Abandon More Railways
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"no OAD and rail should be a
IN. partnership in transport, but we hope the senior partner will stop playing ducks and drakes with the expense account and allow the old firm to benefit by the greater efficiency and enterprise of the younger partner. Each form of transport .should be financially sound and play the part best fitted to give efficient service to the community."
Mr. R. Gresham Cooke, director of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, made this observation when he addressed Slough Chamber of Commerce, last week.
In this country, he raid, there was one station for every 2i miles of railway--a Victorian pattern based on the horse and buggy. Many stations could be shut down.
Many branch lines ran at a loss. In Holland, 30 per cent, of the railway network earned 5 per cent. of passenger revenue. On the Paris-Lyons line in France, transport costs were id. per ton-mile. On mountain branch lines the cost was I Id. per ton-mile. .
While these striking differences may not be paralleled in Britain, it is obvious that many of our branch lines are uneconomic and ripe for closing down. The traffic could be carried by bus or by lorry more cheaply and efficiently and thereby save the nation useless extravagance," declared Mr. Cooke