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Scots operators are offered a Continental rail-freight link
Page 8
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Scottish hauliers should choose rail freight if they want to beat high fuel
:osts and the VVTD, says train operator EWS. Chris Tindall reports.
RAIL-FREIGHT OPERATOR EWS says it is offering hardpressed Scottish operators an escape from crippling fuel duty prices and the effects of the Working Tune Directive by boosting its rail-freight services.
Growth is expected from partnerships with road hauliers and the opening of a new freight terminal north of Aberdeen next year.
EWS is also planning to launch its own Continental operations this autumn; it will explore proposals for a direct rail-freight service from Aberdeen to mainland Europe.
"We are providing benefit in terms of rail and traffic," says an EWS spokesman."With increased costs for hauliers in terms of fuel and staffing they run the risk of becoming uncompetitive."
However, Eddie Anderson at ARR Craib in Aberdeen, which has been in discussions with EWS in order to move freight traffic onto rail from road, believes EWS's plans are a good idea, but not a complete solution.
Anderson says ARR Craib still only puts a very small percentage of its freight on to rail.
"It's one alternative," he explains. "We see it as a slow burner* will get there one day. It's just not there yet for the time scales involved."
christopher.findallerbico.uk