'Piggyback blackmail'
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BRITAIN should not subscribe to a system which prevents a free transport system, Lord Lucas of Chilworth told the House of Lords last month during a debate on EEC transport policy.
Commenting on the proposals for combined transport, Lord Lucas said they were laudable in so far as they sought to reduce the volume of road traffic, improve safety, and save energy, but he suspected that they benefited European railways far more than EEC members.
He called for a relaxation of the permit system, and said it was ludicrous that France and West Germany would issue a free permit for every consignment sent by piggy-back train. That was just straight blackmail, he argued.
The transport system, he said, should be made more flexible, with customs and permits procedures relaxed, as this would provide the market demand for additional services. It was immaterial, he argued, whether that extra demand was satisfied by piggy-back, swop-bodies, or different types of container, as the market place would determine which was best.
He argued against any further attempts at uniformity for uniformity's sake, and said the Government should concentrate its efforts on achieving harmonisetioh on safety factors like brakes and steering, and on such environmental features as noise and smell.
Lord Kings Norton said there is a good case for more goods being carried by combined transport, but that the likelihood of this happening was really small. Less than one per cent of EEC inland freight uses combined transport now, and the European Commission only envisages growth of up to five per cent.