Page:The Reshaping of British Railways (Beeching Report).pdf/47

 Freedom from pilferage. Drastic reduction of documentation. A system which is simple and readily understandable. Door-to-door costs below road costs for distances of about 100 miles and very substantially below for longer hauls.

Attention was drawn in earlier sections to the availability of about 12 m, tons/year of very promising Liner Train freight among the unremunerative freight traffics which at present flow through stations. In addition, there is the prospect of transferring a large part of the passenger parcels traffic to these trains with an opportunity to improve handling. Also, and possibly more important, there is the prospect of transferring to them that part of the sundries traffic which moves between main centres, and which amounts to about 3 m. tons per year.

In addition to the railborne traffic suitable for transfer to this type of service there are, as indicated by the freight survey, about 16 m. tons per year of roadborne traffic which could be moved more cheaply by Liner Trains. There is therefore, at present traffic levels, a potential market of about 30 m. tons, and this should grow at least as fast as the national economy, and rise to 40 m. tons over the next ten years.

Liner Train routes which are being considered are shown on Map No. 11, and figures giving the potentially suitable traffic flowing each way between the main areas which they link are given in Appendix 4.

At present, it is envisaged that there would be about 55 special terminals to feed and link these services, and the approximate location of these terminals is also indicated on the map.

Appendix 4 also includes a tentative estimate of the capital cost of equipping the network shown on Map No. 11, and of the revenue and costs associated with operating it at three different levels of traffic flow. The results are summarised below:

£m.

Depots 16

Locomotives and wagons 34

Road vehicles 25

Containers 25

100

Traffic level 1973 estimate

Direct cost £m.

Revenue £m.

Margin £m.

(A) 6,440 m. ton miles 49  67  18

(B) 3,220 m. ton miles. 50 per cent. of (A) level 30  33  3

(C) 9,660 m. ton miles. 150 per cent. of (A) level 74  101  27

At the level of traffic envisaged it is estimated that the services would contribute £18 m. to system cost, as compared with an estimated deficit on existing traffics of the same kind of £31·8 m.