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Foreign HGVs enjoy boom
Page 6
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• Problems plaguing the railfreight industry have led to an explosion in the number of foreign Ms on Britain's roads over recent months.
Rail industry figures reveal that more than 9,000 extra Continental trucks have been coming to the UK every week since last October, when illegal immigrants switched their attention to freight trains. Only 45 of the 96 scheduled UK-bound freight trains are running each week.
According to Roger King, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, the lien's share of the extra work is being snapped up by Continental hauliers who are
able to offer better rates. And he warns that the government's plans to charge foreign hauliers to use UK roads could be far too late to stem the rising tide of competition.
The latest invasion was the main topic at a meeting of the Road Haulage Forum earlier this week which was attended by Transport Minister John Speliar, Treasury Secretary Paul Boateng and other government officials.
King stresses that the meeting was positive, but remains worried that the current plans are far too complex: 'There's a move towards distance-based charging, and while this is being introduced elsewhere, the government wants to tie it up with a fuel tax rebate system."
King would prefer to see a simple cut in fuel tax, but says the MA will support the government in reaching a solution.