APPENDIX 5
Memorandum submitted by Freight on Rail
The format of our response is a short introduction
with a definition of Freight on Rail.
The membership.
SUMMARY
A. Partnership role.
B. Flexibility of Funding.
C. Comments on DfT guidance on LTP funding.
D. Why rail freight is important to the
economy and society.
DEFINITION OF
FREIGHT ON
RAIL
Freight on Rail is a campaign working to get
goods off roads and onto rail as an important step in developing
a more sustainable distribution system.
Freight on Rail is a partnership between transport
trades unions, rail freight industry and Transport 2000. It 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.
The members are as follows: Rail Freight Group,
EWS, Freightliner, RMT, ASLEF, TSSA, Network Rail and Transport
2000.
SUMMARY/CONCLUSION
We believe that LTPs form a key part of the
framework to integrate land use planning and transport. We need
to make sure that rail freight does not fall between regional
and local plans. It is important to bear in mind that rail freight
is extremely well placed to meet the key objectives of LTPs in
terms of congestion and road accidents reduction as well as improvements
in air quality (DfT Guidance Chapter 3.4/Value for money Chapter
4.50, 4.52). We would therefore ask that local authorities undertake
to consult with the rail freight industry where they are dealing
with potential rail freight issues. Freight on Rail is
pleased to act as a facilitator.
A. PARTNERSHIP
ROLE
Government should promote partnerships with
rail industry and other interests such as councils, developers,
employers tourism bodies and development agencies to improve the
railways.
B. FLEXIBILITY
OF FUNDING
We question why local authorities are precluded
from using LTP funding for rail, even though rail is well placed
to help authorities meet the objectives set by the DfT, to reduce
congestion and road accidents as well as improving air quality.
Authorities can and should however allocate
funds to improve road access to existing or new rail freight terminals
within LTPs, under the present guidelines.
C. COMMENTS ON
DFT GUIDANCE
ON LTPS
Freight on Rail welcomed many aspects of the
guidance but was disappointed by the absence of guidance on freight
transport. We would like to emphasize the importance of consulting
the rail freight industry, operators, the Rail Freight Group,
Freight on Rail and users in preparing plans, particularly where
there are potential rail freight issues. The Freight Transport
Association alone cannot represent rail freight interests.
D. WHY RAIL
FREIGHT IS
VITAL TO
THE ECONOMY
AND SOCIETY
To protect the environment
Tonne for tonne rail freight produces 90% less
carbon dioxide than road transporti.
Rail freight makes a vital contribution to protecting
the environment and helping the Government to meet its commitments
to improving air quality and tackling climate change. Overall
rail produces less than 1% of the total U.K. emissions of carbon
dioxide, the principle greenhouse gas, compared with 21% from
road transportii.
To relieve road congestion
An aggregates train can remove 120 HGVs from
the roads—Network Rail 2005.
Rail is able to act as a freight bypass by offering
a more reliable alternative to road—something that will
be more attractive as road congestion continues to worsen.
Rail customer endorsements
"With road we have three, four
or five times more problems, that is why we do it by rail,"
Alistair Monague of Maersk explained February 2006.
DETAILED RESPONSES
A. Role of local authority partnerships
Within this planning framework, the Government
should promote partnerships between the rail industry and other
interests, such as councils, developers, employers, tourism bodies
and development agencies, to improve the railway locally. New
funding regimes, for example through a form of enhanced land value
tax, already being considered by the Government, could be applied
to the railway, especially in growth/regeneration areas.
We therefore think that a key element of both
HLOS and the rail strategy should be about creating templates
for partnerships between the rail industry and others.
Local and Regional authorities are well aware
of the need to lever in additional funding and many good examples
of schemes have merged from the LTP process within a partnership
framework.
Derbyshire County Council is a good practice
rail freight example and has an outstanding story to tell on freight
with eight million tonnes of freight now carried by rail each
year that previously went by road.
The council is committed to promoting sustainable
transport and minimizing the negative impacts of freight transport.
Derbyshire is a major producer of aggregate and mineral products,
which are principally consumed elsewhere in the country. Transport
of these goods raises a significant environmental issue in terms
of the sensitive environment of the Peak District, which is the
main source of limestone working, and the burden that lorry traffic
would place on local communities. Developing and implementing
a freight onto rail policy has involved the council building a
strong relationship between the rail-freight operators, Network
Rail, the SRA in the past and now DfT, the Rail Freight Group,
manufacturers, freight forwarders and extractive industries. Good
liaison has also been built within the council between the departments
of transport, policy and mineral planning.
Other examples of arrangements on the passenger
side are Surry County Council's pathfinder works looking at a
county council role in station upgrades; Kent county Council's
partnership with districts, TOCs and Network Rail; the Ebbw Vale
re-opening by Blaenau Gwent Council.
Reading Council has stated that a partnership
there could use developer funding to re-signal the railways there,
redevelop the stations and add to capacity for the Southampton-West
Midlands route, at no cost to the taxpayer.
B. Flexibility of funding
We question why local authorities are precluded
from using LTP funding for rail, even though rail is well placed
to help authorities meet the objectives set by the DfT to reduce
congestion and road accidents as well as improving air quality.
Research commissioned by Freight on Rail highlights
that in counties with significant rail freight potential, the
local transport authorities could save serious amounts on road
repairs if suitable cargoes were to go by rail. This research
also suggests that there would be merit in allowing certain local
authorities, with significant bulk, waste or port traffic for
example, to use part of their road maintenance budget to support
rail freight facilities and services.
The research shows that the case study county
council, which spends a typical amount on its road maintenance,
could be saving as much as £770,700 on road maintenance each
year because certain goods in its area go by rail rather than
road. The research makes a strong case for local authorities to
encourage more freight to go by rail, particularly where they
have significant bulk, waste or port traffic in their regions,
even without taking into account the significant additional environmental,
social and congestion benefits of rail freight. HGVs are up to
160,000 times more damaging to road surfaces than the average
car; some of the heaviest road repair costs are therefore almost
exclusively attributable to the heaviest vehicles and the research
suggests that transfer to rail can reduce these costs.
C. How helpful was the LTP guidance from
the Department for Transport?
Freight on Rail welcomed many aspects of the
guidance but was disappointed by the absence of guidance on freight
transport. We would like to emphasise the importance of consulting
the rail freight industry, operators, the Rail Freight Group,
Freight on Rail and users in preparing plans, particularly where
there are potential rail freight issues. The Freight Transport
Association alone cannot represent rail freight interests.
However, we believe that the guidance underplayed
the potential role of the railways. This was also true of the
White Paper, "The Future of Transport". Rail services
can provide a frequent and high capacity alternative to car journeys
and promote economic regeneration. Rail, both passenger and freight
provides a serious alternative to combat road congestion which
is crucial for the economy as well as for society and the environment.
Two port examples of the importance of rail
freight's role in alleviating road congestion are Southampton
and Felixstowe. Both the A14 and the A34 are key artery routes
which are very congested. Currently rail freight services remove
over a thousand lorries a day from both local and trunk routes
from these ports. More freight could be transferred to rail with
Government support for infrastructure enhancements. Both regions
are experiencing economic growth which requires sustainable transport
infrastructure development.
We do not believe that the guidance recognised
rail's role in providing sustainable transport solutions.
See section Why we need rail freight to protect
the Environment for detailed statistics.
The alarming increase in global carbon dioxide
emissions, show what a key role rail freight can play in reducing
air pollution and climate change.
Freight Transport
Given the scale and importance of freight transport
it is regrettable that there was so little guidance to local authorities
on what they can do to promote sustainable transport, in particular
help facilitate modal shift and to limit the impacts on the community
of freight transport. We believe that local authorities have a
crucial role in shifting freight onto the railways as local and
regional authorities set the framework upon which rail freight
operates through the planning system via Regional Planning Guidance
and Local Development Frameworks. So it is vital that regional
and local spatial planning makes adequate provision for rail freight.
It needs to identify and protect existing and disused sites, lines
and sidings and suitable interchange locations. In particular,
planning permission for rail interchanges, without which rail
freight cannot increase, will not be secured unless the right
policies are enshrined in the spatial planning framework. The
recent case of Mansard County Homes v Surrey Heath shows councils
countrywide that, with the strengthening of Planning Policy Guidance
PPG13, they can protect disused railway land for future potential
railway use, without fear of litigation if this land is identified
in local transport plans even where there is no immediate evidence
of future possible use. In addition to meeting some of the shared
priorities (road congestion reduction, improving road safety and
air quality) modal shift can generate savings in road maintenance
costs and this should be reflected in the asset management section
of the guidance.
D. Why we need rail freight?
To protect the environment
Rail freight makes a vital contribution to protecting
the environment and helping the Government to meet its commitments
to improving air quality and tackling climate change. Overall
rail produces less than 1% of the total UK emissions of carbon
dioxide, the principle greenhouse gas, compared with 21% from
road transportiii.
Tonne for tonne rail freight produces 90% less
carbon dioxide than road transportiv.
FREIGHT TRANSPORT: AVERAGE EMISSIONS IN GRAMS
PER TONNE-KILOMETREv
| Mode | PM10
| CO | NOx | CO2
| VOC |
| Rail | 0.004 | 0.032
| 0.31 | 15 | 0.021
|
| HGV | 0.048 | 0.33
| 1.74 | 180 | 0.15
|
Key: PM10 particulate matter of less than 10 microns; CO carbon
monoxide; NOx oxides of nitrogen; CO2 Carbon dioxide; VOC volatile
organic compounds.
To relieve road congestion
An aggregates train can remove 120 HGVs from the roads—Network
Rail 2005.
Rail freight, acting as a freight by-pass, can reduce road
congestion which according to the UK Government is set to grow
by up to 37% by 2010.
To offer an alternative to other issues facing road transport:
— Road congestion is causing extended and less predictable
journey times.
— Existing driver vacancies 47,000 with the average
HGV driver age now 55.
— Working Time Directive is estimated to require
another 30,000 and to cost the road freight industry an extra
£1 billion per annum.
— Taxation by distance and tougher emissions regulations
on the agenda.
Customer endorsements for rail freight 2006 at a European rail
freight seminar 23 February 2006:
(a) Alistair Monague of Maersk commended the
UK industry for achieving 98% on-time arrival at destination rail
terminal. He noted that rail was cheaper than road to many terminals
and demonstrated customer satisfaction. Maersk has trebled its
rail volumes in three years and with the volume increases the
unit cost paid by Maersk has dropped by 4%.
Extract from Rail Business Intelligence 9 March on same speech
from Mr Monague of Maersk:
Maersk stated that road hauliers raised their rates
by 15% over the same three year period... But reliability is even
more important for the shipping line. Out of 80,000 jobs (a box
round trip in the UK) delays attributable to rail in 2005 were
882 wheras road delays amounted to 3,336. "With road we have
three, four or five times more problems, that is why we do it
by rail," Monague explained.
(b) "Rail to and from the UK's major ports
is proving more reliable than road. Dedicated K&N rail services
from Southampton and Felixstowe are recording 95% reliability
levels, compared with `low-mid 80%' for comparable road haulage".
Peter Ulber, Chief Exec. Kuenhe & Nagel 2005.
NOTES:
i AEA Technology for Strategic Rail Authority, October 2004.
ii The Railway Forum 2005.
iii The Railway Forum 2005.
iv AEA Technology for Strategic Rail Authority, October 2004.
v SRA February 2005.
25 April 2006
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