One-Class Accommodation.

Commencing February 1st, one-class accommodation became the rule on all London Transport trains except the through-trains between the Aylesbury and Watford Joint lines and the Metropolitan Railway. The vast majority of travellers were third-class passengers, and year by year there has been less and less demand for first-class accommodation. The war, too, has led to a considerable increase in business, and the first-class cars on the Metropolitan and District lines reduced the accommodation for passengers as a whole and led to unequal loading. This move for the withdrawal of first-class accommodation is one which ultimately will extend to all the Home railways. In days gone by, we had three classes— first, second and third. Second-class disappeared some years ago, and first-class will undoubtedly follow suit before long. The classification arrangement is a relic of the old stage-coach days, and while there are still a few passengers who prefer to pay a little more for special accommodation, their numbers decrease year by year with changing ideas and the gradual improvement of the third-class car. Incidentally, as recorded last month, the French railways are considering abolishing first-class on all but the principal long-distance trains.

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