F. and M. Coach es Bid Adjourned
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QVER-CROWDED Irish boat trains between Birmingham and Holyhead were given as one reason for an application by F. and M. Coaches Ltd., of Birmingham, for an express service to connect with an early morning boat from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire.
The West Midland Traffic Commissioners were told in Birmingham on 'Monday that a licence was sought to run a Friday service from Birmingham, picking up at Wolverhampton, between Whitsun and the end of September. Passengers would be booked right through to Dun Laoghairs. and Dublin. British Railways and Crosville Motor Services Ltd. objected.
Presenting the case for F. and M., Mr. D. Skelding spoke of strong ties between the Irish community in the West Midlands, estimated at 100,000, and the firm's Irish managing director, Mr. Matthew Flynn. Dealing with the objection by Crosvine, which runs a service from Birmingham to Liverpool, he pointed out A26
that this route to Ireland was less popular because the sea crossing took 9 to 10 hours compared with 3 to 31 hours from Holyhead.
Mr. Flynn handed in a supporting petition containing 1,217 signatures. These were obtained, he said, from those potential customers who had replied to his advertisement in a Roman Catholic newspaper and in response to his letters to local Irish organizations. He had been receiving inquiries for such a service for three or four years, and in the past had run private parties over the route.
Cross-examined by Mr. A. J. F. Wrottesley, appearing for British Railways, Mr. Flynn denied that an average speed of 28 m.p.h. for the 150-mile journey was over optimistic.
A Roman Catholic parish priest said many couples with young children were deterred from returning to their homeland on holiday because they were "frightened of the crowded train journey."
The hearing was adjourned.