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More NS misery at Southampton
Page 7
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• [he fast track booking system (VBS/ at Southampton Container Terminal has been slammed by drivers facing huge tailbacks this week.
This situation escalated on Tuesday morning when police were called out to block entry to the terminal as traffic jams backed onto the M27—a distance of nearly nine miles. A record number of truck drivers jammed CM'S lines to blast the organisation, and the system which left some of them stuck in queues for more than nine hours.
Driver Mark Popham says his diabetes could put him in serious danger if he was caught for hours in a queue without any medical assistance.
Another driver says slots for the VBS system are being blockbooked by larger companies, leaving smaller operators struggling to arrange times to pick up and drop off containers. He describes the situation as "absolutely horrendous".
No-one at the Southampton terminal was able to comment as CMwent to press.