Road-to-rail `pipedream'
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A NUMBER of matters considered in the Green Paper which, while they affect road freight and pas senger operators in the conduct of their daily business, are of academic interest.
The role of the car in the national economy and the responsibility for operating Freightliners are two instances, although NFC and BR might see the latter differently.
The Green Paper states that increasing car ownership cannot be denied and makes no firm proposals for regulating private cars.
As far as the ownership of Freightliners is concerned, this will be only of marginal interest to the private sector of the haulage industry. As long as they are operated efficiently for the user and not used to depress road haulage rates, only the fact that the service exists is of interest to user and haulier alike.
Despite admitting that the road versus rail argument is a sterile one and that any direction of freight from road to rail is "a pipe dream", the Green Paper returns to this question and asks if there is any way in which more can be achieved.
At the end of the day, it will be found best to leave this to market forces. Users will soon choose for themselves the best transport mode for their own purposes — the FTA 100 user. exercise has confirmed this. CM