Wallace Arnold Application Concluded
Page 43
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Mr. J. Cummings, a representative of British Railways, who objected to the Folkestone part of the application, pointed out that they operated special " no passport" trips to France, and it was of these which the applicants wished to take advantage. Excursion facilities from Leeds to Folkestone had been considered; demand in the West Riding was tested and the response of the public had been disappointing. Passengers seemed reluctant to forfeit two nights' sleep on the outward and inward journeys.
Mr. 1, Muscrop, objecting for Rogers resorts, Motor Coaches, said that if the application were granted passengers would be abstracted, as they already had similar facilities to those for which Wallace Arnold were asking. Need must be proved and although passenger witnesses had been called they were not particu'lady impressive.
Some of the excursions which involved 13 hours in a coach would prove a terrific strain, and the Traffic Commissioners could protect a certain section of the public from themselves by refusing the application.
Mr. J. Timmins, for the railways, stated that it had not been suggested that the train services from Yorkshire th Folkestone were inadequate. This marathon excursion to the Continent should be supported by public demand and this had not been done. Yorkshire people prided themselves on being sturdy, but he was sure the length of the proposed journey would prove too much for them.
In conclusion, Mr. R. Marshall, for Wallace Arnold, said that because Rogers had the right to operate to certain destinations, they should not ask that these places should be limited to them alone. The railways had no excursion facilities from Yorkshire to Folkestone.
No-passport trips to the Continent were well known in the Midlands and in the south of England, but not in the north. If people wished to take advantage of these there was no reason why they should not do so.