Fire down below
Page 48
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"CONSIDERATIONS of safety are useful in building a good image," said Maggie's brother Cromwell. "For safety's sake the Mersey tunnel authority wants to make an escort compulsory for vehicles carrying inflammable liquids, although in practice, if this came into effect, most of the vehicles would take the long way round and not use the tunnel at all."
"Not everybody would think this good publicity for tunnels," I said. "It appears to show they are dangerous."
"Look at it a little more closely," said Cromwell. "First of all note the expressed intention also to forbid the movement of LPG loads."
"Which means," I said, "that vehicles patriotically converted to run on LPG would not be allowed through the tunnel."
"Many refrigerated vehicles would be barred under the same ruling," said Cromwell. "But 'there is no evidence that such vehicles are likely to go up in smoke. A wider issue than road safety is involved."
"It could he argued that there is just as much danger, or lack of it, in other fuels," I said.
"So the next step," said Cromwell, "is to ban diesel — and perhaps also petrol-driven vehicles."
"Then nobody would be able to use the tunnel," said Maggie, "and after that all the other tunnels would be closed down."
"It may even mean abandoning the plan for a Channel tunnel," I said.
"Surely the right thing," said Cromwell, "is to build the tunnel, put a preservation order on it and open it to the public as a particularly antiquated example of industrial archaeology. The Government might make more money from the tunnel that way than by using it."
"It does not make sense to me," said Maggie. "I only wish they would send more of these nasty loads through tunnels instead of using the streets that we pay rates for."
"You must not expect everything at once," said Cromwell. "When vehicles are no longer allowed to use tunnels, it is only a short step towards the suggestion that they be kept off the roads as well." "So first you send the lorries on a detour," I said. "Then you ban them from the detour, following the example of the burghers of Exeter."
"Who were, of course," said Cromwell, "pioneers too far in advance of their time."
"It sounds a good idea," said Maggie. "All this dangerous stuff can go back to the railways where it belongs."
"Bad luck for people who want to travel by rail," I said.
"Or else to the canals," said Maggie.
"You have a point there," said Cromwell. "If a load catches fire, all you have to do is scuttle the barge."
"But for the time being," I said, "the goods will still have to go by road. Without the tunnels there will be long diversions. A journey between Liverpool and Birkenhead, a mere two miles by the Mersey tunnel, will now take 21/2 hours on a congested route through Widnes, Runcorn and Ellesmere Port."
"You are reading the official mindexactly," said Cromwell. , "Vehicles which have to make longer journeys will use more fuel. The extra tax revenue will help to balance the loss as traffic is transferred to transport under takings which the Government has to subsidize rather than the other way round."
"No doubt you would add," I said, "that, while the tunnels are still there to use, the Government will gain so-me more tax by discouraging conversions to LPG."
"What all this amounts to," said Cromwell, "is a holding operation. In due course you can be assured of another imposition guaranteed to bring in twice as much as the old fuel duty."
"Membership of the Common Market will help," I said. "The EEC has a talent for thinking up new taxes with fancy names."
"I thought we were coming out," said Maggie, "not going farther in."
"No reason for ignoring any ingenious ideas which are to the Government's advantage," said Cromwell.
by Janus