Is Rail Speedfreight Now Competing with Haulage?
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BY ASHLEY TAYLOR TRAFFIC carried by the Speedfreight container services operated between London and Manchester by the railways' London Midland Region is on the increase and the service is now clearly carrying freight previously moved by road; I was told this on Wednesday by a railways spokesman at Manchester. Speedfreight is the forerunner to the liner trains, details of whose first services are likely to be decided in a few weeks, with operations probably commencing next year; with these facilities to offer, the railways, said the spokesman, were competing for business in the keenest possible way. The sales staff had been streamlined and they were ready to present a proper case to the trading public.
Speedfreight commercial services were introduced in April, and one train a night runs in each direction on five nights a week. Initial contract traffic, which is still using the service, includes Avondale Butter, Daz, Brooke Bond, Horlicks and C.W.S. products, Many road operators find it difficult to be sure whether they have in fact lost any traffic as a result of this kind of facility. The opinion is that, for the present, manufacturers and other buyers of transport are likely to try out any fresh systems the railways may offer by using them on a pilot basis, perhaps for one or two special commodities. Mr. F. W. Neale of Smiths of Eccles Ltd.. told me that they were not aware that any of their traffic had been lost through recent developments. He felt that at present the railways were largely engaged in an endeavour to streamline their own handling methods in an effort to increase efficiency.
An executive of an important Lancashire road transport organization, who asked that his name should not be quoted, said that the Speedfreight scheme constituted a considerable threat to operators who covered similar routes. Whilst his company had not lost any traffic to the railways, they knew of new traffic from one of their associates which they would have expected to handle but which was now being carried in 10-ton containers by this system. In connection with the handling of certain traffic his own company had examined the possibility of loading 10-ton Speedfreight containers, delivering them to the railhead and collecting with their own vehicles from the destination. The present reaction suggested that the railwaymen themselves were strongly opposed to the containers being carried to and from railheads by a customer's own vehicles. In view of the reception the plan received it is being kept in abeyance for the time being.
Speedfreight as Subcontractor
A representative of another large road transport chain said that they had not lost any specific traffic to the railways on the Manchester-London 'service although at the request of one customer they had sent consignments by this means, Speedfreight in effect acting in the capacity of sub-contractor. The speaker said that in many cases there was a great deal of doubt whether the charges made by the railways themselves cove-red anything more than the admittedly good service they appeared to be providing in connection with collection and delivery. He said that whilst the railways were prepared to carry out the long-distance haul at a very low figure, many road operators, if they had a precise analysis of their own costs, would be surprised to know how small a percentage applied to this sector of any given transit.
That railway collection and delivery for Speedfreight is working smoothly was confirmed by a London Midland spokesman at Euston, who also confirmed that traffic is increasing. He remarked, however, that there was still room to spare on the trains; until all containers are filled With booked contract traffic, casual short-term traffic was being accommodated. The service is charged on a load volume basis, not on a per-container basis as with the Condor.