The Green Party has said the closure of the Guinness freight rail is further proof of the Government's failure to plan an adequate transport system.
The last Guinness freight train will leave Dublin's Heuston Station tonight, and arrive in Cork early on Saturday. From next week Guinness will be transported by road and the freight line will then be handed over for use by passenger trains.
CSO figures released yesterday show the volume of goods transported by road has increased 256 per cent in the last decade, with road haulage now accounting for the transport of 99 percent of Irish goods.
The Green Party says the shift away from freight trains is detrimental to road safety and the environment, with road transport needing four to seven times more energy than rail.
"The departure of the last Guinness freight train is a landmark in what has been a long, slow process of withdrawal from freight trains," says Green Party transport spokesman Eamon Ryan.