Hauliers set to win bulk work from rail
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by Karen Miles • Hauliers could be set for an increase in bulk work following the Government's refusal to guarantee the future of British railfreight business if it makes a loss.
The statement comes as an alleged leaked memo from BR's Trainload Freight says falling traffic caused by the decrease in demand for coal will send the organisation from profit to break-even within two years.
The company is to be privatised and without State back-up the private sector is unlikely to support a loss-making service.
Such a collapse would set the scene for head-on competition between road and the new breed of private rail operators due on the tracks from April. '
The rewards could be impressive: Trainload Freight last year carried 110 million tonnes of coal, steel, aggregates and petroleum products.
But the organisation is already axing 1,800 jobs because the power generators have halved their coal needs to 30m tonnes a year. Around 80% of National Power and PowerGen's needs go by rail.
The Government has a completely different policy towards rail passenger services it has promised that service levels will be maintained.