100 trucks per day on roads if trains axed, say beet growers

AN extra 100 articulated trucks a day will travel the Wexford to Cork road for the next 12 weeks if the freight service provided by Iarnród Éireann is axed, growers warned last night.

The company lost more than €7.6m last year on its freight services and Iarnród Eireann says unless the Government provides finance for the service as part of the ongoing Strategic Rail Study review, it could be under threat.

However, if the train service is suspended, it would put 100 extra trucks on the road every day from next week until the beet season ends at Christmas, growers claim.

It would also put extra strain on Irish Sugar which relies heavily on the train service, negotiator with Irish sugar George Williamson said.

He pointed out that more than 440 growers in a region south of Wexford produce a quarter of all beat processed by Irish Sugar in Mallow in Cork. Five trains per day will carry their produce six days a week between Wellingtonbridge and Mallow when the beet season begins on Monday next.

Mr Williamson said farmers in the south-east will not take any threat to the rail service lying down. “This region produces 160,000 tonnes of sugar beet every year. It is worth around 8m to our local economy. Every last bit of it goes to Mallow by train.

“Every train leaving Wellingtonbridge station for the next 12 weeks will have 25 wagons full with 2,500 tonnes of beet every day. If we put this on the road, it would add to the chaos. The season normally starts on October 1. But it is delayed until Monday next this year,” Mr Williamson said

The south Wexford area is the only region in the country which transports beet by rail.

“The system suits Irish Sugar well. They can tame the samples at the station and transfer them to Mallow by truck. All the checking is done at night and the wagons are washed out at night. Any change in this would have consequences for everyone.”

Mr Williamson said the suspension of the rail service could force even more farmers out of the trade.

“A lot of growers wouldn’t have the facilities for articulated trucks to come in and collect their beet. This service is a profit-making one for Irish Rail and they know they are going to get paid because the cost of transport is deducted from everyone’s cheque.”

Iarnród Éireann’s freight division employs more than 600 people, most of whom work in dedicated centres which provide specific services to niche sectors.

“We are not in a position where we can continue to incur a loss on this service. In order for us to continue to develop this service and improve on it, we will require major capital investment,” spokesperson for the rail company Barry Kenny said.

In excess of 2.6 million tonnes of freight is carried on all the major and minor rail lines nationwide every year. Everything from kegs of beer to cement, fertilisers, mineral ores, petrol, oil and general containers are transported daily by Iarnród Éireann’s freight division.