implemented as far as possible without any major capital expenditures, and decisions about new depots will be deferred until the effects of: concentration upon existing depots, modified charging scales, new documentation, and other changes under the plan have been tested.
Another reason for deferring decisions on the provision of new depots is that the ultimate handling and profitability of this traffic is seen to be related to the future of 'Liner Trains', which, if introduced as a network, will cheapen the rail handling of a large part of the sundries traffic flows and provide through-train movement in place of the present wagon forwarding for much of it. Also, the use of containers, and sub-containers or pallets, will facilitate more efficient handling in the sundries sheds than is possible with existing rail wagons.
Further, since Liner Trains will offer speed and regularity comparable with passenger trains, they will open the way for a combination of the sundries and passenger parcels services, with a corresponding improvement in loadings and in overhead expenses.
Sundries traffic, together with parcels, accounts for the employment of about three-quarters of the road vehicle fleet, which cost £21·88 m. in 1960 and £22·15 m. in 1961. Costs will go on rising unless drastic steps are taken, because of increases in wages and materials and, also, because of the growing size and congestion of urban areas. With this in mind, a General Manager of railway cartage services has been appointed to exercise central control so far as is necessary to achieve efficient and co-ordinated use of the road fleet.
Reduction of the Freight Wagon Fleet
The way in which the freight wagon fleet of the railways has varied over the post-war period is shown in Table 2, Appendix 3. The table below shows capacity, together with the volume of freight carried, and the average 'turn-round time'. The fleet was sharply reduced in 1962, but the railways still had 848,591 wagons at the end of the year as will be seen from the figures which follow:—
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Year
Number of wagons at 1st January
Tonnage capacity
Number of wagons forwarded loaded (000's)
Tonnage forwarded (000's)
Average turn-round time (days)
1946
1,252,000
39,765
262,400
9.45
1947
1,230,000
37,549
257,300
9.83
1948
1,209,380
36,431
276,117
9.96
1949
1,165,166
14,560,402
36,220
280.170
9.65
1950
1,098,614
14,004,049
35,750
281,348
9.22
1951
1,089,975
14,134,260
35,496
284,803
9.21
1952
1,094,144
14,401,226
34,978
284,916
9.38
1953
1,105,130
14,743,949
34,760
289,271
9.54
1954
1,107,110 14,957,544
34,246
283,498
9.70
1955
1,109,690
15,264,316
31,990
274,177
10.41
1956
1,109,935 15,555,896
31,59%
276,957
10.54
1957
1,102,607
15,731,251
30,822
274,283
10.73
1958
1,090,114
15,846,352
27,063
242,873
12.08
1959
1,005,526
14.981,743
25,750
233,963
11.71
1960
945,260 14,264,830
26,356
248,500
10.76
1961
946,998
14,339,097
24,851
238,177
11-43
1962
941,543 14,347,572
22,580
227,675
12.51
1963
848,591 13,198,121
46
