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Europe's first rail freeways open later this year. But will

10th July 1997, Page 36
10th July 1997
Page 36
Page 37
Page 36, 10th July 1997 — Europe's first rail freeways open later this year. But will
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

they fulfil Neil Kinnock's dream of cutting 400,000 truck journeys a year?

Such is the road haulage industry's advantage over rail that in terms of which sector moves most, it's bordering on a monopoly. Latest figures show that, in Europe, rail accounts for only 16% of all freight tonne-kilometres shifted.

Ease of use, competitive pricing and greater control of goods in transit These are just some of the factors behind road's complete domination. Rail, however, has always been hampered by logistical and organisational difficulties—such as its fragmented infrastructure and poorer accessibility But now there is to be a concerted effort to launch European railway networks as a serious and viable alternative to transporting millions of tonnes of goods by truck.

Network

EU Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock announced last month that the first railfreight "freeway", a network of rail links spanning thousands of miles across Europe, would be up and running by the end of this year. According to Kinnock, the first freeway—which will join the North Sea ports of Rotterdam, Bremerhaven and Hamburg with the southern tip of Italy— will reduce the number of truck journeys on Europe's roads every year by 400,000.

While there are sound environmental arguments for cutting the numbers of trucks that pound across Europe's highways, especially empty, the freeways venture is being viewed as a highly ambitious one—with no shortage of hurdles in its way.

The concept is simple. Rather than building bespoke railway systems to link the North Sea with the Mediterranean, the idea is that railway operators in each member state are encouraged to enter into commercial cooperation and set up the infrastructure needed to let railfreight move freely across Europe.

A spokesman for Kinnock, Gert van Koopman, said this means investment costs are small as most of the work involves putting in place better procedures and organisation. But he is adamant there will be no financial sweeteners for operators to make it work.

"There is a general consensus that rail freight performance is not sufficiently attractive to its potential users.

"But there is no question of providing a subsidy for the use of the freeways. The aim of them is to remove inefficiencies from the current fragmented rail industry. If that is achieved, international rail freight will become more attractive and transport buyers will be more willing to consider it as an option," he says.

Van Koopman adds: "By allowing open access for operators to the freeways, they will be able to develop imaginative solutions to transport problems which will result in cost savings as well as improved performance. It will then be for the market to choose whether to use rail or road."

Buying the services of the freeways—officially entitled Freight Freeways—will, in principle, be easy. A one-stop shop will serve the needs of all freight forwarders and simpler procedures are promised which will allow freight to travel at an average speed of 60km/h compared with the current average of just 161cm/h.

With the EU Transport Commissioner giving his backing, the freeways bandwagon is already rolling. But are UK road haulage firms convinced it offers a viable alternative for them?

Carl Jeavons, of West Midlands firm Jeavons Transport, is adamant the company will not use the rail networks.

A regular haulier of goods to Italy, Jeavons began experimenting with train services last year in an attempt to work more closely with rail operators. Now he wishes he had never started.

Disaster

"We would not even think about it. I tried sending about 30 loads by rail and every one of them was a disaster," says Jeavons.

"Once, I was expecting goods from Italy which went missing for 10 days. When they got to Birmingham, I sent a trailer to pick them up and found they were gone—back down to Dover.

"And often there is no trace of loads on the railways because they can be stuck in French or Italian sidings. We had customers ringing up and saying 'where are our goods?'and we could not tell them."

Jeavons believes he was lucky. Rather than plunge money into buying the intermodal systems needed to link up with the rail operators, he hired them.

The Freight Transport Associdtion believes the freeways have potential and Railtrack, which would play a key role in any attempt to set up similar freeways in the UK, has been following progress in Europe.

However, the FTA is keen to analyse whether the routes identified and the methods of operation proposed meet the needs of the industry "any better than the arrangements we already have".

At this stage, it is unclear what type of

goods the freeways will carry. Officially, Brussels says, it is up to the operators what services they provide.

Although there may be opportunities for road hauliers to benefit from working with the rail networks, there is also a danger, if Kinnock's claims are right, that they could lose business.

Compensation "Clearly, success in attracting goods to rail freight will have an impact on demand for road haulage," van Koopman says. "But there is no question of compensation for road hauliers who suffer loss of revenue."

Kinnock's office is vague about what, if any, investment, road hauliers will have to make in equipment if they want to link with the new networks. According to van Koopman, the plan is to make the services available "on an open basis".

He insists it should be possible for anyone to send goods on a freeway but adds: "It will be for the train operators to decide what services to offer based upon demand."

Industry leaders may be eyeing the venture with interest, but Jeavons is resolute in his view that Neil Kinnock's vision of a major shift from road-to-rail is skewed.

"I think he's living in cloud-cuckoo land. Railways would have to change rapidly to achieve that and I cannot see it happening.'

Li by Pat Hagan


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