Page:The Reshaping of British Railways (Beeching Report).pdf/44

 I Siding/Siding Siding/Dock m. tons m. tons 62.5 By block train 30 Keep and improve operating efficiency

By wagon forwarding 32-5 Siding/Station 12.8 II بس Siding/Road 5-8 III Other station traffics 7.9 Keep, but increase through-train working. Some of small siding traffic to Liner Train

Keep as much as can be handled in a remunerative way. The high proportion which moves in dense inter-city flows is good Liner Train traffic

Attract to Liner Trains that portion which moves in the dense inter-city flows, but shed the rest by station closures and rate increases TOTAL 89

In group II, 64 per cent. of the traffic moves over 75 miles and 50 per cent. of it moves more than 100 miles. In group III, the corresponding figures are 66 per cent, and 50 per cent. Nearly all of the traffic in group II loads well and is of a physical nature which makes it suitable for Liner Train movement. Also most of it will move over the dense inter-city routes. Therefore, at least half of the total 18·6 m. tons, i.e. nearly all which goes over 100 miles, and a part of that which moves over 75 miles, may be regarded highly suitable for Liner Train movement. (Say 10 m. tons.)

The traffics which make up group III are largely composed of smaller consignments than group II and they include a great deal of poor loading traffic. In general, therefore, they are less well suited to Liner Train movement than those in group II. Moreover, a lesser proportion of the total movement of these traffics will be in the dense inter-city flows which the Liner Train is intended to deal with. Probably, therefore, not more than about 2 m. tons of this kind of existing rail traffic will be attracted to Liner Trains in future.

The Survey of Traffic Not On Rail

It is commonly stated that the railways now carry only about a fifth of the freight traffic of the country other than coal, but this figure is based upon a global assessment of the ton-mileage of road vehicles. Taken at its face value, it suggests that there is a large volume of traffic which could be attracted to rail, by suitable services at the right prices. Before such a conclusion can safely be drawn, however, it is necessary to know much more about the nature of this traffic in terms of all the characteristics which determine its relative suitability for road and rail transport. Among other things, it is necessary to know:—


 * The nature of the commodity;
 * Loadability;
 * Points of origin;
 * Terminal conditions;
 * Volume and regularity of flow;
 * Average consignment size;
 * Geographical location of flows;
 * Lengths of haul;
 * How carried at present.