FTA I — slann rail authority E. The Freight Transport Association has criticised
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the Government's new Strategic Rail Authority, saying that it should deal with freight demands as well as those of passengers.
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott sidelined the issue of freight at the first National Rail Summit last week; the FTA has responded by calling for three issues that must be addressed by the new Silk.
These are:
I Investment in better infrastructure for continued raitfreight growth; E Giving priority to freight trains to ensure reliability and speed;
Monitoring and encouraging improvements in the performance of freight services.
"The SRA must address this freight agenda," says David Mathew, chairman of FTA's Rail Freight Council. "it must concentrate on the longer-term strategy to allow the railways to play their full part in meeting industry's transport needs."
The latest available figures for the use of raiffreight suggest a 16% upturn In the past 16 months, which is ahead of the industry's expectation.
• Rail freight operator EWS has claimed that it will soon have freight trains which are capable of speeds up to 90mph. The company has also ordered eight new wagons for piggyback operations.