Never has there been so good a Christmas and New Year record for time-keeping and train handling as that attained during the last Christmas and New Year rush period. In the North Island particularly the improvement was most marked, and some interesting discussion has taken place amongst railwaymen as to its cause. For one thing there was a complete absence of engine failures, due doubtless to arrears of locomotive repairs having been overtaken in the new workshops, and to the special system of inspection recently adopted. Another helpful feature has been the new flat route into and out of Auckland via the Westfield deviation. The Remuera bank, over which all traffic had to be worked prior to the opening of the new route, was a perpetual source of anxiety to train operators. Engines would, quite unexpectedly, “lie down” on the bank, and, particularly when slippery rails were encountered, even the best trains would make poor time over this section. The old “bottle-neck” out of Auckland, which was too limited in output capacity for busy days, was another source of delay, and this trouble, too, has been eliminated with the introduction of the new Auckland yard. The extension of duplication towards Papakura from the Auckland end has also helped train despatch over a portion of line where delays would cause unfavourable reactions on train movements throughout the island. Extended automatic signal control has also facilitated the movement of trains, and doubtless some gain has accrued from the longer experience of train control methods which have been introduced to New Zealand only within the past year or two.

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