It is critical that rail is used as the backbone for freight movements across Ireland. No other transport method provides the potential for low-emission, low-polluting, safe transport of heavy and bulk goods as rail; and a well-run and pervasive rail network is the most efficient way to distribute goods in a timely way from point to point. Large areas of the country are criminally underserved or entirely devoid of rail. All parts of the country need to be linked in a mesh network rather than the current inefficient hub-and-spoke, Dublin-centric arrangement.