'The press must amp not all news concernin the railways is bad nev
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Hauliers must learn to embrace intermodal systems, says Graham Manchester, boss of int, specialist, Eiger Transport Systems. And more positive press support wouldn't go amiss
g he good news from Brussels is that T
freight carried will double by the year 2010 However, before all truck manufacturers and road transport companies jump for joy, official statistics for the UK show that 29% of all journeys are empty running Without doubt, all operators ask themselves from time to time how much longer we can carry on tolerating the traffic congestion which over the past 15 years has become a daily occurrence. The simple solution must be a multimodal approach. Does that mean switching freight from the roads to rail? Well yes, but not exactly.
The trade press is awash with reports that BR is closing down various parts of its organisation, privatisation is almost a daily word and, above all, the customer—that very important part of our operation—was
8 late arriving from work by train this morning. So to mention putting his products
on the rail could cost you the contract. "More freight off the roads and on to rail" is almost as common in the press as "Major fights for another term in office". For the industry to be completely clear in thought, two things must happen. The trade press must accept that not all news concerning the railways is bad news and secondly, if the transport industry does not understand the terms "combined or multimoclal transport", then the people involved should avail themselves of the correct information.
At a recent meeting of the Rail Freight Group in Oxford, the terms "Head on competition with road transport" and "Direct competition with road" were mentioned by two prominent members of the rail industry, one of whom's company includes the Road Haulage Association as a member.
This approach cannot and must not be allowed to carry on. The European Commission is asking the industry to consider a mul-i-modal approach to logistic solutions. We are all aware that r freight can be carried exclusively or rail. In the future we must be lo combined transport approach.
We are road hauliers, but to gi: business to the railways or any of would not necessarily mean coin business and profits. After all, 29' journeys are empty, eurovignettes tolls are increasing, and running 4 £100,000 rig for 10 hours a day contribute to lower profits.
The Commission could hove a c consideration, but if the trade pre: to publish the good points about ti multimodal system, and all parts c industry made a combined effort, our customers might be just slightl: approachable., • If you wont to sound off about transport issue write to features ( Patric Cunnane.