Union's Refusal Threatens Liner Trains
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From our Industrial Correspondent
THE first 15 liner-train services are expected to attract 2,750,000 tons of merchandise a year and yield good revenue, Mr. A. R. Dunbar, a member of the British Railways Board, told the Railways' Staff National Tribunal in London this week.
Mr. Dunbar said that while the railways would continue to offer collection and delivery services by road at the railheads, the bulk of the trunk haul business could only be obtained if undertakings which were now carrying the traffic throughout by road had the opportunity to do collection and delivery themselves. The National Union of Railwaymen had accepted that it would be reasonable for the vehicles of British Road Services and of C-licensed traders to participate. But they had steadfastly objected to other road hauliers having access to liner-train terminals. " We have tried various forms of presentation of the facts of the situation to the union representatives without avail ", Mr. Dunbar told the Tribunal, "and market research has established beyond doubt that of the potential traffic for liner trains more than 50 per cent is now being carried by private road hauliers, and if this traffic is excluded the first 15 services will become totally unattractive financially and will destroy the justification for the capital expenditure involved."
Assurances had been given to staff about redundancy, he said.