[MrX]

It's a combination of factors really.

1) Irish industry has changed drastically over the last 10+ years. We did have a few heavy manufacturing businesses e.g. mines etc that did require bulk freight. These, as has been pointed out further up the board, have disappeared or become insignifigant. The majority of Irish manufactured goods are small, high value and transported in single containers that make more sense by truck.

2) IE's network's not extensive enough to provide direct access to most businesses.

3) Freight by road has become extremely compeditive and truck drivers are being forced to operate to almost ridiculous levels of low cost.

4) Long distance freight's is usually hauled via a ro-ro ferry.

5) IE's internal problems - strikes, costs, etc etc

6) (very important) the fact that businesses expect just-in-time freight deliveries. Rail freight simply isn't that rapid and efficient.

The only way IE could make rail freight more compeditive would be to develop 2 or 3 major and seriously efficient freight hubs capable of moving stuff from trucks to rail in the fastest possible manner.

Alternatively, you'd have to look at perhaps ro-ro rail freight and I dont think the mainline network would have suitable height clearances.

It'd made sense between Dublin-Cork etc..

The other issue is that freight would need to move a lot faster by rail. Some of the existing IE freight operations are very slow.

It'd be nice to see more freight moving by rail, but alas, I don't think it's likely to happen in the near future.

btw: what's to become of the 201 fleet when the new intercity DMUs arrive?!

It seems that we'll have a lot of surplus 201s around if there's no freight to haul.

and if the CDE moves to new powercars, that'll just leave the enterprise!