Company bosses in North Yorkshire were today urged strongly to use the rail network rather than sending their goods by road.

Manufacturers, industrialists and quarry operators from across the county met in York today to hear about the growth of the rail freight sector.

Speakers described the flexibility of a system which can move anything from a single parcel to a train load, and the Government grants available for freight transportation by rail.

Allen Marsden, of English, Welsh and Scottish Railway (EWS), said: "Road congestion is getting worse. It is difficult to see that there will be a massive road building programme. You have increases in fuel tax and all the time customers are getting more demanding.

"This is at the time when rail is going through a renaissance. I think it is fair to say rail freight business is expanding for the first time in decades."

His company, privatised two years ago, is investing £750 million in new rolling stock, including an order for 2,500 wagons from the York manufacturer Thrall Europa.

Derrick Potter is chief executive of The Potter Group (Holdings), which has a rail freight terminal at Selby, serving the Humber ports and the west.

He said the road transport industry should work in partnership with rail freight operators.

He also highlighted Government grants which allow businesses to cut the cost of switching to rail.

Rail freight bosses say they can capture up to 30 per cent of the United Kingdom transport market. EWS aims to serve 19 per cent in the next decade.

Held at York's National Railway Museum, the seminar was organised by the City of York Council and North Yorkshire County Council. City councillor Derek Smallwood said: "The industry is running out of wagons and York has been able to capitalise."

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