N ew £12:+m expansion of B R Freightliner services
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• Approval of plans for the extension of British Railways' Freightliner services at a cost of was announced last week. The proposals include the provision of five new Freightliner terminals, the extension of three existing ones and expansion of the Freightliner container and wagon fleets. This is the second major stage of development of BR's network of fast container services.
There will be new Freightliner terminals at Nottingham (Beeston) and Swansea (Danygraig)—two centres not yet served by Freightliner—and at Birmingham (Lawley Street) and Manchester (Trafford Park)— cities already on the network. Construction will begin as soon as building licences are granted. The fifth new terminal in the scheme is at Southampton. This, with Ministry approval, was built in advance and is already in service.
The terminals to be extended are London (Willesden), Glasgow (Gushetfaulds) and Liverpool (Garston), where additional accommodation is required to handle rapidly increasing traffic. All the new terminals and extensions are expected to be in use before August 1969.
The scheme makes provision for the introduction of 41 new Freightliner services, of which 13 will link ports with inland centres. These new services are additional to the 33 now in operation.
Some 4,750 containers and 875 Freightliner wagons are needed for the new services. The total cost of the equipment will be about £8m and most of it will be constructed in British Railways workshops.
Maritime containers, on deep-sea and on Continental and Irish routes, will be carried on special Freightliner services between the ports and inland Customs clearance depots. Since March, direct services have been linking up with BR's new cellular container ships operating between Parkeston Quay (Harwich) and Zeebrugge.
Freightliner services to be Introduced (all daily) London—Birmingham (2),—Cardiff/Swensee (1')—Glasgow {2') — Liverpool (1 'I—Manchester (1 " )—Newcastle 11 '1—Nottin5ham 121 —Southampton {1 • Glasgow—Birmingham 11 '1—Leeds 11 ' }— Newcastle/Stockton (1): Liverpoo{-Stockton (1)—Swansea 111: Newcastle—Hu:I 111—Liverpool 1'11—Manchester 12): Nottingham
Stocklon/Newcastle 121: Sheffield—Swansea SonihemptunManchester/Liverpool {1); Swansea—Birmingham 121; Hull—Dimminghem III{ S. Welas—London {steel) 111.
' Additional Maritime,
London—Tilbury 11): eirmingharn—Tilbury 0): Glasgow—Tilbury 111: Leeds-Ti{bdr{, {1): Liverpoo).T(Ibury (1): Manchester-Tilbury 11); Card iff-Harwich/Faliketowe 111; MenehesterHarw{ch/Felix. etowe 11): Leed ottinghom-HarwichiFelixstowe (1): Glasgow/ Stockton-Harwich/Felixstowe (1); Lon-Harwich (1); alewoodH arwich 111: rfull Docks-Cardiff 11).
Present Freightliner services (all daily) Landon—Glasgow 131—Manchester 121—Liverpool (2)—S heffield 111 —Leeds {11—Newcastle {11—Cardiff (1 )—Stoekton 111; Liverpool— Glasgow 111: Manchester—Glasgow 11){ London—Aberdeen 111: Cs rdiff—LiverpooliManchester Ill: Glasgow—Leeds/Sheffield {1)
— Birmingham 11): Birmingham—Newcastle 1 I—Stookton 111: S. Wales —London (steel) 111: Cardif-I—Sheffield (1): London—Hull III—Edinburgh W.—Southampton I 1): Birmingham—Southampton (1): London— Faris (1).
Maritime.
London/Birmingnorn—hieyshare/Holyheed 141; Heysham—Birmingham/ London {1): Holyhead—Birmingham/London (1): Lorgon—Harwich/ Felixstowe 111; Birmingham—Harwich/Felixstowe (1): LiverpoolHalwich/Fel{xstowe {II.
A through London-Paris Freightliner, introduced on April 22, is already carrying container traffic direct between London (Stratford) and Paris (La Chapelle), crossing the Channel on the Dover-Dunkirk train ferry. Containers originating from or destined for other British centres are also being conveyed on this service.
• The first principal port for deep-sea container ships will be Tilbury, where the Port of London Authority is constructing and will operate a rail transfer depot. The United States Lines will start using the port this summer, and later in the year the first container ships on the Australian run will be introduced.
A new control centre, co-ordinating all Freightliner operations in the London area,. has been set up at Euston House,EvetitiOlt St., NW I, headquarters of the London Midland Region. It will provide customers with a central booking point for any of the services from the five London terminals, thus eliminating the need to approach each terminal individually.