to which coal is consigned. Block train movement is increasing, but substantial savings will result from acceleration of the change. This depends, in turn, upon provision of bunkers for train loading at the pits, bunkers for ship loading at the ports, and of coal concentration depots to which coal can be moved by rail for final road distribution to small industrial and domestic consumers.
Wagon-load freight traffic, other than coal, is a bad loss maker when taken as a group, but over half of it is siding-to-siding traffic, much of which moves in trainload quantities, and this makes a good contribution to system cost. One third of the remainder moves between sidings and docks, and this falls just short of covering its direct costs. The remaining 30 per cent. of the whole passes through stations, at one or both ends of its transit, and causes a loss relative to direct expenses which is so large that it submerges the credit margin on all the rest.
Freight sundries traffic is also a bad loss maker. It is handled at present between over 900 stations and depots, which causes very poor wagon loading and a high level of costly transhipment of the freight while in transit. Railways handle only about 45 per cent. of this traffic in the country, and do not select the flows which are most suitable for rail movement. If they are to stay in the business, British Railways must concentrate more upon the inter-city flows and reduce the number of depots handling this form of traffic to not more than a hundred.
Study of traffic not on rail shows that there is a considerable tonnage which is potentially good rail traffic. This includes about 8 m. tons which could be carried in train-load quantities, and a further 30 m. tons which is favourable to rail by virtue of the consignment sizes, lengths of haul, and terminal conditions. In addition, there is a further 16 m. tons which is potentially good traffic for a new kind of service—a Liner Train service—for the combined road and rail movement of containerised merchandise.
Preliminary studies of a system of liner train services, which might carry at least the 16 m. tons of new traffic referred to above and a similar quantity drawn from traffic which is now carried unremuneratively on rail, show such services to be very promising and likely to contribute substantially to support of the main railway network, if developed.
The steps proposed, to achieve the improvements referred to above, are:—
- Discontinuance of many stopping passenger services.
- Transfer of the modern multiple unit stock displaced to continuing services which are still steam locomotive hauled.
- Closure of a high proportion of the total number of small stations to passenger traffic.
- Selective improvement of inter-city passenger services and rationalisation of routes.
- Damping down of seasonal peaks of passenger traffic and withdrawal of corridor coaching stock held for the purpose of covering them at present.
- Co-ordination of suburban train and bus services and charges, in collaboration with municipal authorities, with the alternative of fare increases and possible closure of services.
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