Mid-East route open at a price
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by CM reporter
BRITISH hauliers hit by the Hungarian permits clampdown WILL be able to operate on the Middle East run after alt — but at a price.
German Federal Railways claimed this week that they can handle all the traffic which had been using the East European "permit free" route on their Cologne-Ljubljana piggyback service.
The cost, according to a GFR spokesman, is £673 return trip. It is one of the three alternatives specified by the Department of the Environment when it made its shock announcement that the supply of Hungarian permits had dried up.
There had been some doubt about whether or not the drive-on/drive-off route to Yugoslavia would begin operation. For when it was first started back in November demand was so low — hauliers prefering to use permits while they had them — that it had to be put into cold storage.
But on Saturday the route was re-opened and 12 UK vehicles were carried. Another train load of 16 is due out this Saturday and the spokesman said that if demand warranted it a second train could be arranged.
"Basically what we are saying is that if UK hauliers show us that they want the service we can cater for their needs," the spokesman went on.
"Our capacity is 16 vehicles per train and it would be possible to run four or even five trains a week on the Cologne-Ljubljana route.
"We could also arrange trains to and from Ljubljana/ Verona in Italy where hauliers could get return loads."
The spokesman said that GFR thought that demand might warrant three trains a week from Cologne and three trains a week leaving from Verona, giving a total capacity of 96 vehicles a week.
When CM spoke to the company this week's train was fully booked and there were "about eight" vehicles on the waiting list. Under EEC agreement loaded trucks may enter a country without a permit so long as they intend to pick up the nearest available piggy Although this news fror GFR is welcome it does pu many Middle East truckers a a big disadvantage.
For those operators wh used what they were told wa a quota free route roun France and Germany now fin themselves having to pay ot E673.
Other operators do not hay to use the service because the still have Austrian permits ft use with German general road-rail permits or still hali an allocation of French/Italia permits. back service.
• One of the first casualties the Hungarian permits fiasc is Malcolm Coates, Wroughton, Wilts.
He has sold his two Scania' which he used for the Saul Arabian run, because "there just no way I can get out the now.
"I had applications in ft Hungarian permits but when got back from a trip I was to there weren't any more. Novi, am selling up and buying small van which I will try 1 work on a fast service anywhere in Europe."