Likelihood of Cuts in Hull Fish Transport Application ?

25th September 1964, Page 97

25th September 1964

Page 97

Page 97, 25th September 1964 — Likelihood of Cuts in Hull Fish Transport Application ?

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HULL fish merchants have decided not to send by road fish traffic at present being transported by rail—a decision that may well present considerable complications for the newly formed road haulage concern, Hull Fish Transport Ltd., which

• had scheduled to handle the traffic. (See The Commercial Airofor, September If.) Thc fish merchants reached their decision on September 14, just five days after the Yorkshire Licensing Authority published details of the application by Hull Fish Transport to operate on B licences 91 vehicles of 215 tons, 45 artics of 270 tons and 45 insulated containers of 90 tons, as reported in " Haulage Applications" last week.

They decided that because of objections raised by Billingsgate porters to handling the proposed road traffic and because of attractive facilities offered by British Railways, the fish now going by rail should continue to do so.

Negotiations Going On The president of the Hull Fish Merchants' Protection Association, Mr. Jack Allison, said that the decision would not affect negotiations now going on between the Association and road transport operators for a switch from rail to road of other traffic, He went on: " Our decision simply means that 18 per Lent of the Hull fish traffic still being railed to London will

continue to go by the same means." He said British Railways were offering the Hull fish trade an attractiye new service and were willing to provide one fish train a day. which would leave Hull at 6.45 p.m. Another feature was that payment would be by van load instead Of per cwt. as at present.

Two fish trains were run from Hull to London each day, said Mr. Allison, but additional vans could he put on the one train. The new train is scheduled to start on October 5.

Comment on Decision After hearing the decision, Mr. K. S. Lamb, Lep transport manager in Goole (the Lep transport group holds a 60 per cent interest in Hull Fish Transport Ltd., the Kingston Haulage company 40 per cent), told The (:ommercial Motor: " We are looking into this. Obviously the decision will make some difference to us and some adjustment will have to be made to our application, although at this stage this will be up to the Licensing Authority. At the moment, our fleet requirement will have to be recalculated."

We understand Hull Fish Transport are still negotiating what were described as " the finer points" of their proposed contract with the fish merchants, although the Hull Fish Merchants Protection Association comment was that no formal meetings had been arranged.