RAIDS ON TRANSPORT

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 70, 15 December 1939, Page 10

RAIDS ON TRANSPORT

Protecting The British System

(British Official Wireless.)

(Received December 14, 7.5 p.m.) RUGBY, December 13. In a broadcast today the Minister of Transport, Captain Euan Wallace, revealed interesting facts concerning the arrangements made to safeguard aud repair docks, roads and rails in the event of air raids. He stated that transport was the life-blood of a civilized country. The first danger guarded against on the outbreak of war was disorganization of transport by a mass air attack on docks, railway bridges and road junctions. The measures adopted to minimize the result of such raids included a scheme for the diversion of home-ward-bound ships to safer ports. Dumps of road permanent way material had been formed and immediately the raid was over would be available for repair work to begin at once. Repairing of bridges would be a more difficult problem, but rapid erection both of road and rail bridges had been ensured by an accumulation of bridge parts' specially designed for various spans, which were capable of very rapid erection. The Minister described them as looking like “a boy’s Meccano set.”

To ensure that the general transport system would be able to carry on its ordinary work and the additional war burdens, tlie Minister said Parliament had given him very extended powers. The four main-line railways and tlie London Transport Board were brought under his control and administered by a committee, while the working of the principal ports had been placed in the hands of committees representing the port users and the interested trades unions.

Mr. Wallace paid a tribute to the groat work already done by the transport undertakings and workers and expressed confidence in the continued co-operation of the managements and workers, whatever difficulties or dangers the future £»ght bring.