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Railways And Traders
Statement By British Transport Minister

In view of the setting-up of an expert committee to make investigation regarding the possibilities of transport control within the Dominion, it is interesting to have the opinion of the responsible Minister in Britain, Colonel Wilfred Ashley, M.P., the Transport Minister, upon the new Railways Act adopted for the Home railways.

“The Railways Act of 1927 has in effect made the traders partners with the railway companies,” he said in replying to the toast of “Trade and Commerce,” at the annual dinner of the Cardiff Chamber of Trade. “The new scheme of rates and charges under the Act came into force on January 1, and the Railway Rates Tribunal has finished its truly gigantic task.

“The Act assumes that the trader is concerned to know how the railways are being worked,” continued Colonel Ashley, explaining the provisions. “Not only has every trader an interest in the efficient and economical working of the railways, but he can do something to assist efficiency and economy. The Act required the companies to make a return of certain statistics to the Ministry of Transport, and the advantage of this scheme was that there was on record a body of authoritative data by means of which the companies could be put to the challenge, and could justify and explain to the traders and to the Tribunal the fruits of their management.

“There has recently been some controversy over the average wagon load in this country and the United States,” said the Minister. “The average wagon load for all descriptions of traffic is 5½ tons. The average wagon load for coal on all railways is between 9 and 9¼ tons. In South. Wales the average for coal is between 10¼ and 10½ tons. On the North-East Coast it is nearly 12¼ tons. The use of the high capacity wagons, at any rate for certain parts of the coal trade, is a question which I think has a material bearing upon economy. Though conditions are not everywhere the same, I have noted that in spite of the special efforts made by the Great Western Railway, progress is slow. This may perhaps be due to the state of the industry. While the company has added to its stock 951 wagons of 20 tons capacity since the beginning of 1924, the number registered to run on account of private owners is only 215 in the same period. It is surely worth while for all concerned to study carefully whether the introduction of high capacity wagons in suitable areas or for suitable purposes cannot be accelerated, whether the loading of wagons cannot be improved and the relation between load and capacity made closer, and whether the rate of improvement cannot be expedited.”