🕒 Article read time: 3 minutes
HS2 promises to free up space for rail freight
It has been billed as the largest infrastructure project in Europe and comes with an eye-watering price tag to match – more than £100 billion by some estimates. But will HS2 help the logistics industry by freeing up capacity for freight on the existing rail lines between the capital, the Midlands and the North of England?
CONSTRUCTION FREIGHT
One person who certainly believes so is David Fletcher, Director of Rail for the Cappagh Group of Companies. The business is so convinced that extra freight capacity will be freed up by HS2 that it is currently constructing a new rail freight hub in Wembley.
Fletcher said the Cappagh Group is building the new hub to meet demand from its customers who it says are keen to use rail to transport more construction materials. To give this context, currently more than 40% of construction materials are moved by rail in the capital. The case for rail freight, particularly in the carriage of construction materials is impressive. One freight train can carry enough material to build 30 houses.
MIXED USE RAILWAY
At present the West Coast Main Line ranks among the busiest mixed-use railway in Europe, carrying a unique mix of fast and stopping services, commuter and freight trains. The dream is that once HS2 has been constructed it will allow high-speed passenger trains to run on their own dedicated track, freeing up much-needed capacity for freight on the existing railway network.
CUTTING CARBON
Capacity, however, is just one of the three ‘C’s – the three key reasons why Britain needs the new high-speed railway, according to HS2. The second is ‘carbon’.
“Rail freight has a key role in the fight against climate change,” Fletcher said, “as each freight train produces 76% less carbon dioxide than the use of road transport. Therefore, it is imperative that we construct HS2. The more capacity there is on the West Coast Main Line to run freight trains, the more we can reduce the environmental impact of construction supply chains.”
BETTER CONNECTIVITY
The third ‘C’ is connectivity. Rebalancing Britain’s economy has often been stated as a key strategic aim of HS2. The hope is that better connectivity between London, the Midlands and the North of England will help level up the country, creating new jobs and acting as a catalyst for economic growth.
*www.logistics.org.uk/rail
Published On: 23/09/2020 17:22:25
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LOGISTICS UK'S VIEW
Zoe McLernon, Multimodal Policy Manager at Logistics UK, said: “Rail freight is growing steadily in the UK, with the volume of goods moved by rail rising by three per cent year-on-year. But it could be a lot more and Logistics UK is campaigning to unlock the unrealised potential of the rail network for the logistics sector.
“Ever since HS2 received the green light from government in February, Logistics UK has been calling for a guarantee that it will use the new high-speed rail line to free up space on existing lines. While the messages we have been receiving from HS2 are positive, we need more detail and a guarantee from government that any spare capacity on the existing network will not be pre-allocated to passenger services, but made available for bids from freight operators in a manner that is fair and transparent.”
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