RAILWAYS - A SUITABLE CASE FOR CONVERSION?

A brief summary is given of a study carried out to investigate the costs and benefits of converting six eastern region British rail lines (3 rural, 2 urban and 1 mainline) to roads. The authors, E. Smith and professor P. Hall, envisage a new road between Liverpool street and Brentwood, built to motorway standards, to cater for the traffic from the main railway line. Express buses, one every 10 seconds at 80 kph, would run to a bus station at Liverpool street; the use of this road by private vehicles, if permitted, would be limited. The return on investment for the six schemes ranged from 30 per cent on one rural line to infinity (because no net investment was needed) where a substantial amount of the line was through London. Savings in running costs and benefits to private vehicles from the six lines would total some 30 million British Pounds yearly. An even greater 'saving' is attributed to the benefit to private vehicles which would ensure from the building of six new roads. /TRRL/

• Corporate Authors:

  IPC Building and Contract Journals Limited

  32 Southwark Bridge Road
  London SE1 9EX,   England 
• Publication Date: 1976-2-6

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 7 p.
• Serial:
  • Surveyor - Public Authority Technology
  • Volume: 147
  • Issue Number: 4365
  • Publisher: IPC Building and Contract Journals Limited

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Abandonment; Benefit cost analysis; Branch lines; Bus transit; Buses; Commuter service; Freeways; Highways; Private transportation; Railroads; Rural areas; Urban areas
• Identifier Terms: British Rail
• Uncontrolled Terms: Modifications
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• Old TRIS Terms: Bus services; Railway
• ITRD Terms: 1272: Bus; 226: Cost benefit analysis; 2755: Highway; 9048: Modification; 2752: Motorway; 746: Private transport; 328: Rural area; 8119: United Kingdom; 313: Urban area
• Subject Areas: Economics; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation; Railroads; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00134314
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: ARRB
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 22 1976 12:00AM