ABSTRACT
In 1973 British Rail earned £50 million at 1972 purchasing power from carrying 38 million tons of general freight. Freightliners constitute the final item in the railways' general freight. British Rail's (BR's) general freight traffic declined sharply from around 35 million tons in 1963 to about 29 million in 1968. Moreover in the case of steel products the road haulier usually undertakes or assists with loading, whereas British Rail does not. BR's scope for raising its charges will largely depend on the size of the flows that it handles. In 1963 BR earned nearly £340 million at 1972 purchasing power. Although BR ought to be able to increase its prices for most of its trainload traffic it could have tied its hands by signing up long-term contracts. In steel even a large increase in BR's charge for moving ore would be insufficient to warrant the ending of steel-making at the British Steel Corporation's inland works.
