Government: Freight transport should be treated holistically
Date: 26 July 2007
A recognition by the government that the UK's transport needs should be treated holistically has been welcomed by the Freight Transport Association (FTA).
The FTA has also welcomed a move by the government to double rail freight traffic by 2030, which it says will ease congestion, but the news may not be welcome to road haulage companies.
A budget of £200 million will be spent between now and 2014 on various rail freight projects, and a Strategic Freight Network will be established. These policies were published in the recent Rail White Paper.
"This is a good ambition for the government to set, and demonstrates the capacity of the rail network to ease the burden on our congested roads and provide real environmental and economic benefits," said FTA rail freight policy manager Chris McRae.
The FTA "also welcomed the White Paper's acknowledgement of the need to take a holistic approach to the UK's transport needs, taking into consideration all possible modes of transport together rather than just assessing a single mode".
However, £20 million in grants for rail freight awarded via the Freight Facilities Grant scheme "will remove 39 million lorry kilometres from Britain's roads over the next ten years".
While this will help ease congestion and improve the traffic situation for those logistics firms on the roads, it could impact negatively on road haulage companies.
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