Division of Function a Weighty Problem
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WHETHER goods traffic could be W systematically divided between road and rail transport, and whether a central transport board, to co-ordinate the two forms of transport, will be an outcome of the negotiations on the railway companies' claims, were questions raised at a meeting of the Leeds branch of the Industrial Transport Association, last week. The discussion followed an address on transport topics by Mr. Robert Barr, managing director of Wallace Arnold Trust, Ltd., of Leeds.
The question as to division of traffic was raised by Mr. H. Waugh, hon. secretary of the branch. He asked if Mr. Barr considered that a solution to the road-rail problem could be found in a system whereby major trunkservices between big centres, such as London and Leeds, were confined to rail carriage in full trains, and the goods were distributed from these centres by road hauliers, whose charges would be included in through rates covering both the road and rail transport. Mr. Barr said he thought the idea was feasible to a considerable extent, but road transport should reserve the right to retain some services between, say, Leeds and Glasgow and Leeds and London, for urgent traffic.
Mr. W. H. Potter, chairman of the branch, suggested that the outcome of the negotiations might be the setting. up of a central transport board to co-ordinate rail and road transport. Mr. Barr replied that experience of the operation of the Northern Ireland Transport Board had so far not been very encouraging. There was a danger, he suggested, that organizations might become so big that they were too unwieldy to function efficiently.