piggyback_v.small Freight   on Rail 

What is the problem with freight?

  • Businesses need to move goods efficiently in, out and through the area
  • HGV’s weighing up to 44 tonnes are damaging the local environment
  • Traffic congestion costs UK businesses around £20 billion per year
     

Which areas generate the HGV traffic?

  • Lancaster and Morecambe shopping centres
  • Heysham Port
  • Luneside East and West Regeneration Sites (St Georges Quay)
  • White Lund Industrial Estate and Mellishaw Retail Park
  • Ladies Walk Industrial Estate, Lansil Industrial Estate (Caton Road)
  • Cottams Farm and Kingsway Regeneration site
  • Heysham Industrial Estate (former Shell site)
  • Major Industrial Estate and Lancaster West Business Park (former ICI site)
     

Did you know that:

  • HGV traffic grew by 2.9% in 2004 (DfT Statistics 2005)
  • HGV’s are involved in 22% of fatal accidents but account for only 7% of road traffic (DfT Statistics 2005)
  • Emissions from freight transport increased by 59% between 1990 and 2002 (Office of National Statistics 2004)
  • A 40 tonne, 5 axle lorry causes over 10,000 times more damage to road surfaces that an average car (Highways Agency 1994)
     

What are the good points about freight on rail?

  • The average freight train removes 50 HGV journeys from our roads (Network Rail 2004)
  • Per tonne carried, rail produces about 10% of the carbon dioxide produced by road transportation (AEA Technology 2004)
  • In 2004/05 rail freight moved 20.66 billion net tonne kilometres, saving 1.43 billion lorry kilometres.

     
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What are the local barriers to freight on rail?

  • Limited capacity is available between Bare Lane and Heysham, but better signalling may overcome only one train on the section at any one time.
  • Several low bridges would require structural change before lorries could be moved “piggyback” by rail from Heysham Port.
  • Trains travelling south from the Heysham branch line cross both tracks of the West Coast Main Line and would require better signalling / timetabling.

   We believe that there must be serious investigations into –

  • Providing better signalling and timetabling on the branch line
  • Making structural changes to facilitate HGV movement by rail
  • Containerisation of freight and freight handling systems

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