Freight onto rail: The Potter Group
Rail-freight has the potential to remove thousands of HGVs from
our roads. The Potter logistics group offers bulk carrying facilities
by rail as flexible as road transport and hopes to expand operations
over the next few years in line with the Government's target to
increase rail-freight by 80 per cent over ten years.
The Potter Group has an excellent sustainable transport record and currently takes around 100 lorry loads of freight by rail each day, removing that number of lorries from our roads. The logistics company carries products as diverse as paper, timber, food products, coal and hazardous chemicals. As one of the largest independent terminal operators in the UK, it competes in a market dominated by service levels and cost, and combines inter-modal handling and conventional wagon transhipment with shared-user warehousing, stock management and distribution. It recognises that only by understanding customers' requirements can the rail-freight industry see how and where it can integrate the rail component into the supply chain movement.
With three prime located rail-freight terminals in East Anglia, the North-east and the North-west, the group has even more ambitious targets for the next five years and hopes to remove a total of 350 lorries from our roads each day. Potter believes that distribution by rail could provide an integrated and efficient transport infrastructure saving industry millions a year currently being wasted by the dominant and increasingly over-used road distribution network. Combine these economic arguments with the social and environmental benefits of rail-freight and the company argues there is a strong case for a shift from road to rail-freight. In fact, EU figures prove that that rail is 27 times safer than road and Railtrack analysis shows that per tonne carried, rail produces around 80 per cent less carbon dioxide than road transport.
The Potter Group is providing the vital link for freight between road and rail and is connected to all the major port operations. It recognises the importance of matching the service offered by road by improving transit times, less handling and more flexibility. Through the application of IT, customers can see exactly where their consignments are on the network. The group also understands the importance of developing the newer markets for rail-freight, such as premium parcels and perishable fruit in addition to traditional bulk loads, vital if the Government's target of 80 per cent growth in rail-freight over the period 2000-2010 are to be realised.
It also recognises the Government's role is key in promoting the shift to rail-freight in this period of change for the rail industry. And as Derrick Potter, Chairman and Chief Executive of the group, said: "This could be a golden age for the rail industry if the Government takes advantage of the opportunity to simplify the system and give rail-freight a level playing field with road-freight. Ring fencing the £3.4 billion promised for rail-freight in last year's Transport Ten Year Plan is the first step." The Potter Group's investment of £8.5 million in its Selby terminal alone over a two-year period is evidence of its commitment to this environmentally friendly mode of transport.