Building on Regional Rail Freight Potential
16th June 2004
Freight on Rail and the North West Regional Assembly are jointly
organising a rail freight event for local authorities in the region
on Wednesday 23rd June. The aim of the event is to raise the profile
with local authorities of the opportunities available to encourage
greater use of the rail system for freight movements. The need
for rail has seldom been stronger with severe unreliability due
to congestion on the road network, huge HGV driver shortages and
impending higher costs with the introduction of the Working Time
Directive next April.
Delegates attending the seminar will examine the opportunities presented by the Regional Freight Strategy to realise the potential for freight on rail. Delegates will also visit the Knowsley rail freight terminal run by the Potter Group, which is located on a 36 acres site with integral rail connections and full handling facilities.
Roy Newton, Regional Transport Manager at the North West Regional Assembly said: “Creating and maintaining an integrated, efficient and sustainable freight transport system will be vital for the future economic wellbeing of the North West. A key step towards achieving this is improving the understanding between the public and private sectors of each others’ issues and constraints. This seminar provides one such opportunity for sharing knowledge and best practice.”
Campaign co-ordinator Philippa Edmunds said: "We are committed to helping local and regional authorities promote rail freight and are very conscious of the obstacles they face. These events, where the industry can make constructive comments as well as listening to the issues authorities face, are designed to help this process.
Feedback from previous events held in the South East, West Midlands, the North East and Yorkshire and Humber regions, has been very favourable. Freight on Rail tailors each event to the individual region’s requirements. We really appreciate the regions’ support and look forward to planning further events in the regions."
Freight
on Rail, a partnership between the rail freight operators, the
Rail Freight Group, Network Rail, the transport trade unions and
Transport 2000, concentrates on working with local and regional
authorities to foster rail freight interests as part of a more
sustainable distribution system.
Notes to editors:
Freight on Rail
Freight
on Rail, a partnership between transport trades unions, ASLEF,
RMT and TSSA, the rail freight operators EWS, Freightliner, GB
Railfreight, Network Rail, the Rail Freight Group and Transport
2000, works to promote the economic, social and environmental
benefits of rail freight both nationally and locally. It advocates
policy changes that support the shift to rail and provides information
and help on freight related issues. In particular, it aims to
help local and regional authorities through all stages of the
process such as planning a rail-freight strategy, accessing grants
and dealing with technical matters.
North West Regional Assembly
The North West Regional Assembly is a partnership of local government, business organisations, public sector agencies, education and training bodies, trade unions and co-operatives together with the voluntary sector, working to promote the economic, environmental and social well-being of the North West of England (Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside). It is responsible for producing a Regional Transport Strategy as part of Regional Planning Guidance (soon to be superceded by a Regional Spatial Strategy) which sets out a 20 year plan for the region and informs local authority LTP development and the plans and programmes of the Highways Agency and the Strategic Rail Authority.