ANGLIA RAIL UPGRADE GETS GREEN LIGHT

Tuesday 23 Nov 2010

ANGLIA RAIL UPGRADE GETS GREEN LIGHT

Region & Route:: | Eastern: Anglia; | Eastern

The crucial role that Anglia’s railway will play in the country’s economic recovery was confirmed today as the Department for Transport gave the green light for the Felixstowe to Nuneaton rail freight upgrade.

This follows the comprehensive spending review on 20 October, in which the government committed itself to encouraging more freight from the nation’s road network onto the railways.

Today, Anglia’s freight trains have to travel down the busy Great Eastern main line and through London to reach the north. Once Network Rail’s upgrade of the line from Felixstowe to Nuneaton via Ipswich, Ely and Peterborough is complete in 2014, the route will provide more direct journeys for freight trains travelling from the Port of Felixstowe to the midlands, north-west and Scotland, and the potential for faster freight journeys to Yorkshire.

Crucially, the project will help take around 750,000 lorries off Britain’s roads by 2030, reducing traffic congestion, improving road safety and reducing carbon emissions by around three-quarters.

Andrew Munden, Network Rail route director for Anglia, said: "Britain relies on rail freight and Anglia’s railways are playing a crucial role in the country’s economic recovery.

"More and more companies are switching to rail and reaping the economic and environmental benefits. As Britain climbs out of recession, Network Rail is boosting business by creating new opportunities for freight transported to and from major ports like Felixstowe."

Cllr Tanya de Hoedt, transport portfolio holder at Ipswich Borough Council, added: "We are very pleased to hear the government has approved the upgrade of the Felixstowe-Nuneaton line, including the Ipswich Chord.

"The improvements will move significant numbers of lorries off the A14 greatly benefiting local people and by providing more direct routes for freight will also help to improve rail services in the area. We have been promoting this project for many years and are delighted to see it is now closer to becoming a reality."

Improving the railway from Felixstowe to Nuneaton involves:

Gauge enhancements between Peterborough and Nuneaton to ensure the entire route can carry the larger, more economical freight containers increasingly preferred by global shipping firms
Capacity enhancements between Ipswich and Peterborough: (i) a new 1km stretch of track, or chord, north of Ipswich goods yard, linking the East Suffolk and Great Eastern lines (ii) two 775m sections of track east of Ely station to enable better regulation of trains through the junctions at Ely iii) signalling works at Kennett / Bury St Edmunds
A flyover north of Nuneaton station that will allow freight trains from Peterborough to join the West Coast Main Line without the need to cross it at grade.

Plans on schedule
Network Rail is developing its designs for the double-track Ipswich Chord and will continue its consultations with the public in early February next year. Should the scheme receive approval, work will start in 2012 and be complete by March 2014.

Faster, greener, safer
Between 1999 and 2008 the number of containers passing through Felixstowe – the largest container port in the UK – increased by 118% but the number of those containers transported by rail increased by 165%, demonstrating the growing market share of rail. Over the same period the number of trains serving the port daily has almost doubled.

With Felixstowe set to continue growing and the new Bathside Bay terminal at Harwich due for completion within the next decade, investment in rail freight – faster, greener and safer than road transport – has never been more crucial.

Network Rail’s plans will see an increasing share of freight traffic handled by the railways, reducing pressure on congested roads such as the A12 and A14.

Notes to editors

The Felixstowe to Nuneaton freight upgrade scheme will bring the following benefits:

Vehicles off the road
The Port of Felixstowe has increased rapidly in size over the past few years. When the Felixstowe South redevelopment is completed and the new Bathside Bay container terminal has been built at Harwich around 2020, these combined Haven Ports will have more than doubled their pre-2010 capacity.

This growth in freight from Haven Ports will have a major impact on transport in the area and it is estimated this scheme will enable the transfer of up to 750,000 lorry freight journeys a year by 2030 from Britain’s roads to the railway. This will help reduce carbon emissions and ease traffic congestion on the road network, particularly on the A14, where congestion is estimated to cost the region £80m each year.

Environmental
Rail is also one of the most environmentally sustainable forms of transport. Rail freight produces 76% less carbon dioxide than road freight per tonne carried, so the greater transfer of freight from road to rail as a result of this scheme will significantly reduce carbon emissions and help the UK reduce its carbon footprint.

Efficiency
Rail can be a cheaper, quicker and a more practical way for businesses to transport their goods around the country and beyond.

Economic growth
The upgraded rail freight link will improve the competitiveness and encourage economic growth within the Anglia region and across Britain. This project will also make it easier to import and export goods, helping Britain compete more effectively in the global market.

The value of freight:

The British economy relies on rail freight to the tune of £870m a year
Rail transports over 100m tonnes of goods worth around £30bn every year
The freight sector supports employment 14 times the number employed directly in the industry (66.6k compared to 4.7k )
In total the UK freight sector contributes £299m in profits and wages to the UK economy
Rail freight generates £185k worth of output per employee almost double the national average (£89k)
The societal benefits from a shift from road to rail equate to £376m (2007/8) and up to £903m if it grows by 140% (2031). This would be a lot higher if the loss of Treasury revenue from road tax (due to taking lorries off the roads) was not taken into account
Rail freight demand is predicted to grow by 30% over the next decade and up to 140% over 30 years
Without the railway, the anticipated growth in freight traffic over the next 30 years would mean an extra 1.5 million lorry journeys on Britain’s roads each year
The Eddington Study estimated that the time lost as a result of road congestion costs the British economy £7-8bn every year and is likely to be at least £24bn by 2025
Freight also helps minimise road congestion – every freight train takes around 60 lorries off the road.

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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

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