THE RAILWAYS' INVESTMENT IN ROAD TRANSPORT
Page 26
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
AMIDST the welter of figures that appear in the Railway Returns for 1934, issued a few days ago by the Ministry of Transport and obtainable from H.M. Stationery Office at the price of 6s., are to be found some illuminating facts and figures which clearly point to the. road-transport strength of the four amalgamated companies and to the progress that is being made with the use of motor vehicles. At the end of the year covered by the statistics the amount invested by these companies in road-transport undertakings was
£11,302,240, contrasted with £11,049,267 at the end of 1933.
In the year under review parcels and goods motor vehicles increased from 6,552 to 7,699, but horsed wagons and carts decreased from 27,786 to 27,142 and horses for road vehicles from 14,506 to 13,875.
The tonnage of merchandise conveyed by road and the receipts from such traffic for the four companies in the years 1933 and 1934were as follow:—
Southern Railway.—Tonnage, 1933, 35,468; 1934, 41.733. Receipts, 1933, 217,904; 1934, £21,137. Great Western Railway.—Tonnage, 1933, 243,720; 1934, 243,843. Receipts, 1933, £63,123; 1934, £67,562, London, Midland and Scottish Railway.— Tonnage. 1933, 325389; 1934, 379,207 Receipts, 1933, .1123,756; 1934, 1139,147. London and North Eastern Railway—Ton' nags. 1933, 141,594; 1934, 198,622. Receipts, 1933, £59,730; 1934, £84,465.
The average receipt per ton, for all companies, was 7s. 3d. in the past year compared with 7s. Id. in 1933. In each case an increase of tonnage dealt with was recorded, that of the L.N.E.R. being most marked.
At December 31, 1934, the number of parcels and goods motors owned by the respective companies was as follows :—Southern, 505; Great Western, 1,860; London, Midland and Scottish, 2,499; London and North Eastern, 2,791, The number of passenger road vehicles owned at the same date was 161 (152 a year earlier)', 117 of them being in the possession of the L.M.S.R. and 44 of the L.N.E.R.
One is aware that much progress has been made with container traffic and the report shows that the number of containers owned increased from 8,553 in 1933 to 10,514 in 1934, 6,317 of the latter being of the covered pattern and 4,196 of the open type, the average tonnage capacity being 3.15, contrasted with 3.26 in 1933.
The gross receipts in connection With the goods road-transport services of each company were as follow:— London, Midland and ScottishRailway, t39,258; London and North Eastern Railway, £84,464; Great Western Railway, £67,658; Southern Railway, £21,137. The gross receipts on passenger road services were £210,202 for the L.M.S.R. and 06,659 for the L.N.E.R.