Madam, - Profs G.L. Huxley (November 11th) and Eugene O'Brien (November 13th) advocate much greater use of railways for carrying freight. But the simple fact is that rail freight is not economic in this State.
A written Dáil answer from Minister Noel Dempsey (June 28th, 2007) stated: "Iarnród Éireann has made progress in recent years in growing the rail freight business in areas where it holds a competitive advantage over road haulage, e.g. large volumes or train-loads over long distances. Iarnród Éireann has undertaken extensive engagement with industry and transporters but had genuine difficulty in identifying business opportunities that offer reasonable volumes of business on a regular basis.
"It is not feasible to run trains with one or two containers and Iarnród Éireann has not identified sufficient business, with the exception of the Ballina to Waterford service, to group a number of separate activities together to form a viable train-load".
He went on to explain that "given the often short distances in Ireland it is difficult to develop a business case. The experience across Europe is no different".
That is the realistic position. It will remain so until diesel becomes hopelessly expensive and the railways have to be electrified. That may be sooner than we think, and by that time we likely will not be able to pay to electrify them anyway. — Yours, etc,