R A I LT R AC K - The Railways Archive

freight 7.8
7.9
The potential social
value of rail freight
compared to road
transport could be
£3.1bn per annum
94
7.8 Environmental benefits
In Section 6.7, we describe the environmental and social
benefits of increased use of the rail network.This is
particularly so in freight,where diversion of road traffic to
rail transport has a significant benefit.
If forecast annual freight growth is 9.1% until 2011,the
potential social value of rail freight compared to road
transport could be £3.1bn over the same period.
Growth in freight train volume – environmental
impact in 2011
Source:analysis by OXERA Environmental Ltd.
Congestion £0.3bn Accidents £1.1bn Air pollution and climate
Noise £0.1bn
change £1.6bn
TOTAL£3.1bn
7.9 Summary
The rail freight mar ket continues to grow and we are playing
our part in achieving that growth.The investments that we
are planning to make in the network in the areas of track
renewals and capacity over the next few years will benefit
both freight and passenger operations.As a result, we are
confident that we have the capacity to accommodate
potential rail freight growth for at least the next five years.
Now that we have our customers’detailed ten-year plans,
we have started work on the additional investment required
to accommodate a tripling of rail freight in ten years.
The levels of investment that are solely for local freight
enhancement operations are set out in Table H.
The major investment required is in gauge
enhancement to produce a W10 network, for which we
need DETR support,and in further route development,
some of which may be funded on the back of major route
upgrades and therefore not be freight specific. In most
investment in the network, we would expect to take the
market and construction risks upfront and be reimbursed by
external parties.These figures exclude the substantial freight
share of network-wide investment in maintenance, renewal
and enhancement,such as the ECML upgrade. As we move
through the Plan period, we would expect more investment
by us and external parties in the development of terminals;
current plans are focused on the next few years only.
These forecasts do not include any additional
investment that we will need to make to accommodate the
longer-term capacity requirements for freight,to produce a
W11w capability on certain routes,or to resolve all the
outstanding requirements of our customers. We will,
therefore, be bringing forward further plans during 1999.