AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

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FINANCIAL MARKET

2nd November 1985
Page 42
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Page 42, 2nd November 1985 — FINANCIAL MARKET
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

. . WHERE RAIL CAN HELP ROAD

BRITIM I Rail's hatred of road transport has reached almost paranoic levels in the past. Reineinher those advertisements showing the number of lorries required to shift the same load as

Now, however, wind or

wcois to be blowing in the corridor's of 222 Marylebone Road. -The old road versus rail argumentis dead,Railfreight's distribution manager Stan Judd told a recent Railfreight function. It is refreshing to hear it coming from the rail side.

The comment was made at the Fat/Mil or what only can be described as a property sale bonanza by British Rail a scheme to sell off its disused trackside property. Hauliers with a premises problem, particularly bearing in mind the still rd l a ti vel y new en viron m en ta provisions of operators licensing, could rind the move a life saver. But there are strings attached.

The project is called Landbank. In this BR's Railfreight and Property Board divisions have linked to establish a comprehensive poyriolio ot 711ii trackside sites selected for potential future industrial development and capable of beinglinked into the rail network.

t[owever. BR stresses that it will sell to any buyer, whether they are considering the use tit Railtreight or not. and whether kir not the.. are considering the use of Railfreight As a result, through dandbank, information on sites owned either be BR or local authorities. is being made available to any client interested in purchasing or leasing land for development. The information of by the computer-based tile contains details of each site's site and location, its Will is What planning permission exists, whether it is in all 1..,nterprise Lone, what grants it might attract, its road access and bow close it lies to the nearest motorway.

The big advantage to the rc>ad operator is that these sites are likely to be looked on favkKirablv for use for goods vehicle operations even though thee may be in urban areas.

BR recognises that. in ;my decision to examine the options or relocation being put forward throu,..ih Landbank, Financial

incentives can play an important role. hnterprise lone finance, Derelict Land Grants. Manufacturing Purposes Grams and EEC European Coal and Steel Closures Scheme grants can all offer the developer incentives for the right sites and the Landbank will look into all of these for the potential purchaser.

Landbank is controlled primarily by Rail freight, so BR will make Slate that Railfreight's ease doesn't go by default.

Thus die principle source of grant aid for Railfreight clients is likely to be a Section grant. This scheme is jointly administered by the DepartMellt Transport, the Scottish Office and the Welsh Office under Section 8 of the 1974 Railways Act available for raillinked projects. There are quite a few very successful road-rail operations nid hauliers should not disregard what is on offer.

A classic example has just been announced.

Daf has started to move chassis from its Colchester truck and bus centre by rail.

The 61/4-aere centre is the first stop for all DAF chassis entering the country through I larwich, The facility carries

out pre-delivery inspections, customer modifications and dealer distribution. I lidierto distribution has involved driving the vehicles from Colchester. Now OAF Trucks has sub-contracted

MAI .1 ran, Auto to Ii,r e by the Speedlink raEl service the majority of chassis destined tOr such dealers

including those in Scotland.

Hie trucks are loaded by 1).11-Frocks at Ii R Colchester on to MA T's specially designed ioLIiiii stock. Comities, each ot. which can Carr% four tractive units, or two tractors and one rigid. The only limitation is in height. making the system unsuitable for pin's fined with Space Cab, Top Sleeper or roof Spoiler options.

• Frucks. chassis supply controller, Mick Perkins, said: -The main benefits to the prospective purchaser arelow delivery mileage, and minimal risk of damage during transit. f•rom our own

point of view. at it is in its infancy. the system is proving to be both efficient and cost effective.

Stephen Darg (VIII) ho rolls an independent grant consultancy and financial planning business. and has . specialised in advising potential applicants for these Section 8 grants, reports that the Section 8 grant scheme as a whole has enjoyed a SUCCCSs ratio of about 70 per cent in terms of actual achieyment over initial promise. -The presence of this grant has without doubt created a lot of interest in rail-linked projects. Indeed. there are few: other packages which provide %Lich a high ratio (up to 6(1 per cent) it grant to capital cost...

BR points out that Ic)cal authorities are in fact helping the railways to promote successfiilly the use of railside sites. lan Jackson of the Association of )istrict C:ouncils said of the scheme: "I )evelopment linked io the Railfreight system is likely to be welcomed warmly by local planning authorities. By their very nature. raw materials and finished goodsiliLivilig by rail will keep heavy vehicles off local roads-.

DLit smayks& il model partisanship but it is a fact of 'Ai.that road transport operators today have to face — they haVe few friends in municipalities.

—If by granting planning permission they can encourage deyelopnient and so: environmental advantages too, they are likely to be doubly enthusiastic. Developers should bear this in mind when fOrmulating their proposals,he said.

• by George Malcolm


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