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All services are capable of improvement, even the transport
services of Western Europe and other western countries, where rail, road and air
transport have long been established, and where there are few, if any, obstacles
to the establishment of physical communications. It is a more basic problem for
the emergent countries, where often mountain ranges and dense
afforestation have
to be overcome. In this essay the problems of England are considered.
Railways began to spread over England from about 1800, and until 1945 there existed
a network which gave easy access from even the smallest village to all the main centers. Since
then the system has deteriorated out of all recognition, for a variety of reasons but basically
because England's constantly growing road network has shifted both passenger and goods
transport away from the railways. In consequence almost all small lines have been closed
down, and basically what is left is the inter-city network and London's commuter service
from the home counties. Speed has improved with the adoption of the diesel motor but the
experimental high-speed trains have proved a fiasco. As in most other western countries
after the war the system became nationalized. High wage demands, lack of money for capital
expenditure, and the general indifference of nationally unreliable, and generally unpopular,
although we are constantly told that this is the age of the train, by Jimmy Savile. He is
wrong. The 'age of the train' ended in 1954. Moreover British Rail makes massive annual
losses, as indeed do most other European countries. Only a reversion to private ownership,
as in the days of the rail system comfortable, economic and cared-for, and this is unlikely
to happen. The present government is merely selling off minor assets, such as railway hotels
and in some cases catering on railway platforms and in dining cars.
The Socialist doctrine affirms that as a national service British Rail should not expect
to make a profit or break even and should be subsidized by the tax payer. The Thatcher
Government sees this as bad housekeeping despite the fact that most European rail systems
are already heavily subsidized. About half the population probably accepts that competitiveness is the only real way forward.
Goods transport has largely moved over to the heavy, container-type lorry. In turn
this involves the provision of suitable roads, and the road building program is severely
limited by finance. The environmental lobby rightly complains about the damage done
by these vehicles, especially in small villages, about the danger of pollution, about traffic
jams, and about the loss of agricultural land where M roads are built. These drawbacks
can and must be overcome by the provision of by-pass and further M roads. The London
outer circle M 25, when completed, will remove heavy through traffic from the streets of
London. Small vehicles and private cars, owned nowadays by over half of the population
will also be able to move about more freely, and parking problems which at present bedevil
all large towns and cities will be alleviated.
In a small country like England, internal air travel is of importance primarily to business
people and nowadays all major cities have their own airports. London will eventually have
five. Since there is ample private competition for British Airways, that organization, which
of course operates a world-wide network, is efficient. The inefficiency is on the ground.
It can take longer to reach Heath Row and pass through customs and baggage formalities
than it takes to fly to Paris of Dusseldorf.
Rivers and canals must not be overlooked. There is a valuable move, backed by the
environmentalists, to restore the waterways, not only as a means of commercial transport
but also for tourism. This involves both bank-clearing and the enforcement of anti-pollution
laws. The River Thames now contains a wide variety of fish whereas for over a century it
contained none. Unfortunately it is little used for commercial purposes, though progress
is being made on all fronts.
Many of the transport problems in England, though not all, have stemmed from bad
government theory and bad industrial relations in the past. Part of the problem has been
a steady shift of population originally from country to town, and now the reverse. The
task of promoting comfort, safety, economic cost, speed and reliability is not easy, but is
being tackled.
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