The Express.
London, England, 1864-03-25 00:00:00

RAILWAYS.

EASTER HOLIDAY EXCURSIONS.
The Railway Companies apply themselves at the
period of Easter to afford opportunities for excur-
sionists. The arrangements for the present year are
made by most of the metropolitan companies on an
extensive scale, and in a liberal spirit as regards
fares. The general rule appears to be to afford the
public the opportunity of travelling with return
tickets any day between the 24th and the 29th in-
clusive, thus covering all the days which are ordina-
rily included in the Easter holidays. But besides
this extension of time for return tickets there are
other special arrangements for the benefit of the
public.

The London and North Western Railway, for
example, avails itself of Mr. Marcus's aasistanoe to
advertise excursion trains to the north, to the mid-
land districts, and to the coast of North Wales, at
fares varying from is. Gd. to 21s. These are very
low rates indeed for such very long journeys, the
fare in some cases not amounting to one-third of
a penny per mile. The Great Western, in a spirit
of almost equal liberality, advertises excursion trains,
on different days from Thursday to Easter Monday,
I on its various lines and branches, to Plymouth,
Liverpool, Weymouth, Cheltenham' Bristol,
Devizes, and Wolverhampton. The fares vary
from to 395., the formai toting the fare to
I Henley or Reading and back, in a covered carriage,
the latter the fare to Plymouth and back, first
class. The fare to Plymouth, and other places
below Exeter, might, we think, be lower ; but the
Great Western, probably, is trammelled in its ar-
rangements as to these distant places by having to
deal with other companies.
The Great Northern advertises trains to Sheffield,
Huddersfield, Manchester, and Liverpool, at 21s.
12s. did., and 10s. Gd., for the double journey • and
the arrangements of the Midland are equally if
not even still more liberal, for they offer to mrry
passengers to almost any of the points they touch
in Yorkshire and Lancashire for similar fares.
The Midland also has trains to Buxton. Derby,
Nottingham, and other widLud towns, at 14s. and
18s. for the double journey. In most of these cases
the rates are leas than the ordinary fare for a
single journey.
On the south side of the Thames, the Brighton
gives an excursion train on Easter Sunday, and
also extends the time for the set= tickets. The
South Western takes passengers at tingle fares to
any station below Woking, with liberty to return
up at any period up to the 29th. It also has an
excursion train to Portsmouth and other places on
Good Friday, at 9s. &L, Os. 6d., and 4s. Gd., ac-
cording to class. These arrangements are less advan-
tageous, however, than those of the South Eastern
or London, Chatham, and Dover Companies. These
companies propose to carry passengers to and from
Canterbury, Margate, Rarusgate, Deal, or Dover,
for ss. Gd. and 3s. Gd.; and the London Chatham,
and Dover makes fares for excursions to Faversham,
Whitstable. and Herne Bay, at 4s. 6d. and 2s. Gd.
for the double journey. These rates are less than
those for which the Thames steam boats were
accustomed to carry even in the height of their
rivalry on the river. They illustrate the value of
the principle of competition ; especially when we
bear in mind that not very Mug ago Dover was
inaccessible under 20s.
The classes for whom these excursion trains to
more distant parts are principally available are
those who can obtain release from the shop or
counting-house during the days which are ordina-
rily regarded as Easter holidays. To this class the
facility these cheap trains afford of visiting their
families and friends, and the scenes perhaps of
earlier years, in distant parts of England, is ex-
tamely valuable. The cheap excursion train, in
fact, affords to the individual what the penny
postage afforded to the correspondent—a weans of
maintaining domestic ties and home interests,
which cannot but promote the social happiness of
the community.

The shorts; excursion trains—those for the day
only—are largely used by thou, in different employ-
ments who can only obtain their " day out," and to
whom both tune and money are objects of paramount
consideration. For these the trains on the South
Eastern, and London, Chatham, and Dover Railways,
seem calculated to afford great facilities ; especially
u those trains will run from all the metropolitan
stations of the two companies, including, we are
glad to say, Charing•cross and Black friars, as well
as London-bridge, the Elephant and Castle,
Brixton, Herne-bill, Battersea and Victoria.

For the class of population at the East-end of
London, the Great Eastern proposes excursions,
by frequent trains, to Epping Form; at a single
fare for the double journey. The Tilbury line has
also some extra arrangements for traffic to Graves-
end and Southend ; but amongst the managers of
this railway there seems to be an idea (we fear
an erroneous one) that their ordinary scale of fares
is sufficiently low to be exceptionally attractive.
If, indeed, fault is to be found with these
excursion arrangements, it is that the shorter
journeys out of and around the metropolis
are not sufficiently provided for. Long jour-
neys at low rates of mileage seem to be the order
of the day ; the object probably being to obtain
from the excursionist, in the shape of fare for his
journey, the largest share of the whole sum which
he can afford to spend on his excursion. It is a
fair question, however, whether a class of excursion
traffic might not be developed which hes not yet
been reached. If 3a. 61 will pay for carry-
iug passengers to and from Dover or Ramsgate
(nearly 80 mills from Loudon, or say 160 miles in
all), a Is., or even a 6d. fare there and back, ought
to suffice for such places as Richmond, Windsor,
Virginia Water, Ascot Heath, Epsom, Seven Oaks,
The Crays, and a number of pleasart places within
20 miles of London. The Great Eastern takes its
passengers out of London to Epping Forest, a dis-
tanoe of 12 tales, and back, at a single fare ; but
the South Western, by limiting its single fare ar-
rangements to " stations below Woking,"
practically precludes the sliort e xcursionist
from taking advantage of his holiday on that
line. It was given in evidence the other day that
since the Metropolitan Railway was opened, a new
class of traffic had been developed, in the shape
of passengers at 2d. and 3d., who, it was supposed,
never saw the inside of a railway carriage pre-
viously. We think this very probable, and if so,
it may be fairly assumed that a very cheap rate foe
excursion tickets to open country places at mode-
rate distances from London, would be largely taken
advantage of by numbers who cannot attord even
the 2s. 6d. Woof the London, Chatham, and Dover
Company to Herne Bay, or perhaps the time awl
extra expenditure involved in the journey to so
great a distance from their homes.
We ought not to omit to mention that the South
Eastern Company is engaged in making very elabo-
rate arrangements for the traffic to the some of the
Volunteer review on Easter Monday. A little
map has been published and widely circulated by
the company, showing the position of Farley Heath
and of the stations on the South Eastern line im-
mediately adjacent to it. It appears from this map
that the Chilworth station on the Reading,
Reigate, and Guildford branch of the South
Eastern Railway is the only station from which
the pedestrian can reach the scene of action ; and
it is only to be hoped that the accommodation at
this small country station will be sufficient for the
multitude which will, no doubt, be carried there.
The South Eastern proposes to despatch extra
trains on this occasion from the Charing-cross
Station as their departure may be required. The
difficulty, of course, will be in working all these
trains home again, within the limited period the
public are inclined to wait with patience for the
despatch of trains. aka the business of the day is
over. AU the resources of the line will be needed
for such an ocossion.