BR denies newspaper runs face cancellation
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• British Rail has slammed suggestions that it is set to pull-out of newspaper distribution on key routes because it can no longer compete with road freight carriers like TNT and NCCS.
BR — already rocked by losing distribution deals with Rupert Murdoch's News International and Robert Maxwell's Mirror Group — fears losing its remaining major newspaper contracts to up-and-coming operators like NCCS' Newsflow and TNT Newsfast. This would put BR in the no-win situation of either continuing with minor journals at a loss, or pulling out completely.
NCCS marketing director David Buck says Newsflow is courting the Fleet Street giants Express Newspapers and Associated Press, which still use rail. According to Buck, all major newspapers will be distributed by road before 1989.
BR admits it is worried by the trend to regional printing plants, which are more convenient for local, road distribution, and says it is examining its whole operation — but it says it is continuing with existing contracts, and is determined to win back custom.