Freight belongs on rail

Dear Supporter

Our post has been transported by rail for almost 200 years. However, this month, Royal Mail announced that it was scrapping the last of its fleet of mail trains.

This deeply concerning decision undermines the huge economic and environmental benefits of rail freight, and could result in many more lorries congesting our roads and polluting our air.

We are calling on the Government, Royal Mail and the rail freight industry to work together to find a solution and we need your help.

As well as reducing carbon emissions, shifting to rail freight would also reduce the number of lorries on our clogged roads. A single rail freight journey can replace up to 129 HGV journeys.

To ensure that our post continues to travel by rail, we're sending a giant postcard to Keith Williams, Chairman of Royal Mail, asking him to work with the Government to increase the amount of mail delivered by train and send a bold message that freight belongs on rail. Will you sign our postcard?

There is much that the Government could do to address the high costs of rail freight and encourage more freight onto the railways. As well as writing to Royal Mail, we're calling on the Government to level the playing field between road haulage and rail freight by:

• Unfreezing fuel duty, which has been frozen for more than a decade
• Reducing track access charges for freight trains
• Reducing the cost of electricity for rail freight operators who have switched to electric traction.

We plan to deliver our giant postcard to Keith Williams later in the summer, so please add your name and ask the Royal Mail to lead by example and continue sending our mail by rail.