Rail plan will mean extra 1.25m tonnes of freight on roads, more deaths - TD

6 November 2001: The Labour Party Spokesperson on Public Enterprise, Deputy Emmet Stagg, has warned that if Irish Rail is allowed to go ahead with its plans to cut by 46% the volume of freight carried on the rail system it will inevitably lead to extra deaths on the roads and will cause significant social and environmental damage.

"This is not a decision that can be taken on narrow economic grounds alone and the government must intervene to prevent what could be a social and environmental disaster,” he said in a statement. "I find it simply unbelievable that, at a time when there is so much public concern about the number of accidents involving heavy goods vehicles and the damage they are causing to the environment, Irish Rail should be considering getting out of so much of its freight business.

Deputy Stagg says the result of this move would be the transfer of around 1.25 million tonnes of freight from the safe and environmentally friendly rail system to an already overcrowded and inadequate road system and will mean ‘tens of thousands’ of additional lorry journeys, many through small towns and villages.

“Of the twenty cyclists killed in Dublin over the past six years, fifteen died as a result of collisions with heavy goods vehicles. If the proposed transfer of freight from road to rail goes ahead, yet more will die,” he claims.

"It is difficult to believe that such a move is being planned at a time when there has been a general acceptance of the need to reduce the number of heavy goods vehicles on our roads. An EU white paper, published only a matter of weeks ago, emphasised the need to transfer more freight on to environmentally friendly forms of transport such as rail. In Switzerland serious consideration is being given to totally banning freight from the road system as a result of a number of horrific accidents."

Deputy Stagg says Irish Rail is being forced to make this decision as a result of demands from Minister Mary O'Rourke that it should be meet the Department's narrow criteria for 'profitability'. “Abandoning such a huge proportion of its rail business may save Irish Rail some revenue, but what will be the financial and social cost to the community in terms of damage to roads, buildings and the environment, not to mention the cost in terms of human lives and injuries.” BB