Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-30
|RL|NES HURTING
FRENCH RAILROADS
Autobus, Private Cars and
Barge Canals Dent
Finances.
Nv the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
PARIS.-French railroads have felt
the first shock of competition with air
transport development. and they are
convinced that they must fight for their
existence.
Conditions in France are fairly &C
curate picture on a small scale of con-
ditions throughout the world due to
the revolution in methods of trans
portation from the stage coach and
railroad to the automobile and airplane.
Higher rates and increased traffic
will give the French roads possible in
crease of one billion francs for the cur
rent year. Such figures, however. are
treacherous because Of the confusion
in the nations finances. The figures
showing the rapid increase in bus and
airplane lines are much more definite.
The railroads are fighting the BUSES
by establishing autobuS lines of their
own. This marks a new phase in the
struggle and makes it possible to FORE
cast that the example of United States
railroads will eventually be followed IN
the matter of cooperating with air
transport enterprises.
Small Autos Hurt Traffic.
Small automobiles for small, purses
have made great ravages in the paSsen-
ger traffic of French railroads. The
companies themselves admit 1t at the
same time that they seek solution. A
partial remedy is the reduction of
freight charges on small automobiles
in order to encourage their owners to
travel by train to the country of their
vacations and take their automobiles
by train too.
But the solution does not seem to
prove very tempting to car owners.
Highways lead to all parts of France
and distances are not very great. 1t
is pleaSanter to ride in ones own car.
The autobus is revolutionizing traf-
fic conditions in the country. AS in
England, the spread of bus services
from villages to towns and cities has
gone on at formidable rate. Country
is opened which the railroads hardly
touched. Even remote districts have
their buses, and these BUSES get bust
ness.
Hired Cars Active.
Touring In hired automobile is
now a favorite pastime with tourists.
People who have visited France before
like to get off the beaten track and see
something more of the countryside than
Is visible from a train window. For
these the hired automobile offers an
infinite diversity of tours and land
scapes. more privacy and a sense of
luxury which tourists are not slow to
appreciate.
The use of airplanes is constantly
extending In scope, but the figures for
freight and passengers are not yet par
ticularly impressive.
All the same, it is notable that you
can now go to spend your week on
the Basque Coast" by airplane. A new
Biarritz has been functioning regularly
since the beginning of July.
Planes Link Nation.
This is the first time Paris has been
linked by air with southwestern France.
The new line makes connections at LIE
Bourget with the French airplanes OF
the London o-Paris service. Thus 1t
is possible to go by air from London to
Biarritz with stop to change planes
at LIE Bourget.
Ship-planes now meet Cunard liners
at Cherbourg and convey travellers
direct to Paris. If this custom Is ex-
tended, as it probably will be, another
big bite will be taken out of railroad
profits. Many passengers already pre-
fer automobiles to special trains for
the trip from transatlantic seaports to
Paris.
Air traffic at lie Bourget, Frances
principal airport, has not yet assumed
impressive proportions, but it is de-
veloping Most of it is on the Paris
London lines. You can go almost any,
where in Europe from lie Bourget.
When travellers get the habit of Jour-
neying by air the big European ex-
presses will have new and dangerous
competitor
Canals Rival Rails.
Another ancient rival of the rail Is
giving railroad men cause for worry too.
Activity on Frances excellent system
of canals is increasing. The Canal du
Midi, built in the time of Louis XIV and
linking Bordeaux with the Mediterra-
mean, is taking freight away from the
Southern Railway in alarming propor-
tons. A real rate war is in progress
between them, in which the railroad
has been the heaviest loser up to the
present.
The Seine and Marine Rivers. the
canal from the Marine to the Rhine and
smaller canals continue their plodding
steady way. Recently the River Rhone
was extensively improved to increase
barge traffic at the expense of the Paris
Lyon-Mediterranean Railway.