COAL FIR
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• Hauliers have traditionally carried much of Britain's coal on spot-hire or nonexclusive contracts. But the past two years have seen a hiving-off of exclusive British Coal road transport deals to a few operators which are now running largescale tipper and plant movements for collieries.
As British Coal has closed pits, it has also shed much of its transport. This has meant opportunities for hauliers such as John Dee, Maurice Nield, Anderson and National Plant Transport. They have won contracts to move coal to power stations and other collieries, and plant and stores between pits.
So far, the South Wales, North West, Nottinghamshire and Central regions have privatised most of their transport; two others, Scotland and the North East, have got rid of their stores and plant distribution. Only Yorkshire, with 34 pits, is adamant that it will not privatise, despite interest from several hauliers.
Although it has combined its North and South Yorkshire transport operations in the past two years, and now has a fleet of over 100 vehicles, Yorkshire says that business is profitable. It runs tippers to move coal between pits for blending, but does very little hauling to customers. "Under no circumstances are we considering privatisation," it says.
Some observers claim Yorkshire's reluctance to follow other areas down the privatisation path has much to do with the fact that Yorkshire is the power base of the National Union of Mineworkers. The union is reluctant to lose truck-driving members to rivals, and resists moves which would make it more difficult to halt transport in a strike.
STORES DISTRIBUTION
Neighbouring North West tendered out its exclusive transport contract to Stokebased haulier Maurice Nield in January (CM 10-16 August). Nield took over 160 British Coal vehicles on a three-year deal, and handles stores distribution, tipper work and vehicle maintenance. It beat BRS and National Plant, which had already won coal contracts elsewhere, to clinch the contract.
Nield's managing director Albert Baggaley says the operation is running at a profit because he has been able to use British Coal's sizeable fleet and facilities to seek outside business. This includes thirdparty maintenance for hauliers, road sweeping and even school transport. He feels that only a private company can see these opportunities.
Like many of the hauliers which have won British Coal contracts, Nield did not go into colliery transport cold. It had been working for the National Coal Board on non-exclusive business for 20 years. In fact, the majority of coal carried by road is carried by owner-operators and small companies working on an ad-hoc basis.
National Plant Transport of Nonnanton, Derbyshire, has scooped the latest coal contract to be privatised. It took over machinery and mail distribution in the Central region, which covers north Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire, buying 145 of British Coal's vehicles as part of the deal. It also does some tipper work, NPT won the Nottinghamshire deal 18 months ago. The contract included transporting 3,500 tonnes of coal a day to council offices, schools and between pits for blending. Again, the company bought British Coal's entire fleet of 220 trucks and buses; the deal also includes PSVs to carry coal staff. It moves none of the coal outside the Nottinghamshire area.
The company, which also has depots in Cannock, Staffordshire and Moira, Leicestershire, does not have enough vehicles to handle all the upper work available, says transport manager Michael North. Instead, all the loads which it cannot take go on a non-exclusive basis to others.
BRS Western won its biggest contract to date when it secured the former British Coal transport business in South Wales two years ago. The BRS bought 29 British Coal tippers and added another six of its own, all in British Coal's livery, as part of the contract hire deal. Although BRS provides drivers and maintenance, British Coal manages the operation, which accounts for 30% of coal carried from the South Wales collieries. Since then, the fleet has been reduced to 25 vehicles. The deal allows British Coal to cut the number of vehicles as it reduces its activities, says BRS Western's Welsh general manager Stuart James. The other part of its arrangement with British Coal is for machinery and stores transport, for which BRS bought 35 rigids and artics from British Coal. Unlike the coal movement contract, BRS manages the operation from its offices in Tredegar British Coal currently has six operational collieries in South Wales. Most of the bulk tipper movements in the area are between pits for blending. Around 80% of coal from the region goeE by rail, mostly to the CEGB power stab( at Aberthaw. CATERING FRANCHISE Cynics have likened the takeover of Brit. ish Coal transport contracts to winning tf catering franchise on the Titanic. After all, Britain produces only a fraction of tlx coal it did four years ago, since the miners' strike. Then South Wales operated pits and employed 19,500 — now its workforce has been cut to 3,500. Transport operators and truck drivers also have a black reputation among NUM members since the strike. Scots haulier Yuill and Dodds was among several oper. ators which broke picket lines during the stoppage to ferry coal to power stations and steel works. This was often done in convoys of unmarked vehicles. In Scotland, only one pit, Castlebridge in Fife, is still working, although British Coal owns about 12 open-cast mines. They are run by civil engineering firms o contract, and their transport is subcontracted. A haulage company, Anderson, has the plant and spares distribution deal Scotland had a large transport operatio before the strike to support its 10 pits. Now almost all the bulk movements from its remaining colliery is transported by ra directly to Longannet power station in Fife. Late last year, North East-based John Dee Group won the transport deal for British Coal's new centralised parts distribution operation near Sheffield. The company, which has 40 vehicles ranging from Ford P100s to 38-tonners dedicated to the contract, moves equipment to collieries around the country, and collects oi machinery. Two years ago, it took on the stores contract for the North East. Based in Tursdale, the operation covers seven col. lieries and involves 10 vehicles. Again, most North East pits are open-cast and run by contractors. The majority of its coal goes by rail, and because it is close to the sea, two-thirds is shipped to the Thames. by Murdo Morrison