Memorandum from the Institution of Civil
Engineers (ICE) (FT 10)
INSTITUTION OF
CIVIL ENGINEERS
1. The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
is a UK-based international organisation with over 75,000 members
ranging from professional civil engineers to students. It is an
educational and qualifying body and has charitable status under
UK law. Founded in 1818, the ICE has become recognised worldwide
for its excellence as a centre of learning, as a qualifying body
and as a public voice for the profession.
2. ICE has focused on providing evidence
on measures to promote modal shift from road to alternative forms
of transport and to a lesser extent on the role we believe the
Department for Transport can play in developing integrated infrastructure.
BACKGROUND
3. The economic performance of the UK depends
to a great extent on the movement of goods around the world. Increasingly
the UK is outsourcing its production overseas, meaning an increasing
volume of goods need to be imported. UK imports now comprise a
much higher proportion of finished goods than 50 years ago. The
economic transition from manufacturing industry to services has
led the UK to run a deficit on its merchandise trade balance,
with the imports of goods and raw materials exceeding exports.i
The price that UK consumers and businesses pay for all these goods
in shops or over the internet is affected by the cost of the supply
chain bringing it to them. Equally, the competitiveness of exports
from the UK is affected by the ability of our industries to get
their products out to the global market quickly, reliably and,
above all, cheaply.
4. According to Sir Rod Eddington in his
2006 Transport Study "transport's key economic role is likely
to be in supporting the success of the UK's highly productive
urban areas in the global market place, and enabling efficient
freight distribution... There is clear evidence that a comprehensive
and high-performing transport system is an important enabler of
sustained economic prosperity: a 5% reduction in travel time for
business and freight travel on the roads could generate around
£2.5 billion of cost savings—some 0.2% of GDP."
ii
What more can be done to promote modal shift from
road and air freight to inland waterway, shipping and rail? How
can the Government encourage and incentivise further efficiency
improvements?
Roads
5. Transport for London claims that road
congestion costs businesses in and around London £1.6 billion
per annum. iii Recent research indicates that HGVs only pay for
around 59%-69% of the full costs (including social and environmental)
they impose upon society. These costs include emissions, air pollution,
noise, congestion, accidents and deaths.iv Congestion is currently
estimated to cost UK businesses between £15-£20 billion
per year and could double over the next decade. v
6. Most of the vital goods imported, including
food, are trucked by roads from the ports, first to distribution
centres and then to shops and businesses. Goods are trucked up
and down the country because the transport part of the total distribution
costs is low compared with other forms modes of transport, eg
rail. With greater affluence and more sophisticated technology,
the service industry is growing fast. This could mean more vans
and cars will be using the UK's roads and contributing to the
growing problem of road congestion. The total freight carried
on the UK's roads increased by 13% between 1994 and 2004 but light
vans and similar vehicles are doing 41% more miles than they were
doing 10 years ago. vi
7. Congestion is the result of overuse of
roads, and the lack of reliable and cheap alternatives, such as
the railways and inland waterways. Measures now in place are designed
to cope with congestion, not reduce vehicle use. However, the
most effective policy would be for the Government to take a lead
on road pricing, which ICE has long advocated as a means of reducing
congestion through the management of demand for road space. However,
measures, such as road pricing, will not succeed by themselves
in encouraging the transfer of freight movement off the roads
and the development of dedicated freight lines, separate from
the already busy passenger lines, is essential.
Inland Waterways
8. ICE has previously argued that inland
waterways present some limited opportunities to move cargo. Peel
Holdings are a private company with responsibility both for the
Mersey Docks and also the Manchester ship canal, previously these
two assets had been in different ownerships, but now they are
unified more work is being carried out to deliver cargo to and
from the Mersey Docks using the ship canal to link to producers
and customers within the urban conurbations around Manchester.
This demonstrates that waterways can provide an adequate means
of access at a number of ports.
9. However, only a limited number of commodities
are suited to transport by inland waterway. Hauliers will require
significant education to identify suitable goods, for example
aggregates, and thereby utilise a mode of transport that lacks
the speed of road and rail systems. In the first instance perhaps
more can be made of the existing established facilities. Good
examples include the Manchester Ship Canal, the waterways linked
to the Humber, The Thames and the Sharpness Canal.
10. Hauliers may similarly be reluctant
to use coastal shipping which potentially adds a further delay
and costs with another transhipment from one mode to another (albeit
both ships). The alternative modes of transport (road and rail)
available at most ports present a more efficient, cheaper and
quicker method of moving cargo to its destination. Coastal shipping
may remove traffic from our road and rail infrastructure but it
must ultimately be transferred at a port from the ship to another,
albeit more local, transport mode.
11. Incentives to use inland waterways and
coastal shipping with penalties from those who use other modes
should encourage a shift. Congestion charging and road pricing
will encourage more traffic to switch.
Shipping and Sea Freight
12. According to the Freight Transport Association
sea freight accounts for 95% of UK imports and exports by tonnage.
This means almost 600 million tonnes a year—totalling goods
worth £336 billion. Sea freight is also an important source
of domestic freight movements—getting freight closer to
its destination by environmentally friendly means. vii
13. The competitive nature of the UK's ports
has seen great benefits for the UK economy. Most British ports
are now run as commercial enterprises in the private sector. Strong
ports stimulate trade and help to attract inward investment. Entire
regional economies depend on them. However, the UK's major ports
are increasingly congested. The delays, costs and rejections resulting
from the planning process for new port facilities, such as the
Dibden Bay Terminal project at the Port of Southampton, are leaving
shippers reliant on existing facilities. Ports such as Felixstowe,
Southampton and Liverpool are experiencing congestion. This can
result in delays for ships but, just as importantly, in congestion
for the onward transport link. As limits are reached, either goods
will not come in or will have to reroute to less convenient ports—adding
time and cost to both imports and exports, damaging the UK economy.
Given the geographic proximity of several major European deep-sea
container terminals the UK continues to be vulnerable to competition
from these ports and number of which are subsidised by their national
governments. Vessels already destined for Europe will only make
a direct UK call if shipping lines consider both port capacity
and economics dictate that it is beneficial to so. While British
business is no stranger to the costs of road congestion and insufficient
rail capacity, for businesses such as ports that depend on their
ability to dispatch goods on time, increased congestion could
be fatal.
14. The 100 or more commercial ports in
the UK are crucial to developing and implementing a sustainable,
integrated transport strategy. They offer a "coastal ring
road" for shipping that could, with further port development,
transfer domestic freight around the country, providing relief
for the road and rail networks and perhaps even reviving the movement
of freight through the UK's inland waterways.
15. ICE considers that the UK road and rail
distribution system does not have the capacity to meet the demand
created by new port developments. The approved proposals for container
port expansion in the Greater South East[15]
require the developer to meet the full costs of providing the
necessary improvements to the off-site infrastructure (ie road
and rail). The high cost of such infrastructure at a time when
there are competing demands on developer resources could prevent
work proceeding. While the Government needs to make a realistic
assessment of the contributions developers are able to make, particularly
in relation to small ports, it must contribute its share of investment
to port development and the related transport infrastructure to
deliver the benefits they produce for the wider national economy.
16. There are proposals from ports outside
the Greater South East to expand their facilities which could
satisfy the demand for capacity in a potentially more sustainable
way. These proposals may similarly be subject to costly off-site
road and rail improvements that the promoter cannot afford. If
the demand for capacity cannot be satisfied the trade will go
to the competing ports in northern Europe.
17. The Port of Liverpool is the key point
of arrival and departure for goods and materials in the North
West. The region and nation depend on it. In recent years, volumes
of freight through the port have risen, reaching a record 32.2
million tonnes in 2004. But without modernisation of the infrastructure
in the port and around it, the Mersey could look less inviting
to international shipping. Modest investment in the rail links
to the port would also significantly enhance Liverpool's international
standing. viii
18. Improvements to surface access to provide
capacity are an essential part of new and existing port developments.
The approved port works at Felixstowe, Bathside Bay and London
Gateway are all reliant upon new road and rail works. It is currently
anticipated that these new "off-site" works will be
paid for by the scheme promoter but the costs are substantial
and the schemes may not progress as a result. Surface access to
some ports will remain inadequate until it is recognised that
road, rail and waterway improvements have benefits for users other
than ports and thus other bodies contribute to the cost of the
off-site works. It is recorded that Hutchison Ports are required
to fund improvements at Doncaster, some 180 miles from their terminal
at Felixstowe.
19. Government must support the development
of the infrastructure links to the ports (ie road and rail, and
potentially inland waterways). This needs to be a mixture of strategic
infrastructure (to cater for passengers and freight) and local
infrastructure (to cater for employment related travel). Where
possible and appropriate, there should be an encouragement for
freight to be transported by rail.
Rail
20. In the last decade rail freight has
grown by 66%; in the year 2005-06 rail freight moved 22.11 billion
net tonne kilometres. ix Per tonne carried, rail produces between
five and 10 times less emissions than road transport, x and over
the past six years rail freight is estimated to have saved 2 million
tonnes of pollutants, 6.4 billion lorry kilometres and 31.5 million
lorry journeys.
21. Despite this progress, there is still
more to be done as rail freight volumes are small in comparison
to freight by road. An average freight train has the capacity
to remove 75 HGV movements from our roads and an aggregates freight
train can remove 120 HGV journeys from our roads. xi
22. ICE has previously stated that rail
freight is vital and improvements to the rail network serving
ports are essential. At present the heavy rail network is multipurpose.
The same network is required to carry long-distance, fast, passenger
traffic; long-distance freight at slower speeds; intermediate-distance,
slower traffic passenger traffic; and commuter traffic for the
major conurbations. This "one track fits all" approach
is wasteful, inefficient and incapable of dealing with further
freight expansion.
23. The current rail network also suffers
from certain system bottlenecks eg the need for freight services
to cross the passenger lines at Reading, or the need to run services
from the East Coast ports via London because of the lack of a
suitable direct freight link to the Midlands. Shorter distance
freight journeys from the southern and eastern ports are hampered
by the lack of circumferential rail links around London. However,
ICE supports the Government's allocation of funds to begin improvements
at Reading station and its plans to develop a strategic freight
network to reduce conflicts between freight and passenger movements.
xii
24. Incentivising companies to utilise long
distance rail freight would undoubtedly have wider benefits for
society. However, road haulage is still too cheap compared to
rail when transporting freight to locations south of the Midlands.
A new economic environment would need to be created to deliver
a significant reduction in rail costs, which could in the long
term result in modal shift to rail.
25. However, whilst not enough is being
done to encourage companies using ports to make more use of rail,
such measures are unlikely to be effective as the current practical
limits of the UK rail network have been reached already.
26. ICE urged the Government in its State
of the Nation report 2006 to think now about the unavoidable
capacity issues on the UK's north-south rail routes and commission
a detailed study into the feasibility of a high-speed rail link
between London and Scotland. As highlighted in the ICE report
The Missing Link, xiii such a route would benefit customers
and free extra capacity for the growing freight market. The study
would also need to consider whether enough freight capacity would
be provided by removing inter-city traffic from existing routes
or whether a dedicated freight route was required.
27. Freight traffic heading from east to
west, rather then south to north, faces difficulty, with few cross-county
rail links to the Midlands. ICE supports the Department for Transport's
short listing of the gauge and capacity enhancements to the Ipswich—Nuneaton
rail link for Transport Innovation Funding and improvements to
the north London orbital rail links would make a big difference,
and take thousands of heavy-goods vehicles heading for the North
West and west of England off the roads.
28. A rail network with sufficient capacity
for freight is crucial for the future of freight transport across
the UK. It would help to minimise the environmental impacts of
freight movements, take part of the strain off an overstretched
road network, whilst supporting the competitiveness of the UK
economy. A long-term national rail strategy is urgently needed
for moving passengers and freight in comfort and on time and ICE
supports the Government's intention to work with the industry
to develop and help deliver a Strategic Freight Network. xiv ICE
is part of the forum that is currently responding to the Delivering
a Sustainable Railway White Paper.
29. However, freight and rail policy is
still London centric. While freight and rail improvements in an
around London are essential, ICE is concerned that the 2012 Olympics,
Crossrail, the East London Line and Thameslink will exhaust funding
and human resources, only leaving the opportunity for minor tweaking
of the rail infrastructure elsewhere.
Should the Department have more responsibility
for planning and delivering integrated infrastructure which might
promote "free movement of goods"?
30. For strategies that involve the movement
of goods through the country then the Department for Transport
should be given authority to co-ordinate all the regions. However,
the Regional Development Agencies and local authorities need to
ensure the links to provide the transport infrastructure to encourage
modal shift—particularly access to the inland waterways
and rail terminals are in place or if not are being considered
as part of the Local Development Framework process and Regional
Spatial Strategies.
31. Government could place some requirement
on Local Authorities to assist and/or achieve some of this modal
shift.
REFERENCES:
i Office of National Statistics, Exports and
Imports of Goods and Services 1946-2005.
ii HM Treasury, 2006, The Eddington Transport
Study, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Norwich, p 11 and p 5.
iii Transport for London, 2006, Transport
2025: Transport vision for a growing world city, Transport for
London Group Publishing and Performance, London.
iv Oxford Economic Research Associates (1999)
Environmental and Societal Costs of Heavy Vehicles and Options
for Reforming the Fiscal System.
v Road Users Alliance, 2006, Road File 2006-07,
RAC Foundation,—http://www.racfoundation.org/files/RoadFile2006.pdf
(last viewed 8 October 2007).
vi Green Light Group, 2007, Road pricing:
What are the facts?, Institution of Civil Engineers, London—http://www.greenlightgroup.org.uk/publications/GLG%20What%20are%20the%20facts.pdf
(last viewed 8 October 2007).
vii Freight Transport Association, The International
Supply Chain—www.fta.co.uk/information/international-supply-chain/
(last viewed 8 October 2007).
viii Institution of Civil Engineers, 2006, State
of the Nation, Institution of Civil Engineers, London—http://www.ice.org.uk/downloads//State%20of%20the%20Nation%20report%202006.pdf
(last viewed 8 October 2007).
ix Freight on Rail, 2007, Useful Facts and
Figures, www.freightonrail.org.uk/factsfigures.htm (last viewed
8 October 2007).
x English Welsh & Scottish Railway Ltd (EWS),
2007, presentation at the National Rail Conference 2007, London—http://www.ews-railway.co.uk/cmsystem/news_article.asp?guid={6283EB71-54BF-4AB7-880F-6540D6C54262}
(last viewed 8 October 2007).
xi Freight on Rail, 2007, Useful Facts and
Figures—http://www.freightonrail.org.uk/FactsFigures.htm
(last viewed 8 October 2007).
xii Department for Transport, 2007, Delivering
a Sustainable Railway, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Norwich,
p 135.
xiii Institution of Civil Engineers, 2005, The
Missing Link: A Report on high-speed rail links in the UK, Institution
of Civil Engineers, London—
http://www.ice.org.uk/downloads//missing%20link%20brochure_.pdf
(last viewed 8 October 2007).
xiv Department for Transport, 2007, Delivering
a Sustainable Railway, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Norwich
pp 81-93.
October 2007
15 In the context of this submission, the Greater South
East (GSE) includes London, the South East and East Anglia. Back
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