. Many people tho ught that the then Gov eminent wished to gain favour with fciouth Canterbury as it did with other portions of the country. 13e that as it may, Timaru needs a new station, needs a new station yard and proper approaches; needs those improvements badly> The platform accommodation is hopelessly inadequate. When Mr Me Villy was m youth Canterbury some time., ago, we pointed out to him that every afternoon in the week the platform is crowded when express trains arrive. During the holiday crush, when there are big crowds on every tram, the station platform looks like a sheep pen. It is almost impossible to move in the throng, yo narrow is the platform, that porters rushing along with their trolleys narrowly escape sending 1 harmless individuals off the edge of it; huge queues form up outside the ticket window; the "‘lobby” is filled with swaying masses all struggling to reach at once the entrance —a door of ordinary size—while bn exasperated ticket taker sweats and swears at the crowd. The shunting yard is so huge that engines have to follow the track north awhile, and puff smoke at the residents whose houses are on the cliff above. But we are not complaining of the local railway authorities, of any person in Timaru connected with the railways. Our grievance is against an Administration which took years to decide what to do with the, Thorndon hencoop; which promised. Timaru an adequate station and shelved the promise; wliicli lias made tae Thorndon station and the Timaru station laughing stocks for travellers. 1 . . ~ Perhaps we , are pessimistic. Perhaps Timaru will be visited by the authorities again m the near future. Perhaps the authorities will have a look a,t the station when an express is in, 01 when an excursion crowd wants to catch its train. Then the promise may (or may not) be kept.