CO-OPERATION AND PLEA FOR CHANNEL BRIDGE
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THE point that co-operation in the transport world, though mutually beneficial to the co-operating parties, should be on a purely voluntary basis, has been stressed by two Road Haulage Association spokesmen.
On Friday, Mr. A. R. Butt, of Morris Transport Ltd., an R.H.A. vice-chairman, told members of the Potteries sub-area at their annual dinner that co-operation with the railways was not necessarily in the interests of bigger and better profits for hauliers; Dr. Beeching was not likely to give up worthwhile traffic. But although a haulier who found himself carrying a few tons of "railway rejects " was not likely to make his fortune by so doing, he was providing a very real service to the customers and the community and this was a consideration which had a considerable appeal for many hauliers.
Mr. Butt said he did not expect to see the sort of change that would mean a greater total tonnage going by rail and a lesser -tonnage by road but there might well be some exchange of traffics so that they travelled by the most suitable system. Road-rail co-operation would, he said, promote stability in transport. He rejected the idea that goods vehicles were responsible for our present road problems.
On Monday Mr. G. K. Newman, R.H.A. secretary-general, speaking at the annual dinner of the South Bucks subarea, said co-operation was the voluntary working together of free people to achieve the most efficient transport system; tripartite co-operation between R.H.A., B.R.S. and B.R. had already developed but progress in such a complex sphere was necessarily slow.
Mr. Newman referred to the idea put forward by the Export Council for
Europe, that, there should be an overall research body to undertake marketing and cost studies in the transport of goods for export, and he said that this was a form of co-operative effort in which he thought the Association would wish to play a part. The recent conference had made it clear that the exporter to Europe was hoping for the low-cost continuous movement of goods without intermediate handling or delay. What better instrument was there for this than the road goods vehicle, he asked.
The possibility of a multi-purpose Channel bridge, which was perfectly feasible, was in danger of being lost by default, said Mr. Newman. In the context of cross-Channel trade, One of the main advantages of road haulageflexibility—would be seriously deminished if vehicles had to depend upon rail transport (through a tunnel) with the consequent delay caused by marshalling, congestion at the terminals, and the priority likely to be given to private cars. A bridge assured individual freedom of movement; a rail tunnel would always be subject to closure by strikes, accidents or mechanical or electrical failures.
A road link would, more importantly, be more in accord with present needs, when road traffic was increasing and rail diminishing. And if, as seemed likely, vehicle weights and dimensions were increased both on the Continent and in the U.K., some types of vehicles would be excluded from a tunnel by their size.
Mr. Newman emphasized that the Association had already told the Ministry of Transport that they believed the Anglo-French working group had seriously underestimated the potential bridge traffic; the group spoke of I m. crossings annually by 1985 but the Association thought a figure of 4 m. was more likely. Also, the working group had openly admitted that:they had been unable to study some other projects, including the bridge-tunnel-bridge scheme. He hoped the governments would not make any decision about a link until this essential further study had been completed.
Fight 'The Lot' Says M.P.
QIR GERALD NABARRO, Conserva1,--/ tive M.P. for Kidderminster, said at Nottingham last week that Dr. Beeching was the latest apostle of an integrated transport system.
Referring to Dr. Beeching's " mighty swipe at private road transport, Sir Gerald commented;" Integration is a smelly, opprobrious word which means, like 'nationalization ', the suffocation of individual and private enterprise. It means the expropriation by the State of all A and B licences, with little compensation to the owner.
" Every private owner of every lorry should fight with the Tories against the nationalizers, municipalizers, the 'Socialists, the integrationists, the Communists, Dr. Beeching. Mr. George Brown and the lot"
Motorway Dividends
WHEN opening the further 33 miles of M6 motorway in Cheshire and North Staffordshire last week, the Minister of Transport said motorways were already paying handsOme dividends in terms of -both speed and safety.
Average speed of the various Classes of vehicles was about the Same as originally forecast, said Mr. Marples. For heavy goods vehicles it was 38 m.p.h., which represented a saving on journey time between London and Birmingham of 20 minutes.
The Minister said that critics of the Government's transport policy contended that heavy goods traffic should be put back on the railways, but they overlooked the enormous increase in out-ofgauge loads and the fact that 85 per cent of the tonnage consigned by road goes for distances of less than 50 miles. Roads and railways were complementary parts of our transport system, he continued, and the best way to strike a balance between them was by letting traffic use the form of transport for which it was most suited.
Referring to traffic within towns, Mr. Marples said that, so far, this problem had defied solution, but local authorities would receive valuable guidance on how to go about it when the Buchanan Report was published later this month.
Mr. Marples said he would be putting in hand immediately a large-scale experiment on MI with steel barriers on the central strip, with the object of making, the motorway safer. He added that one of the most important ways in which all could contribute to safety was by strict lane discipline, and appealed to all users: "Stay in your own lane, except when overtaking. If overtaking, use your mirror, estimate carefully the speeds of other vehicles and make early signals."