£100 million losses from IRA actions
Britain's transport industry has claimed a minimum of £30 million
losses as a result of bomb alerts which seriously disrupted
traffic in southern England on Tuesday 29 April. The Freight
Transport Association said the continuing IRA campaign could
eventually cost as much as £100 million, push up transport costs
and discourage foreign investment.
After similar coded warnings and two bomb explosions last Friday
25 April, motorways and airports were closed again this week.
Heathrow, Gatwick and Southampton airports were all evacuated on
Monday.
During last week's disruption, which sparked talk of
unprecedented security measures for polling day, the continuing
IRA campaign left a trail of chaos across northern and southern
England.
Last Friday's disruption, which crippled the motorway system in
the midlands and closed Birmingham's main railway station and
Luton airport also caused sections of the M1 and M18 in
Leicestershire, Nottingham and South Yorkshire to be closed.
Effectively both east and western main road routes were cut.
Birmingham's New Street railway station was closed off and
evacuated at 7.45am. This closure affected Cross Country, West
Coast main line and North London railway services.
In a double bomb attack at 8.30am on the M6 at junction 10A,
which blew off the bottom sections of an electricity pylon
carrying 132,000 volts, junctions 7 and 11 were closed as was the
M54 link to the M6. The pylon was situated 400m from junction 10A
and two concrete blocks which surrounded the base of the two legs
nearest the motorway were blown away. Several minutes separated
the two explosions.
Friday saw what was described as ``massive disruption'' and the
``worst ever example of maximum transport chaos'' after a fresh
wave of coded IRA bomb alerts.
These closed sections of the M1, M3, M26, M27, A20, and M25 which
circles London. With motorways closed to the ports of Dover and
Southampton ferries were reporting increasing freight and
passenger cancellations.
The IRA in statement this week using a recognised codeword to
RTE's Dublin newsroom claimed responsibility for the M6 pylon
bomb attack.
As we go to press reports are coming in of further bomb alerts on
both the M6 and M69. The entire length of the M69 is being
searched while junctions 1 and 2 on the M6 are also being
examined as are nearby electricity pylons.