Serious Charges Against Rail Depots
Page 34
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A' inquiry before the South Wales Deputy Licensing Authority was adjourned on Monday after serious allegations had been made about delays and pilferage at two storage depots of British Railways.
Western Roadways (Cardiff), Ltd., sought to vary their B licence to carry the goods of Pickering Produce Canners. Ltd., Manchester, in South Wales. Until June last, canned goods had been distributed by rail. Mr. E. J. Fennell, of P.P.C., said that complaints from customers of delayed deliveries, rusted tins, faded cartons and labels coming off had caused his company to cease to use the railways.
On visiting the depot at Davies Street, Cardiff, he found goods stored on a platform where they were open to deterioration and pilferage. Some of the cartons had been opened and tins punctured with the juice missing.
In the eastern valleys, Mr. Fennell‘ continued, customers had been kept waiting as long as three weeks for their goods to be delivered from Cardiff. Consignments were often delivered in two or three lots, so that customers did not know whether to complain of short delivery or wait a few days.
In reply to Mr. Rosser John, for B.R., Mr. Fennell said that a letter sent to the railways thanking them for their service was "purely routine."
Mr. B. J. Hall, a driver of Western Roadways, said that once when be. visited the railway depot at Swansea be found that cartons with cans missing had been stuffed with paper to stop them rattling. "Of one delivery of 600 cartons, about 80 had to be returned to Manchester because of their defective condition," he said.
The inquiry was adjourned at Mr. John's request.
LONDON CAR USERS ATTACKED THREE speakers at the official 1 opening on Tuesday of the Aldenham bus overhaul works of London Transport (described on pages 494-497) criticized the use of private cars in London.
Sir John Elliot, chairman of London Transport, referred to the difficulties of providing efficient services under the present conditions of acute congestion.
Mr. Hugh Molson, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, deputizing for the Minister, performed the official opening, and said that the Minister intended to relieve congestion in London by reducing the number of cars in London streets.
Sir Brian Robertson, chairman of the British Transport Commission, endorsed the Minister's plan for relieving congestion. He described the use of cars in Central London as "selfish." He urged the workers at Aldenham to encourage everyone to use the buses. so as to remove cars from streets and enable the quality of service to be improved.