THE RAILWAY BERVICE.

Waikato Times, Volume 105, Issue 17613, 18 January 1929, Page 9

THE RAILWAY BERVICE.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —The public are being constantly appealed to to .support the railways, and many do so from a sense of duty; but surely they should be accorded a fair deal and get .what they pay for. A case in point: Two ladies desired to travel by the Limited on a certain day, joining the train at Frank ton. Being in Auckland, they booked seats eight days previously at the Auckland oflice and were allotted accommodation in F, which they were informed was the ladies’ car, for which they expressed a preference. They were on the Frankton platform when the Limited drew in, and they were astonished to find that there was no F car attached. An appeal to an official proved futile, and they were advised to await the next train. There was* an F car on it, but when they sought, for their seats they found that they had no claim on them, as they were held by others, who had also reserved them. To make matters worse the ladies, to whom smoke is an abomination, found that “F” was a smoking car j An appeal to the man in charge failed to get any satisfaction • before the train started, but subsequently the guard secured them comfortable quarters for the long trip to Wellington. But where is the force of reserving seats and paying fees if the department fails to keep contracts it enters into? It would be better for all concerned to revert to the old system of “first come first served.” —I ' am, cto., > TRAVELLER-