Electrification to Come.

“Although the full service of trains will commence to use the new station to-morrow, the changes which the new building makes possible are not yet complete, for there is the electrification of the Manawatu line to Paekakariki and the Johnsonville line still to be carried through, and I look forward to a considerable increase in the service of rail-cars operating to and from this new station, so that in the not distant future we will have, in addition to steam trains, two types of electric traction, and two types of rail-cars in operation, plus the road services, all radiating from Wellington's new station.

“If ever the term ‘a home away from home’ could be truthfully applied, it could in all sincerity and honesty be used in relation to Wellington's new station, for what do we find?

“Here on the ground floor spacious and comfortable waiting-rooms for men and women, a hairdressing saloon with shower and plunge baths; a kitchen with dining-room and buffet, all of which are equipped with every modern convenience. Then on the second floor, immediately above the women's waiting-room on the ground floor, is a spacious, well-equipped, and comfortable rest room (with bath-rooms), where waiting women passengers may rest in ease and comfort.

“And then on the fifth floor mothers will find the most up-to-date and best-equipped nursery in New Zealand, where a fully-qualified Plunket nurse, assisted by a thoroughly experienced kindergarten teacher, will relieve them of the responsibility of looking after their children while they rest or go shopping.

“The time at my disposal does not permit me to describe these facilities more fully, but you will see them for yourselves this morning, I hope, and realise how inadequate any description of my own must be in view of what your own observations will reveal.