THE RAILWAY TIME-TABLE

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 3829, 12 May 1913, Page 5

THE RAILWAY TIME-TABLE

( ———— PROTEST FROM WHATATUTU AND PUHA. DEPUTATION TO GISBORNE STATION MASTER. MR. WILLIAMS PROMISES TO RECONSIDER THE MATTER, The deputation of Wliatatutu and Puha settlers to Mr Williams, stationmaster at Gisborne, to protest against the alteration in the railway timetable, which failed to materialise on Friday, took place on, Saturday mornmg. * ' The country settlers were represented by Messrs. E. V. Palmer, C. H. Bridge, J. R. Miller, W. C. Ensor, and T. Quirk. Mr. W. D. S.-Mac-Donald, ALP. for the Bay of Plenty electorate, introduced the*deputation. The members of the deputation strongly urged that the original timetable should be restored as lar as Puha. That station, it was pointed out, was the end of the thickly-popu-lated portion of the Poverty Bay flats. Puha was also the outlet for the Mangatu and Wliatatutu districts, and in consequence had always been a good station both for passenger and goods traffic. IJndor the original timetable Puha had had a mail twice daily, while. Wliatatutu had had a daily morning mail. Since the alteration the mail served to Whatatutu had been greatly disorganised, as the coachman had either to go into Te Karaka or wait for the ballast train at Puha. which came along at. irregular times. As_ Puha was only two miles from To Ivaraka, and but a quarter of a mile from the .ballast pit, it was considered that the carriages could be brought on to Puha, and left there for the day, while the engine iVas at ballast work. The carriages could be brought back each evening to meet the night train for Gisborne. The deputation also requested that the Saturday night late train service should be extended to Puha. Air. Williams, in replying, stated that the subject of extending the late Saturday train to Puha had been under consideration for some time, and he promised to give the service a fair trial next summer, He was desirous to supply every convenience, possible to the public, but at tile same time lie had to make the railway pay. The three trains which had been discontinued from the service had only earned a normal revenue during last month. Only five passengers and two tons of goods per day had been carried by these trains. The question had been gone into by' the Department, and they had decided to cut out the trains that were not earning average revenue. Had the water-tank and en-gine-pit been at Puha instead of Te Karaka, the Department would have made Puha the terminus. Air. Williams, however, promised the deputation that ho would reconsider the whole matter, and would again make recommendations to the Department. Air. MacDonald thou thanked Air. Williams for receiving the deputation.