MAIN TRUNK EXPRESSES

Waikato Times, Volume 96, Issue 15033, 2 September 1922, Page 7

MAIN TRUNK EXPRESSES

AN ACCEPTABLE PROPOSAL. An alteration in the time-table which now governs the arrival and departure of tho North Island Main Trunk expresses at Wellington was suggested by Mr McCallum (Wairau) in the House, when he asked tho'Minister of Railways whether it would not he possible to alter the present arrangement so that the south-bound express would arrive at Thorndon before tlie departure of the express for Auckland. He complained that, passengers for Wellington were detained for long periods at Ngaio or Ivhandallah awaiting the passing of the north-bound train and he suggested tliat by a simple alteration of the time-lable passengers from the north who merely wished to do business in Wellington could arrive at 11.30 and depart again at 1.30 p.rn. The Minister of Railways explained that the present arrangement was the result of very careful thought, and that with the present facilities it would be absolutely impossible to accommodate both expresses at Thorndon. ,The Department, lie said, was not going to spend an enormous amount of money to make the arrangement suggested, and the present method would have to sland until the new Thorndon statioh was ready. The Department had gone to a good deal of expense in providing for the crossing of the two expresses at Ngaio, and the delay occasioned there was never very great. He scouted the idea that people would come all the way from Auckland to do an hour’s business in Wellington, and in the case of pleas-ure-seekers he thought the suggestion even more ludicrous.