STEADY BUILD-UP AT LIFT continued
Page 19
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is a 22 ft. road which shows every sign of congestion if something is not done very soon to redirect through traffic.
Mr. Smith explained that this will be overcome when the M11 motorway is completed and the GLC "box" urban motorway system becomes operative. At the moment the build-up of terminal road traffic appears to be outpacing the road development. Within the 35-acre terminal I found the roads inadequately marked and vehicles were crossing and re-crossing the path of other traffic. Again, Mr. Smith told me that BRE is aware of this deficiency and is now considering the best method of marking the road network.
Internal communication is by GPO telephone. It occurred to me that direct lines between agents, Customs, and the British Railways nerve centre would have been more in keeping with this £ streamlined freight handling system. One other point: almost everyone I spoke to
asked not to be directly quoted. One gets the impression that. they are treading warily in the initial stages of LIFT's development, almost as if they were afraid that it would fail. Perhaps this attitude is a result of the unfortunate inception of the terminal. If so, it is a great pity. LIFT is the first of its kind in the United Kingdom and in fact has no Continental equivalent.
Mr. Smith, the assistant manager, is one who has no fears about the future of the terminal: "This is something which many railmen have believed in for years," he said; "LIFT for me is the beginning of an exciting new era in the history of transport."
TRADE PLATE PAY PROBE
THE Ministry of Labour is looking into the pay conditions of trade plate drivers. Longbridge delivery firms covered by a pay freeze order have been asked to supply details for consideration of the productivity aspects of the agreement between them and the TGWU.