11°c Overcast
18°c Cloudy with sunny breaks
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Letter of the Day
Keep on truckin'
Submitted photo
Send a Letter to the Editor
-
The Free Press welcomes letters from readers
To send a letter for consideration on our Letters page: Fill out our online form at the link above, or Email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or Fax (204) 697-7412, or Mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.
Re: Railroad offers new shipping possibility (Aug. 3). Despite its benefits to the agriculture industry, we are concerned with the implication that one of the advantages of this short rail line is the removal of heavy trucks from provincial and local roads.
Heavy trucks have long served the agriculture sector in ensuring that goods move from field to table. When short-line rail switches were shut down because they were no longer deemed cost-effective, it was the trucking industry that filled this role, ensuring farmers were able to move their products to market.
Now, it would appear, these same heavy trucks are being viewed as detrimental to agriculture because of the impact they have on roads. But the reality is that the current state of our roads rests squarely on the provincial government and its lack of adequate investment in infrastructure. Our province has a serious infrastructure deficit that this and previous governments have allowed to happen.
Further, to pit one mode of transportation against another shows a lack of understanding of the transportation cycle. While the farmer interviewed for this story will have the line running right through his farm, for how many farmers will that be the case? For how many farmers has that historically been the case?
The trucking industry provides door-to-door service that the rail industry cannot. Each mode of transportation has its own role to play in the transportation cycle, and to point the finger of blame at one group for providing a needed service is unfortunate.
TERRY SHAW
Manitoba Trucking Association
Winnipeg
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 8, 2012 A10
More Letters to the Editor
- Back to Top
- Return to Letters to the Editor
More Letters to the Editor
(1 of 12 articles for this week)
Foxes in the henhouse
05/18/2013 1:00 AM 0
Poll
Most Popular Letters to the Editor
- Have your say
- Foxes in the henhouse
- Living in their own world
- Stadium should be emulated
- Cyclists don't feel safe on road
- Hands off CBC, Mr. Harper
- Cost of fighting too high
- Cuts don't work in long run
- Outside the NDP Green Zone
- Have Your Say
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.