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Minerals and Merchandise

To establish the volume, distance, terminal requirements, and other information relating to traffic not passing by rail, information was collected in all Railway Commercial Districts from all major traders, whether railway customers or not, about regular wagon-load traffic conveyed by any form of transport during 1960.

Where the information was not obtainable from available records, the co-operation of traders estimated to have an annual transport bill of more than £10,000, whether on account of rail, road, water or own 'C' licensed fleet, was sought and found to be readily forthcoming. Other sources of information—British Road Services, British Transport Waterways, British Transport Docks—contributed their quota.

The study covered mineral and general merchandise as one group, and coal and coke as another.

The volume of mineral and merchandise traffic covered by the study was 305 m. tons. Of this, 82 m. tons, or 27 per cent. passed by rail. Within the remaining 223 m. tons there were 93 m. tons of various types of traffic which, by reason of loadability, regularity, distance and terminal requirements, were judged to be potentially favourable to rail.

The distribution of the 93 m. tons of traffic between the methods of transport used was:—

Conveyed by Road Million Tons Private haulier British Road. Services. 'C' licence or contract 'A'

37.0 7-4 37.5 Other than by Road Sea Inland waterways Other methods 164 7·5 2.9 0.8

Map No. 5 shows the pattern of weekly road distribution of the tonnage considered to be potentially suitable for rail transport. There is a striking similarity between this pattern and that shown by the density map of freight already on rail routes.

The heaviest movement of freight traffic by both road and rail is between the main centres of population, industry, and raw material production, and to and from the major ports. In consequence, the bulk of the movement by road takes place over those parts of the system which are parallel to the more heavily loaded portions of the rail network, and the pattern is one of side-by-side development of the two major forms of transport.

Table No. 23, Section 1, shows how the 223 m. tons not on rail were distributed over different distances. It will be seen that one-half of the total traffic passed over distances of less than 50 miles. Most of this portion, by reason of distance and character, has no rail potential unless the most favourable conditions of terminal and consignment size apply.