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Delivering the goods
Delivering the goods Alex Veitch
Great British Railways: a new start for rail freight?
Alex Veitch, General Manager at Logistics UK provides an overview of the Williams-Shapps review and how it is set to transform the rail freight landscape in the years to come
In May, the government released its long-awaited white paper, Great British Railways: Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, which sets out its plans to transform GB’s railways. Within the white paper is a proposal to make the biggest change to the railways in 25 years: the creation of a new public body – Great British Railways (GBR) – to bring the network under single national leadership.
Logistics UK, the business group representing the whole logistics sector, supports the creation of GBR in principle. Rail freight has long been disadvantaged by complex systems of decision making involving various rail bodies; the body should lead to more unified decisions for freight. GBR will include a national freight coordination team to, as detailed in the white paper, ‘help embed freight firmly into strategic decision making, including by incorporating freight into the new 30-year strategy’ with changes expected to ensure freight operators have ‘fair access to the network.’
The industry needs a strategic vision for freight and Logistics UK hopes that the creation of GBR’s national freight co-ordination team will ensure this becomes a core priority. However, implementing reform will take time and legislation so we will not see immediate change, and it remains to be seen how the body will work in practice.
Within the review, the government makes it clear it wants to grow rail freight, attracting more customers and delivering a more open, coordinated approach to accessing the network. GBR will have a statutory duty to promote rail freight to secure economic, environmental, and social benefits for the nation, with the government issuing guidance on its priorities for rail freight in each funding settlement. The body will also be given the remit to overhaul the current track access arrangements – which often result in passenger travel being prioritised over freight – with the government planning to consult with freight operators on development and implementation of a new rules-based access system.
As detailed in the report, rail produces just one per cent of GB’s transport emissions, despite carrying almost ten per cent of all passenger miles and nearly nine per cent of freight moved before the pandemic, with the government stating that is the only form of transport capable of moving both people and heavy goods in a zero-carbon manner at present. As part of the review’s initial 30year strategy and in support of the green recovery, GBR is expected to develop an environmental plan to decarbonise the entire rail network. Electrification is likely to be the predominant method, according to the white paper, with alternative technologies such as hydrogen and battery power employed to a lesser extent. Vast stretches of the network are electrified already, with many more projects underway or in the pipeline, for example, the TransPennine route between Leeds and Manchester has just received £600 million
of funding to start construction. The government has also pledged to improve freight connectivity through interchanges by accelerating short infill electrification projects in between places such as Felixstowe and Ipswich and west London.
Following the publication of the white paper, Grant Shapps MP, Secretary of State for Transport, has commissioned the Whole Industry Strategic Plan, which will set out long-term strategic drivers that ministers will use to hold GBR to account, set to be published in 2022.
In the meantime, Sir Peter Hendy CBE, Chairman of Network Rail, has confirmed that rail freight operators will continue to be given increased access to the network until passenger numbers recover; helping to provide a short-term solution to the lack of capacity.
Going forwards, Logistics UK will work with the new GBR and the Department for Transport on the reform process. While some uncertainty remains over how the new body will operate – and implementing reforms will take time and legislation so we will not see the plans in practice for some time – the rail freight sector will work together to ensure the body meets the needs of logistics businesses. Going forwards, Logistics UK will work with the new GBR and the Department for Transport on the reform process. While some uncertainty remains over how the new body will operate – the rail freight sector will work together to ensure the body meets the needs of logistics businesses.
Logistics UK is one of the UK’s leading business groups, representing logistics businesses which are vital to keeping the UK trading, and more than seven million people directly employed in the making, selling and moving of goods. With COVID-19, Brexit, new technology and other disruptive forces driving change in the way goods move across borders and through the supply chain, logistics has never been more important to UK plc. Logistics UK supports, shapes and stands up for safe and efficient logistics, and is the only business group which represents the whole industry, with members from the road, rail, sea and air industries, as well as the buyers of freight services such as retailers and manufacturers whose businesses depend on the efficient movement of goods. For more information about the organisation and its work, including its ground-breaking research into the impacts of COVID-19 on the whole supply chain, please visit logistics.org.uk
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