Madam, - Why is John Stafford (November 17th) so sure Minister Noel Dempsey was right about the economics of rail freight?
When I was replying to the Government's consultation on sustainable transport last April, I included a photograph of the North Wall freight depot taken in 1999. It was busy with six laden container trains. The land has since been sold as part of the Docklands development.
Here were customers who had chosen rail transport over road. Traffic of that scale doesn't disappear into nothing in nine years; there must have been a policy change.
Much of the damage was done by the drivers' strike in 2000. In my reply to consultation, I said that all freight traffic lost as a result of that strike should be actively sought as potential rail customers.
These customers had originally chosen rail transport, but their goods go by road in 2008 because of a strike eight years ago. Where is the logic in that? - Yours, etc,