A maritime Multimodal conference in Birmingham recently featured Nick Gallop, Managing Director of Intermodality LLP, who was with the former Distribution & Logistics Division of Deloitte. (Multimodal is an excellent transport and logistics show held at the NEC in Birmingham, now in its third year.) As one of the most practical exponents of intermodality, it is interesting to give weight to his views on developing the movement of freight.

In the early days of UK railway privatisation, the then infrastructure company, Railtrack, published a booklet listing the rail sidings and terminals that were redundant. Many had no future since they were simply in the wrong place for the future of the businesses they serviced had disappeared. However, many could be resuscitated and Nick made the point that even now there are many facilities, such as at Euston, which are falling into dilapidation or are severely underutilised. He cited the example of Channel Tunnel rail freight services which presently only operate at 18% of capacity. Full exploitation would remove 2,200 daily lorry loads from the roads.

At a time of militating for extra care for the environment including an emphasis on carbon emissions reduction, such a redeployment would not reduce the shifting of freight but merely go for a more efficient transport model. This brought to mind the recent discussion about the way forward to better join Malta with Gozo and insert also Comino in the grid.

Transporting a million cars a year between the two islands undoubtedly adds the ferry boats carbon emissions, which if eliminated, or reduced could be factored in discounting the cost of the eventual necessary outlays to finance such a project. Naturally workers released from inter-island crossings could be deployed with profit, as in the past, on a non catamaran ship ferry service to Sicily as in the past, thus also offering some competition on this run too often at the mercy of a monopolist price fixer.

■ G. Bonett

Marsalforn