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DfT invests E20m in rail freight
Page 19
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The government is planning to take 39 million truck-km off the roads over the next 10 years. Roanna Avison reports.
IN A MOVE designed to shift more freight onto the rails and remove 39 million truck-km from the roads over the next lOyears,the Department for Transport (DfT) is to provide £20m in funding to support rail freight in the UK.
Transport Under Secretary Tom Harris says the funding underlines the DfT's commitment to improving the freight network. "This year alone, the DfT has announced more than £65m to support freight by upgrading infrastructure and subsidising greener ways of transporting freight," he says.
"This funding will help to make a significant contribution to reducing road congestion, carbon and environmental emissions."
The DtT says that collectively the projects will remove 39 million truck-km front the roads over the next 10 years.
The move follows hot on the heels of a government White Paper outlining its plans on Delivering a Sustainable Rai/way.
The White Paper states the government's intentions to develop a network that can handle double today's level of freight.
The government is also allowing for an additional £200m within Network Rail's regulatory asset base to enable work to start on a Strategic Freight Network to accommodate this anticipated freight growth, hut adds that dedicated freight lines are not the answer.
The report states: "Increasing rail capacity iscritical to delivering better reliability, as well as being an important goal in its own right.The new Strategic Freight Network will have a particularly significant role here, because the speeds and patterns of freight and passenger services are so different. "Separating different service types will enhance overall capacity" The government also plans to ensure that the British network can interface with the planned European Union freight network, which operates to a considerably larger gauge.
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) says the government's commitment to the rail network is positive, especially as it has earmarked EIX)m for the development of rail freight.
However FTA rail freight policy manager Chris MacRae says it is worth noting that the figure is less than 2% of the ilObn the government is committed to spending on enhancing rail capacity over the whole rail network.
FOR MORE ON THIS AND RELATED SUBJECTS
www.roadtransoort.com/cm