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I was stuck on the dastardly M50 the other evening [there's still tailbacks despite the hype about the toll bridge] for about 25 mins trying to exit at the Galway Road. For the want of something to do I began to count the articulated lorries passing in both directions. 51 did. That's about 2 a minute. Of these, only 3 were carrying containers suitable for rail haulage. There was a myriad of rigid lorries, box vans, white vans and transits also - I didn't count them

So, by my reckoning and taking the observation as a random sample, about 6% of the total articulated vehicle road haulage industry is suitable to transfer to rail. [or about 7 lorries off the M50 every hour in rush hour]. That would be a train load every 4 hours - going everywhere.

It's great to see freight coming back to rail, but in reality - the odd container out of Clonmel does not a trainload make.

DSE

From the Dublin Port & Docks website the following:

Dublin is the leading RoRo port in Ireland, handling over 704,000 freight units in 2008.

Dublin is Irelands main Lo/Lo port handling 678,000 TEU's [20' equivalent units] in 2008. The Lo Lo mode is growing at over 9% per annum and now accounts for 23% of total throughput.

So there it is folks - That's whats going in and out of Dublin Port. The Ro-Ro is lost to rail unless it can be converted to Lo-Lo. I'm no expert on Ro-Ro but my guess is that they are 40 foot trailers or 1,404,000 TEUs - the largest share of the market.

Like everything else in this blessed little isle, there's vested interests at play. If Government policy was to push road freight onto rail - by introducing a ban on certain roads leading into towns with railheads [except by permit, as in the case of the City of Dublin] - perhaps that would be a start. But I fear, we'll be a long time waiting. From another thread I read: Our Transport Minister is taking his usual keen interest in matters I see
*181. To ask the Minister for Transport if his attention has been drawn to the plans to remove passing spaces and cut capacity on the Limerick to Waterford rail line to such an extent that services would have to be withdrawn; and if he will make a statement on the matter. - Ciara´n Cuffe. [19266/09]

Minister for Transport (Deputy Noel Dempsey): This is an operational matter for Iarnród Éireann and I have no function in the matter.

Reminder - There are elections coming up. YOU know what to do!

DSE