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148 
Rodgers turns on rail
Page 7
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BRITISH Transport Minister William Rodgers has told the European Conference of Transport Ministers that he sees no merit in protecting railways from legitimate competition.
Speaking in Brussels last week Mr Rodgers was welcoming proposals for a 20 per cent increase in the numbers of permits issued under multilateral quota systems.
And he added that countries such as the UK should feel sympathy for these countries such as Austria which suffered from the problems of large amounts of traffic crossing the country.
"We have agreed that transport should meet economic and social needs. While it makes sense to subsidise passenger transport I cannot see the logic of this for freight," said Mr Rodgers.
"In particular I cannot see the merit in protecting rail from legitimate competition," added Mr Rodgers.
He said that both road and rail transport had their roles in an integrated transport policy and they should pay the costs attributable to them.
Mr Rodgers made a plea for a more liberal attitude towards transport—but he made it clear that this attitude should only be taken on the basis of good economic sense.