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British Rail on wrong track
Page 31
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BRITISH Railways Board's second edition of Facts and Figures contains some fascinating information. For instance, 19 trains a day are supposed to average 92.2mph between Kings Cross and Newcastle if they run on time.
But in the five years to 1979 the percentage of passenger trains arriving more than five minutes late increased from 9 tc 13, and the proportion of trains cancelled rose from 1.4 per ceni to 3.1 per cent.
Having made this confessior of fallibility, BRB knocks the op. position in all directions. It al leges that in "A typical year ir the early 1970s" 11millior people were "dissatisfied ID) noise" from the roads, corn pared with 3.4 million who oh jected to the din of aircraft ant only 100,000 who thought thr railways were too noisy. Thesr are certainly figures but I doub whether they are facts.
Diagrams purport to shov how many times more danger ous cars, buses, coaches and lot ries are than trains, but th reader is not told how man. deaths and serious injurie occur on the railways.
Much is made of the comma allegation that "many of th largest lorries ... are not makin adequate payments for the us of the road infrastructure, whic is provided by local and centrr government."
Figures and Fables might be suitable alternative title.