" The Trains are There and
Page 33
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You Must Use Them"
L\ BOLD assertion that the time had come to force the public to use the railways, whether it wished to do so or not, was made on behalf of the Railway Executive, last week. It occurred during the hearing of several applications of Barton Transport. Ltd., by the East Midland Licensing Authority, at Nottingham.
An application by the company to run a daily service between Leicester and the North Wales coast was refused.
Mr. L. W. A. White, for the applicant, said that 5,757 people were carried by Barton's existing service from Nottingham to Llandudno in 1449. A -useful comparison could he made with Leicester, which had a similar population and industries. The company, which advertised in Leicester, had received 389 letters from people in 'that city inquiring a bout a Leicester-Llandudno service.
Mr. L. Maclaren, representing the Railway Executive, the only objector, said that an unrestricted number of coaches running from Leicester to Llandudno would make the railway services uneConornic.
The -Licensing Authority considered that the existing rail facilities were adequate.
In another application by the company to run a holiday service from Melton Mowbray to Great Yarmouth, Mr. McLaren said: "The point has been reached when the public must be told: ' The trains are there and you must use them.' There are enough buses on the .' road.
For better of for worse, the public appears to prefer to travel by road on certain journeys. I think that preference is influenced by the difference in fares," he continued.
For the applicant, Mr. L. W. A. White called the objector's Case the most cynical he had ever heard. If the public were forced to use the railways and road services were restricted, some people would think that pre-war Hitler Germany must have enjoyed a lot of liberty.
A witness from the Railway Executive stated that trains ruhning to Yarmouth were full before they reached Melton Mowbray, and. said Mr. White, it was an insult to the people of Melton Mowbray to be offered full trains as a Service.
Mr. Barton, traffic manager of the company, said that there :were indications that the demand for a Yarmouth service was increasing.
The application was granted on condition that the period of operation would be from the first Saturday in June to the last in September. .
The Railway Executive also objected to a further application by the company to operate a service from Nottingham to Nice, The United Counties Omnibus Co.. Ltd., also appeared as an objector in this ease. Hearing was adjourned.