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Rail to Compensate Road for Loss of Traffic I N cases

6th April 1940, Page 24
6th April 1940
Page 24
Page 24, 6th April 1940 — Rail to Compensate Road for Loss of Traffic I N cases
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where, as the outcome of fuel rationing, traffic normally carried by long-distance road vehicles is transferred to the railways, compensating work is to be given by the railways to road hauliers. That was one of several items ot interest disclosed by Mr. R. W. Sewill, national director of Associated Road Operators, on Thursday of last week. The occasion was the annual dinner of the Mid-Cornwall Sub-area of A.R.O., now more familiarly known as the "Par Dinner." Mr. Charles Hodgson was in the chair, and amongst the 70 or so hauliers present were many leading operators from both Devon and Cornwall, including Mr. J. R. F. Bradford, the area chairman, also Mr. Reeves, the D.T.O. for the area.

The toast of " The Association " was proposed by Mr. H. Scott Hall (S.T.R. of The Commercial Motor) and was responded to by Mr.. Sewill. He commenced by a general review of the work of the Association since the beginning of the war and disclosed that headquarters were in daily touch with the Ministry of Transport on difficulties arising from petrol rationing and other war-time restrictions.

He urged all members to write to their area secretaries when in difficulty and, in case of urgency, recommended them to write direct to headquarters. He told those present that a deputation from a sub-committee of the Road Haulage Wages Board had been received by the Minister when not only was the petrol-rationing scheme exhaustively discussed, but also the whole position of the industry in war time.

The Minister was sympathetic and stated that he appreciated that hardships existed as the result of fuel rationing. He said that his department were prepared to do all that they could to help the industry.

Perhaps the most important piece of information which Mr. Sewill disclosed was that the Road-Rail Central Conference had been engaged, for several weeks around about Christmas, in preparing, at the request of the Minister, a memorandum setting out a scheme for the complete co-ordination of the two forms of transpcirt in the national interest during war time. It was a a matter for regret, he said, that publication of this document has, hitherto, been prevented; it was still, in fact, a confidential matter, since it was at present under consideration by a committee of the Transport Advisory Council. At the same time, he saw no reason why certain details should not now be given.

Briefly, the scheme provides that the two forms of transport should combine to organize their traffics in order that the best use should be made of both, partly with a view to conserving fuel and to reduce, so far as possible, all the hardships of fuel rationing. The memorandum, which was unanimously agreed by both sides, goes so far as to propose that, in cases where longdistance traffic must, in the interests of fuel economy, go by rail instead of by road, then compensating work should be given by the railways to road operators.


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