MOTOR-COACHES FOR ROAD AND RAIL.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20234, 12 May 1931, Page 12

MOTOR-COACHES FOR ROAD AND RAIL.

| IMPORTANT EXPERIMENTS. Oraoit otm own cqajucapoxDßMT.) LONDON, AVil 1. During the next few weeks the L.M.S. will give a public demonstration near London of running high-speed motorcoaches over Railway tracks. When these specially constructed coaches ape running on rails the road wheels are raised and locked, and when the coaches return to the road a similar locking system operates the steel flanged wheels. This may be taken as the final stage of the experimental phase.of a development which may make revolutionary changes on British railways. The experiments of the L.M.S. have been carried out with the full knowledge of the L.N.E.R. and .probably of the railways, and a report on the results will be circulated to each' of the groups. Where there.has not been a. satisfactory economic return from running passenger trains on short local journeys, very different returns will be obtained from running coaches which can leave the rails for the roads* where necessary to open up districts 'which are as yet inaccessible by railway or bus. The effect which the road coach has had on the railways may be gathered from' the fact that nQ fewer than 176 railway stations were closed last year owihg to this competition. It has been stated, however,, that the railway companies have financial control of 95 per cent, of fte road coach companies.