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How to Make the Railways Pay

13th January 1939
Page 76
Page 76, 13th January 1939 — How to Make the Railways Pay
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

1--,N Tuesday, Mr. Frederick Smith read a paper, entitled " Organizing a National Transport System," before the Leeds section of the Institute of Transport.

The chief points referred to are that the release of the railways from certain restrictions as to rates and conditions will enable them to recover much traffic, but this by itself will not be enough to restore their position. It will be necessary for them to reorganize their traffic operations SO as to obviate uneconomic wagon and train loading. This could well be done by cutting out the smaller goods stations and branch lines and concentrating upon centres served by fast, fully loaded goods trains.

Road motor vehicles would provide the link for traffic from and to limited areas of territory, the radii of distribution being determined by the density of the traffic in those areas.

To-day, railway goods wagons are loaded to only about one-fifth of their capacity, whilst the trains themselves are well below the capabilities of the locomotives. A suitable radial system of operation would reduce the number of goods trains by some 66 per cent., and the annual saving should not be less than £.17,000,000. Similar methods could be adopted with passenger traffic, and the possible saving in this direction would be £13,000,090 a year. c38 This total annual saving of £30,009,000 would restore the railways to the position contemplated by Parliament in the Railways Act of 1921; in. fact, it would contribute 210,000,000 extra, which could be used for rate reduction and the increase of wages.

To effect these alterations a Central Railways Administration would be essential., but it would not necessarily have to be statutory.

The author's view is that a road-transport rates structure is impossible of attainment without proceeding to the extreme of bringing all forms of transport, including the private carrier, under the control of a Transport Board. He believes that a controlled rates structure will be found 'still more impracticable when the railways are freed from their restrictions.

In the future the railways will be judged entirely by results, which will be indicated by the extent to which they can improve their net revenue. They will no longer be able to rely for their defence upon the claim .that they have been fighting with their hands tied and against competition which is largely free.

With a carefully worked-out reorganization of railway services, giving to the road vehicle its proper place in the railway economy, the savings would be enormous,