47TRANSPORT BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL ISSUE 12 / www.transportbusiness.net
volatile oil supplies switching to transport
modes that use less fuel will become vital
to secure the future of the British economy.
Encouraging modal shift from road to rail is
therefore an easy way to secure significant
reductions in transport carbon emissions.
INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC
Three main types of international traffic
are handled by our ports or the Channel
Tunnel; intermodal containers, both
deep-sea and from the continent, Ro-Ro
freight and bulk cargoes such as coal.
In 2005 the UK imported 46.6 million
tonnes of coal of which over 90 per cent
of this was transported by rail to coal fired
power stations. These in turn generated
some 35 per cent of the UK's electricity
demand. Imported volumes in the future will
depend on the government's energy policy.
For container traffic, in 2005 there were
7m 20ft equivalent units (TEU) moved
through UK ports and forecast by the DfT
to increase to 19.3 million TEU in 2030.
For Ro-Ro traffic, 8 million units moved
through UK ports (including the Channel
Tunnel) in 2005 and this is forecast to
increase to 16 million units by 2030.
Traffic through our ports will continue
growing during the next 20 years. Rail
freight can play a major part in ensuring
more efficient and environmentally friendly
transport of freight between ports or the
Channel Tunnel and inland destinations. To
achieve this we need a network of gauge-
cleared routes for higher containers.
As goods get lighter with more packaging,
demand for larger containers has grown, and
the standard height is increasing from 8'6"
high to 9'6" high. By 2012 50 per cent of all
containers moving into and out of the UK are
expected to be 9'6" high. This drives the need
to `gauge clear' rail routes from the major
UK ports to enable these higher boxes to be
transported by rail on standard UK wagons.
Work has already started to clear a network
of routes in the UK but further commitment
is needed to ensure that the missing links and
diversionary routes are cleared to enable rail
freight operators to offer a reliable service
seven days a week in competition with road.
THE LEvEL PLAYING FIELD
Ensuring that rail freight is treated fairly
with road freight and passenger rail will
encourage growth. End users will choose rail
for moving freight if it is competitive with
other modes and aligns with their logistics
needs. Rail is not chosen for altruistic reasons
although its sustainability credentials will
reinforce a decision made on economic
grounds. The rail freight industry recognises
that its success will be driven by its own
efforts but we will identify and press for the
abolition of unfair rules, regulations and
attitudes that undermine our efforts to play a
larger role in the UK's freight transport mix.
Rail is the safest form of surface transport.
The rail industry does not seek to gain
competitive advantage by advertising the
fact. Safe operation arises from highly
structured rules and regulations and on the
very few occasions they fail the resulting
headlines are driven, in part, by the rarity
of the event. Safety compliance is not
an option � nor is it cheap. All we ask is
that the same approach is applied to all
modes. In Great Britain in 2007 there were
10,688 accidents involving Heavy Goods
Vehicles. 461 HGVs were involved in fatal
accidents and 435 people died as a result.
The maximum weight of an HGV in
Great Britain is 44 tonnes. Proposals to
introduce heavier vehicles � of up to 84
tonnes � have been rejected by the present
government. We urge politicians of all
parties to maintain this approach and to
lobby the European Union to ensure that
heavier lorries are not imposed on the UK.
Rail freight's competitiveness would be
severely undermined by changes in lorry
weights and dimensions with potentially the
complete loss of all intermodal traffic and
up to 50 per cent of bulk traffic to road.
The rail industry itself does not always
handle freight issues in an even-handed way.
The allocation of capacity between users of
the network, especially as demand for rail
increases across the board, is becoming an
issue especially on major arterial routes such
as the Midland Main Line and East Coast Main
Line. The Department for Transport, as specifier
of passenger franchises, must have regard
for all users of the network. Two franchises
have been let in the last two years without
regard for the existing and future capacity
requirements of rail freight. Stakeholders must
work with the rail freight industry as franchise
specifications are being developed rather
than trying to fit a quart into a pint pot.
STEAMING AHEAD
To deliver a doubling of rail freight in
20 years, it will need additional capacity
in the future. We have welcomed the
government's �200m investment in the
Strategic Freight Network Capacity but we
need continuing support for more of it and
for the Sustainable Distribution Fund, which
buys environmental, congestion and safety
benefits, by paying a subsidy to move a
container by rail instead of road where rail
is unable to compete with road on price. It
offers high value to money to government
with an average benefit to cost ratio is 4:1.
These 10 campaign papers set out what
is needed to deliver this growth, to the
benefit of the environment and to the UK's
competitiveness. No big changes are necessary
but the industry needs the confidence and
policy continuity from government to ensure
that the structure is in place to enable the
private sector to achieve the growth in volumes
and service quality that customers require.
We are urging all political parties to
recognise the importance of rail freight
and, in their election manifestos, commit
not only to words of support but actions
to enable this growth to be achieved.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Manifesto for Rail Freight Growth can
be found on www.rfg.org.uk/hot/
On average, rail freight produces 3.4 times less CO2
per tonne-km than road transport. Thus if a movement
of goods switches to rail freight there will be a 70
per cent reduction in CO2 emissions compared to the
equivalent road journey, providing the opportunity
to save 4.6 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030
"
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RAIL FREIGHT

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