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P RAIL FREIGHT

18th February 2010
Page 10
Page 10, 18th February 2010 — P RAIL FREIGHT
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Committee urges Treasury to keep up rail investment

CM COVER STORY christapherwattonfarbi.co.uk THE STRATEGIC Freight Network (SFN) has received a significant boost from a transport select committee report into rail investment, which, if achieved. will result in seven million lorry journeys being removed from the UK's roads every year.

In Priorities for Rail Investment, the committee said the current L35bn investment in the rail network (which includes passenger and freight) should be maintained at current levels until 2014.

If the government hits its targets for modal shift, rail freight would increase its share of the market for freight movements from 11.5% to 20% in five years' time — a move that would result in seven million lorry journeys (equivalent to 1.4 billion lorry km) being taken off the roads annually.

"The need to invest in UK rail freight is more pressing than ever in the context of the UK's climate change targets." the report states."We would expect the funding committed to the SFN to be, at the very least, maintained by the government."

Christopher Snelling, head of global supply chain policy at the Freight Transport Association (ETA). says increased rail freight capability was a "pre-requisite for meeting the need for moving goods sustainably in the UK".

He adds: '' We urge whoever wins the general election to take on board the recommendations of the committee and support the SFN in the next Parliament." The FTA estimates that rail produces less than 1% of total CO2 emissions in the UK, while road accounts for 21%.

It goes on to say that a freight train can remove 50 lorries from the road, with rail freight producing 70% less carbon emissions than road freight.

The chairman of Rail Freight Group, Tony Berkeley, argues more investment is needed than the committee had suggested, particularly for a capacity upgrade between Felixstowe and Nuneaton.

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