Opertion stack petition

[MX51ROD]

Cant see if this link has already been posted , but if you live in the South East or travel via the M20 it affects you !
https://www.change.org/p/david-cameron-mp-stop-ope...

[myvision]

Where else can the lorries go?

[Nickyboy]

Good idea in principle but you'll need a massive place to park them up, 2 weeks ago there was over 5000 trucks parked up, and it's not just the parking but roads, infrastructure, facilities etc.

[MX51ROD]

The Government got us in this mess by forcing Eurotunnel, likely at the behest of PO ferries , to sell of MyFerry link , they have GOT to find a solution one way or another

[heebeegeetee]

Signed.

[toohangry]

MX51ROD said:

Cant see if this link has already been posted , but if you live in the South East or travel via the M20 it affects you !
https://www.change.org/p/david-cameron-mp-stop-ope...

Agreed that it's far from ideal but what a ridiculous petition - unless you're proposing a solution, it's pretty pointless saying 'you mustn't do x'.

[madbadger]

Nickyboy said:

Good idea in principle but you'll need a massive place to park them up, 2 weeks ago there was over 5000 trucks parked up, and it's not just the parking but roads, infrastructure, facilities etc.

Is there any infrastructure or facilities alongside the M20? genuine question. Do the drivers sit in their cab for the week?

[Truckosaurus]

They've plonked those blue 'tardis' toilets every half mile or so along the hard shoulder of the M20.

[The Mad Monk]

MX51ROD said:

Cant see if this link has already been posted , but if you live in the South East or travel via the M20 it affects you !
https://www.change.org/p/david-cameron-mp-stop-ope...

I live in the South East and it doesn't affect me!

[MacW]

How often is Operation Stack implemented?

A quick Google suggests a handful of times in the last 27 years, it doesn't appear to be a particularly frequent problem.

[The Mad Monk]

myvision said:

Where else can the lorries go?

You see, the thing I don't understand is this.

Why don't the lorries use a different port? Like, say, Newhaven to Dieppe? Or, I dunno, Southampton or somewhere to St. Malo or somewhere?

I mean, it can't be difficult, can it, Shirley?

[Puggit]

MacW said:

How often is Operation Stack implemented?

A quick Google suggests a handful of times in the last 27 years, it doesn't appear to be a particularly frequent problem.

Normally it isn't - a day or two of industrial action or ports closed for bad weather.

This year it just keeps on happening - it's totally unsustainable.

[Roo]

MX51ROD said:

The Government got us in this mess by forcing Eurotunnel, likely at the behest of PO ferries , to sell of MyFerry link , they have GOT to find a solution one way or another

DFDS. That's why their ferries are banned from Calais.

[MX51ROD]

MacW said:

How often is Operation Stack implemented?

A quick Google suggests a handful of times in the last 27 years, it doesn't appear to be a particularly frequent problem.

Read here ,
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-33663944
more than a handful , as well as the on going ferry strike probs , there is an almost nightly invasion of illegals in and around the Tunnel terminal 2 have been killed so far and the French are just sitting on their thumbs

Shutting a major motorway and using it as a car/lorry park may ok for "a handful of times " but the slightest hiccup on the ferries or tunnel , there are more than ever , and the South East corner grinds to a halt , the old A20 via all the villages is gridlocked at the time when stack is on , and it must be hell for those that live in the M20 corridor , so shrugging and saying "it doesn't affect me" is a bit short sighted and a touch selfish

[//j17]

The Mad Monk said:

myvision said:

Where else can the lorries go?

You see, the thing I don't understand is this.

Why don't the lorries use a different port? Like, say, Newhaven to Dieppe? Or, I dunno, Southampton or somewhere to St. Malo or somewhere?

I mean, it can't be difficult, can it, Shirley?

1. Generally more expensive.
2. It's not like there's a fleet of ferries sat at Newhaven, Portsmouth, etc just in case there's a strike and suddenly something like 2/3 of the cross channel capacity is unavailable. I'm sure lots of lorries ARE using other crossings - but only if they have time-critical deliveries where the high price of using a different crossing is less than the cost of missing the delivery/having a driver just sat at the side of the road (probably not being paid in a number of cases).

[DocJock]

Truckosaurus said:

They've plonked those blue 'tardis' toilets every half mile or so along the hard shoulder of the M20.

Also know by squaddies the world over on exercise as a turdis.

[MX51ROD]

Roo said:

DFDS. That's why their ferries are banned from Calais.

DFDS took on the ex MyFerry boast but only 200 of the 600 staff , hence the dispute
this had left the Dover /Calais short of 7 ferries , so the slightest sneeze in Calais , and SE England gets the cold .

[TEKNOPUG]

//j17 said:

The Mad Monk said:

myvision said:

Where else can the lorries go?

You see, the thing I don't understand is this.

Why don't the lorries use a different port? Like, say, Newhaven to Dieppe? Or, I dunno, Southampton or somewhere to St. Malo or somewhere?

I mean, it can't be difficult, can it, Shirley?

1. Generally more expensive.
2. It's not like there's a fleet of ferries sat at Newhaven, Portsmouth, etc just in case there's a strike and suddenly something like 2/3 of the cross channel capacity is unavailable. I'm sure lots of lorries ARE using other crossings - but only if they have time-critical deliveries where the high price of using a different crossing is less than the cost of missing the delivery/having a driver just sat at the side of the road (probably not being paid in a number of cases).

The vast majority of haulage into the UK is coming from Germany, Holland, Scandinavia, Poland etc. Northern Europe, where all the industry is. It's a hell of a long detour both in time but mostly money (diesel), to try to cross into the UK via Normandy & the South Coast ports.

[Roo]

MX51ROD said:

Roo said:

DFDS. That's why their ferries are banned from Calais.

DFDS took on the ex MyFerry boast but only 200 of the 600 staff , hence the dispute
this had left the Dover /Calais short of 7 ferries , so the slightest sneeze in Calais , and SE England gets the cold .

I know, I live in Maidstone.

I was just pointing out that the sale of MFL was down to DFDS, not P&O.

[Nickyboy]

The Mad Monk said:

You see, the thing I don't understand is this.

Why don't the lorries use a different port? Like, say, Newhaven to Dieppe? Or, I dunno, Southampton or somewhere to St. Malo or somewhere?

I mean, it can't be difficult, can it, Shirley?

Because those ports are already at capacity and the capacity is a lot lower than Calais. Plus the crossing costs, diesel costs. A Portsmouth to Santander ferry is 5x that of Dover to Calais.

The actual delay isn't massive, a day or so at most but obviously as some trucks move on, more join the back of the queue so it seems like it's no moving anywhere