Santa:
Back in the early 80s I worked for Thorn EMI and I was part of a group that looked hard at the economics of transporting white goods by rail instead of road. We came to the conclusion that, even if the rail part of the journey was totally free, road transport was still cheaper.Bearing in mind that there were attractive subsidies on offer and that the cost of fuel has not really risen compared to inflation, I find it hard to believe that ES will keep this going when the subsidy runs out.
It’s only cheaper by road because all the operators have cut each others throats. Rail should be used where possible. Think about how wasteful road transport is. For example, I pull a fridge, with a topline Scania which if it’s a trailer with rails weighs 20 tonnes. 20 tonnes of equipment to haul 20 tonnes of goods. And before anybody says it I know that the rail network is not really up to it and yes the final stretch would have to be done by truck but over long distances it must be more effeciant.