The New Year opens in a spirit of cautious but real optimism that the Central Railway
project will finally get the go ahead from the Government to seek planning permission.

It is three years since we first asked the Government for support for this through
Parliamentary legislation. Since that time the company, with its management team and
advisers, has been working hard on a wide range of questions put by the Government.
It has been necessary to satisfy ministers that our business case is robust and that
there are no substantive unresolved issues regarding Central Railway's interaction with
existing road and rail networks. We also needed to demonstrate to Government that the
project could be financed in the private sector. A great deal of detailed work has been
done on these matters.

Recent discussions have once again focused on the business case and in particular the
forecasts for traffic and revenue. Central Railway remains convinced of the soundness
of its base banking case that the services it proposes could capture between 10 and 15
per cent of the cross-channel HGV and container market from each of its proposed four
UK terminals.

In the meantime, the need for better and more efficient transport has become ever
clearer: road congestion has increased, demand for HGV movements has continued to
grow and costs are rising. All these factors bolster the case that Central Railway will
make a significant contribution to meeting Britain's transport needs.

We believe that Government has all the available information on which to make a
decision and we are hopeful that ministers will be in a position to announce their
decision in the coming weeks. We believe that the strong case we have made means
that it should be possible to move forward with confidence.

The company recognises that much more work still needs to be done in preparation for
the introduction of a Parliamentary Bill, and to prepare for the construction of the
railway. On the basis that Government indicates that it is prepared in principle to
support the legislation to build and operate the railway, Central Railway is fully
committed to carrying out that work, speedily and thoroughly, in close co-operation with
the relevant organisations, local authorities and individuals.

My colleagues and I thank you for your patient support and we look forward to a
productive year.

Andrew Gritten