Coillte Teoranta, the State forestry company, has joined forces with major private sector companies to press the Minister for Transport for an expansion of rail freight in Ireland.
At a meeting of concerned rail users in Waterford last Thursday, it was proposed that access barriers to using rail infrastructure be lifted to allow firms to run their own freight trains, as in several other EU member-states.
Mr Brennan has been asked to consider bringing in legislation to open rail freight to operators other than Iarnród Éireann or at least to joint ventures such as those operated by Norfolkline in eight EU countries, to be overseen by a rail regulator.
The meeting, called to discuss the current rail freight crisis, was attended by representatives of Coillte, Coca Cola and Norfolkline as well as the ports of Waterford and Foynes, beet-growers, IBEC and a number of chambers of commerce.
A delegation is to meet Mr Brennan and the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, later this month to discuss the future of inter-regional railways and Iarnród Éireann's threatened withdrawal from rail freight nationally.
In a press statement issued yesterday, they said: "There is a high degree of urgency to reverse the decision to terminate rail freight between Galway, Waterford, Dundalk, Belfast and Dublin" because of the danger of companies switching to road freight.
"For example, Iarnród Éireann has informed Norfolkline, anchor shipper at Waterford Port, that it must now switch to road transport. If this is done with an investment in additional trucks, valuable business could be lost from rail forever," the statement said.
"Companies such as Coillte and Coca-Cola expressed a strong preference to cater for freight movements by rail. Coillte, for example, are in a position to direct 150 long-distance truck journeys per week on to rail, but again current structures are lacking."
Because of the urgency of the situation, Mr Brennan has been requested by those involved to direct Iarnród Éireann "not to jeopardise the recovery of rail freight" by disposing of existing facilities or withdrawing rolling stock, including locomotives.
"One reason given by Iarnród Éireann for withdrawing freight trains is that it has less space available due to the closure of Spencer Dock on Dublin's North Wall" where CIÉ is involved in a joint venture to develop the 50-acre site with Treasury Holdings.
However, the meeting in Waterford was informed that there was space nearby, the use of which had not yet been explored. A relatively new rail facility at Alexandra Quay - operated by the Coastal Container company until 2001 - is also currently unused.
An alternative option, the statement added, would involve using an area north of the Point Depot, where some 200 freight wagons under the control of Iarnród Éireann were rusting. "This facility could be made ready to handle containers within a five- to six-week timeframe."
Such initiatives "have the unqualified support of the companies and organisations that attended last week's meeting. Their unanimous view was that there is enormous potential to use rail more [for transporting bulk freight throughout Ireland].
"In keeping with national and EU policy, this strategy would - first and foremost - make our roads safer. In addition, road maintenance costs would drop, given that articulated trucks cause exponentially more wear and tear on a road than cars," it said.
On passenger services, it noted that in France, Germany and Poland, cities with populations of 50,000-70,000 were linked by railcars with a capacity of up to 75 passengers and said such transport links here would support the National Spatial Strategy.
