Freight on Rail on the Warpath

with Phillippa Edmunds leading the charge

'Freight on Rail' is a partnership between transport trade unions, freight operating companies, the Rail Freight Group and the Campaign for Better Transport. It works to promote the economic, social and environmental benefits of rail freight both nationally and locally, acts as an information resource on the sustainable movement of freight and advocates policy changes that support the shift to rail.

Freight on Rail's manager, Phillippa Edmunds, has felt the need as the New Year gets into its stride to remind the Coalition Government about carbon reducing commitments it has made and to flag up the dismay of the partners she represents to the decision to scrap rail freight grants and to the fact that the introduction of mega trucks onto British roads is being re-considered. In the last week of January Phillippa issued a press release headed: 'Scrapping capital rail freight grants is counter-productive'. She quoted herself as commenting: "Transport is the only sector with increasing emissions, so we urge the Coalition to re-consider this short-sighted decision which goes against its own policy to reduce carbon emissions, road congestion, improve road safety and promote green transport". She added: "Capital grants for equipment at terminals helped offset the initial start-up costs of the transfer to rail. Without these grants it will be harder to get long distance traffic off our congested road network".

Also in the last week of January she posted a 'hot topic' article on her website expressing deep disappointment that the Government is re-evaluating longer heavy goods vehicle trailers which could be up to 2.05 metres (seven feet) longer than the present longest HGVs.

The article pointed out that previous increases in lorry dimensions have led to more of them driving around less full - which is the reverse of what it was claimed would happen by the proponents of longer HGVs. Phillippa also drew attention to the lack of compliance by HGVs with existing road regulations, pointing out that "Over 88 per cent of HGVs exceeded the 50 mph speed limit on dual carriageway non-built-up roads and 75 per cent exceeded the 40 mph limit on single carriageway non-built-up roads" . [Source: DfT figures, June 2010].

She called for improvements to the efficiency of existing HGVs, one in four of which she explained drives around empty, and she highlighted the poor safety record of HGVs. "Existing HGVs are over three times more likely to be involved in fatal accidents than cars on major roads due to a combination of size, lack of proper enforcement of drivers' hours, vehicle overloading and differing foreign standards" , she reported. [Source: DfT Road Statistics 2008, Tables 3.2 & 3.6 and DfT Road Freight Statistics 2008, Section 5].

"The current proposal is for length now but already the Freight Transport Association (FTA) is asking for a weight increase of 46 tonnes", she explained, quoting the FTA Freight Magazine of October 2010. "What happens", she said, "is each time lorry weights and lengths increase private operators buy the biggest lorry so that they can do all jobs big and small", concluding by highlighting the carbon efficiency of rail freight and the number of heavy vehicles it can remove from the roads. "Rail freight produces 70% less carbon dioxide emissions than the equivalent road journey", she said, and: "An aggregates train can remove up to 160 HGVs from our roads and a consumer freight train can remove 50 HGVs" [Sources: DfT Logistics Perspective, December 2008 and Network Rail 2010].

Additionally, in the 'Local Transport Today' edition which spans the end of January and beginning of February (LTT 563, Jan. 28 - Feb. 10, 2011) Phillippa had a letter published in which she appealed to government to include in its new National Policy Framework document policies which safeguard both disused and potential rail freight sites. This was essential to build the green economy we all need, she argued.

Website: www.freightonrail.org.uk