Ray Smith set for boom
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• Britain's biggest producer of swap-body systems, Ray Smith Demountables, is preparing for a boom in road-torail freight after the completion of the Channel Tunnel by offering demounts to the West German DIN standard format.
"Bodies that can be lifted on and off rail and road trucks, or left standing on retractable legs, will be far more convenient for Channel Tunnel movements than either containers or trailers," says sales director David Browning. The German standard has been criticised because it is too heavy and long legs make the bodies stand too high when dismounted, says the company. "But closer links with Continental equipment will be needed as road-rail interchange becomes more popular in cross-border movements."
Birkart, IPEC arid Le Bas are among several international road transport operators already using Ray Smith equipment to handle demountable bodies made to West German standards.
Ray Smith believes that the system can be made more attractive to British operations by making it lighter, introducing adjustable leg height, and