BRITAIN !LEADS WITH FREIGHTLINER GRID
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BRITAIN leads Europe in developing' a national' Freightliner network, said Mr. John Morris, Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, opening the new Freightliner terminal at Willesden on Friday.
"On the Continent this sort of thing is only in the thinking`stage," he said. "Here we have got to the doing. This is a great triumph fbr BR and one that has been well earned during a period when there has been little else to encourage railways:"
He said that Willesden, built and equipped at nearly £4,m, was the eighth terminal to be opened—as many again were under construction and should be ready by the end of the year. Then stage one of the Freightliner grid—approved at an estimated £12m exclusive of road vehicles—would be in operation. Stage two was being planned now.
To speak of the "container revolution" was no cliché—it was a real revolution in speed, cost, efficiency and productivity, with profound implications, for the economy.
The McKinsey report stated: "For all journeys above about 100 miles, unit trains" —that is container trains—"provide the lowest cost mode of inland transport. This is true even when the intermodal transfer to road for final distribution is included."
Said Mr. Morris: "For the first time since the lorry revolution the railways are on to a freight winner." He renewed the Government's pledge to promote Freightliner development in every way—the principal purpose of the National Freight Corporation to be set up in the Transport Bill in the next session of Parliament.
To begin with Freightliner services from Willesden would run to Cardiff, Glasgow and Liverpool. Later the London–South Wales steel Freightliner would be transferred to Willesden.
Already an amazing variety Of traffic was containerized on rail—including laundry
collected in London every, night and sent to Glasgow for washing. Freightliners offered a real incentive to industrialists to locate plant in regional development areas.