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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 9, Issue 3 (June 1, 1934.)

Better Railways

Better Railways

The response to the road challenge all over the world has been—better railways. Road improvements, by better surfacing, grading, and so on, would have taken place even if there had been no internal combustion engine. Indeed, the adaptation of steam for road transport was already a solved problem when the motor came on the scene. In the same way, railway improvements would have been a constant feature of the transport business even had no effective road competition developed. In both cases, however, the coming of the motor has accelerated the rate of improvement.

When the huge aggregation of appliances and equipment which go to the making of a railway is taken into account, and the vast range and variety of factories engaged in the conversion of raw material to meet railway needs is considered, it is not surprising that suppliers of railway requirements should join heartily with railway executives in the campaign to help in making the railways ready to give better service. It is in this sense that competition is the life of trade. “The Railway Age,” in a recent issue, remarks that:

Probably never before in history have railway managers and those who supply them with equipment and materials been so receptive to new methods and materials, and awake in a scientific and openminded attitude towards their problems. The willingness to experiment with passenger fares, the search both by railways and manufacturers for equipment which may revolutionize this branch of the service, the intensive study of motive power economics which appears to promise so much for a further increase in railway efficiency, the efforts being made in every department of the railroad and by all classes of equipment manufacturers to achieve greatly improved efficiency and service by the railroads—all these, and scores of other similar instances may be cited.

In New Zealand there is ample evidence of the progressive railroading spirit which exists in other lands. Here the standard of equipment and service is admittedly high, and the railways, by every test, are proving increasingly popular.

One important feature upon which commentators remark is the general attitude of helpfulness found amongst members of the railway staff. A very thorough system of staff education through training school, correspondence classes, and graded examinations, has helped greatly in recent years to improve the all-round knowledge of their jobs possessed by the younger members of the clerical division. More recently, optional correspondence classes have been commenced for members of the outdoor staff who have to deal in any way directly with the public.

This is already proving useful to those who have joined the course. A shunter, whose duties occasionally include running or assisting to run trains, has candidly acknowledged that with only four lessons, so far, out of a 32-lesson course, he has found himself able to reply, at intermediate stopping places or en route to enquiries which previously he had to refer to the stationmaster at the next station. He was pleased with the sense of increased personal efficiency resulting from the Department's correspondence course, and likewise, the people who asked him for information would be equally pleased to have prompt, accurate replies to their queries.

It is this increased efficiency of the staff, through personal application to, and fuller knowledge of the job in hand, which helps to make the railways safe for railwaymen as well as for the public. If two means of transport are available the public will choose the better, and the railways are forging ahead because all things considered, and where accurate comparison is possible, they are giving the better service.