Freightliner services to Ireland planned

20th September 1968, Page 87

20th September 1968

Page 87

Page 87, 20th September 1968 — Freightliner services to Ireland planned

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• A British Railways plan to extend the Freightliner system across the Irish Sea has been approved by the Minister of Transport, Mr. Richard Marsh.

Costing some Ulm, the plan calls for new harbour works and cranage facilities at Holyhead, Belfast and Dublin and the provision of two purpose-built cellular container ships similar to those brought into service on BR's Harwich /Zeebrugge link earlier this year. Each will be able to carry about 180 20ft ISO containers, or the equivalent in 30ft and 40ft containers. Quick turn-round in port will enable daily services between Holyhead and Belfast and Holyhead and Dublin to be maintained.

Traffic in this country will be conveyed by regular direct daily Freightliner services linking Holyhead with London, Liverpool, Manchester and other industrial centres. As on the Harwich /Zeebrugge services, road transport conveyance of containers to Holyhead, for the new Irish services, will be welcomed.

In Northern Ireland Belfast Terminals Ltd. will undertake road movement of containers. In the Republic of Ireland CIE's road and rail services will handle containers outside the Dublin area.

The total investment includes a stock of ISO containers in lengths up to 40ft. Freightliner wagons and additional road vehicles to deal with increased collection and delivery work in Dublin and London, and at provincial centres, will also be required.

No difficulty is envisaged in ensuring the prompt turn-round of standard Freightliner containers in Ireland. Privately owned containers will also be carried.

Freight traffic currently moving on the BR Stranraer /Larne and Fishguard/Rosslare Waterford services is unlikely to be affected by the new proposals.

The decision to proceed with this extension of the Freightliner system was helped by a study of current and potential freight traffic between Britain and Ireland carried out by McKinsey and Company. The findings confirmed that by concentrating resources on a high-capacity container system from Holyhead to Belfast and Dublin BR would be able to offer an efficient, profitable and competitively priced service.