NO TIME TO CRY WOLF Hush! Is that a wolf
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crying? Remember when the Department of Transport said it was consulting on 44 tonnes? And remember English Welsh & Scottish Railways, the then newlyprivatised railway company running the majority of Britain's railfreight, screamed: "20% of our existing business would be put at immediate risk!" That was 18 months ago. Since then EWS has continued to warn all and sundry of the terrible things that will happen if 44-tonners are allowed on general haulage. And if industry pundits are to be believed, 44-tonne artics WILL be given the green light when the Government publishes its long-awaited White Paper next month. So does that mean that existing rail users are flocking to switch back to road, as EWS has warned in its role as unofficial Cassandra? Er.. .not yet. Milk Marque, one of the highest-profile railfreight users, certainly isn't. It says that while heavier road-going vehicles will make the benefit of transporting milk by rail "more marginal", it's sticking with rail. So what was all the fuss about? Was EWS' prediction little more than crying wolf? And if Milk Marque's example is followed by others, what then? Railfreight companies have every reason to be wary of road transport. For most journeys, certainly sub-200km jogs, road transport is the most cost-effec