Railfreight jobs at risk after Royal Mail drops contract

Five
hundred jobs at EWS, Britain’s biggest railfreight company, could be lost after
Royal Mail decided to drop the use of railfreight, saying it is too slow and
expensive.

Railways
will no longer feature in Royal Mail’s revamped transport strategy, which by
the end of the year will combine air and road in an attempt to create a more
efficient and flexible distribution network.

EWS
had a contract with Royal Mail worth £65m a year. RMT general secretary Bob
Crow called the move a cost-cutting scandal.

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Talks
between EWS and Royal Mail broke down after they failed to agree on the on the
price of using railfreight services for less time-critical mail.

By Michael Millar