Top priority for the 'piggy-backs'
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OPERATORS using the German railways "piggy back" service will get preference in the issuing of international haulage permits again next year.
The Department of Transport announced an interim allocation on Tuesday, but it warned that there will still be a severe shortage of both Austrian and Hungarian permits.
Allocation will be made on the basis that every journey made using the Cologne to Ljubljana railway service, will get a Yugoslavian permit. For every two outward return journeys, they will be entitled to permits for two journeyes by road only.
One set of the permits will be for the short-distance transit route through West Germany, East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, while the other set will be for the direct route through West Germany, Austria and Yugoslavia.
They will be available to the hauliers three months after the road/railway journeys are made.
Hauliers using the Cologne to Munich "piggy-back" service will get permits to con'tinue through Czechoslovakia on the first run and through Austria and Yugoslavia on the next two journeys.
For operators ending their runs in Austria, Hungary or Yugoslavia, allocation will be made to hauliers who get a West German general quota allocation of permits.
This will also apply to operators using the "piggy-back" services and ending their runs in the three countries.
Other hauliers who get a West German general quota allowance will be allocated Austrian, Hungarian and Yugoslav permits on the same basis as this year.
A spokesman for the DT said they will be making another announcement on allocation arrangements for the rest of 1977, once the West German and Hungarian general quotas has been settled.
The spokesman said that both the Freight Transport Association and the Road Haulage Association had been consulted about the arrangements for distributing the permits and they had agreed with the scheme.
All the arrangements are taking effect as soon as possible and they will last until the outcome of negotiations for the 1977 quotas of West German and Hungarian permits is known.
Britain has protested to both countries over the size of the quotas, which the Government has said are far too small.