After 1 July, work began on extensions of the railway main line behind the Somme front towards Maricourt and the metre-gauge line from Albert to Bray, was extended to Fricourt and Montauban by 14 July. Anglo-French conferences on railway policy on settled administrative questions on railway building, addition of extensions to lines and the building of all-weather connecting roads. Operation of the extensions proved difficult, due to the number of soldiers, lorries, wagons and guns criss-crossing the rear of the battlefront and road closures due to accidents and German bombardment, which made the delivery of supplies unpredictable.