Getting lorries off the roads – the case for Government funding

19th May 2004

Businesses, unions and environmentalists are demanding more support for rail freight measures, arguing that they offer much better value for money than motorway widening. Freight on Rail is urging the Government to recognise rail freight’s crucial role in getting lorries off the roads and keeping the UK economy competitive by funding rail infrastructure enhancements in the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review. The highest priority project to modify the key freight corridor from Southampton to the West Midlands will cost £40 millioni, which is comparable to the cost of widening two kilometres of motorwayii. This project will not only keep the existing 1000 daily lorries off the A34, but also cater for the significant demand for additional rail container servicesiii.

Due to international standardisation on high cube maritime containers (9ft 6in), modification work is needed on key port routes, identified by the industry as the essential rail freight network (see below), both to keep the existing rail traffic off the roads and transfer more freight to the railways. The status of our existing ports will also be threatened with larger vessels by-passing England in favour of mainland Europe with increased substitution by coastal feeder services, if these projects are not carried out.

Freight on Rail campaign Co-ordinator, Philippa Edmunds said “The question is can we afford not to upgrade these freight routes? Rail offers a viable alternative to business, which is already faced with increasing road congestion, causing extended and less predictable road journey times. Alarm bells are ringing with 47,000 current HGV vacancies and the average age of drivers 43. This shortage will be exacerbated with the introduction of the Working Time Directive next year, which the industry estimates, will require an additional 30,000 drivers.”
 

The essential rail freight network

1. Southampton to West Midlands
   
   Benefits = stop 1000 lorries spilling onto the roads every day at today’s traffic levels
   
   Reduction in air pollution and road accidents*. Cost £40 million
   
   
2. Peterborough to Nuneaton
   
   Benefit = remove up to 1,360 lorries daily from the regional road network via 23 trains daily in and out of Felixstowe. Without gauge improvements, these lorries will pour onto the roads from Felixstowe. It also allows rail freight for destination in the West Midlands and the North to avoid London and will releases capacity for additional freight services on London routes.
   
   In 2003 275,000 containers were carried by rail out of Felixstoweiv Cost £40 million
   
   
3. Ipswich to Peterborough
   
   This element of the route from Felixstowe to Nuneaton is less complex and could open up new markets and routes to both Leeds and Doncaster for container traffic with similar economic, environment and social benefits*. Cost £10 million
   
   (Felixstowe to Ipswich is already part of current gauge clearance works being undertaken to London)
    
4. Peterborough to Leeds
   
   Benefit = Delivering robust transport links for the regional economy Cost £10 million
    
5. Transpennine via Diggle
   
   Gauge clearance would add flexibility to meet customers needs and provide a key diversionary route for Anglo-Scottish freight using the West Coast mainline. Cost £30 million
   
   
6. Brigg Line Northern Lincolnshire £5-10 million
   
   Re-opening the line for freight will provide a critical diversionary route for freight from the port of Immingham, which currently generates around a quarter of the UK’s total rail freight traffic.
   
   
7. Trent Valley
   
   Benefits all the country both passenger and freight and needed because of the introduction of the new Virgin timetable in September 2004 when there will be almost no spare capacity for either additional passenger or freight traffic. Four tracking of the Trent valley would provide important additional capacity to benefit both freight and passenger services removing the bottlenecks at Rugby and Stafford.
   
   
8. Small scale schemes budget £5 million
   
   Total costings for essential rail freight network = £145 million
   
   (costings are SRA estimates with exception of item 8)
   
   
9. Grants £25-30 million per annum
   
   Grants give the industry the confidence to invest and prove that Government is committed to rail freight. A year ago, the Government suspended Freight Facilities Grants even thought they lever in significant private sector investment; every pound of grant is matched by the companies involved.
    

Notes to editors:

This release coincides with the launch of ‘the Way to Go campaign’, a joint initiative by 29 transport, environmental and social justice organisations to persuade the Government to make Britain’s transport system work better for people, for communities and for the environment, a part of which is funding for rail freight projects.

Freight on Rail , a partnership between transport trades unions, ASLEF, RMT and TSSA, the rail freight operators EWS, Freightliner, GB Railfreight, 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 authorities through all stages of the process such as planning a rail-freight strategy, accessing grants and dealing with technical matters.
 

Rail freight pays its way

• The Rail Regulator's review of access to the rail network (track access charges) confirms that rail freight does pay its way ensuring that charges levied on freight trains fully reflect their weight and impacts on the infrastructure.
• Government support for freight is only about 4 per cent of its support for passenger services. FFGs lever in significant outside investment: which matches public subsidy pound for pound.
• The synergy between passenger and freight services should not be overlooked. Investment in one benefits the other as new freight capacity will free up capacity for passengers.
  

Freight trains are not slow and do not block the network

• The average freight train travels at 60mph, matches the speed of semi-fast passenger trains and takes up less capacity than either a typical stopping or high speed passenger trainv.

*The benefits of rail freight to the economy and society

• The simple statistic which shows that an average freight train can remove 50 HGVs from our roads clearly illustrates what rail freight contributes to our economy and society now and its future potentialvi
  
• Air pollution reduction
  Per tonne carried rail produces around 80 per cent less carbon dioxide than roadvii.
  
• Rail is safer than road
  Transport accident figures for 2001 show that 32 people were killed on the railways, not including trespassers and suicides while there were 3,450 people killed on the roads in same period.

 
For further information contact:- Philippa Edmunds, Freight on Rail campaigner
 

i. SRA P85 category estimate 2004
ii. Highways Agency Average cost of widening one lane of motorway £19m per kilometre. 2004
iii. UK Container market grew by 6 % in 2003
iv. Hutchison Port UK Ltd –Port of Felixstowe
v. Freight on Rail Dispelling myths and setting the agenda for rail freight 2003
vi. Railtrack How we're measuring up 1999
vii. Railtrack How we’re measuring up 1999