Modern Railways – April 2019

http://www.modern-railways.com April 2019 Modern Railways 19

Rail Freight

setting out the different elements

of regulatory policy and how it

applies or otherwise. It is clear

there is no ‘standard’ framework

for non-Network Rail tracks which

can be replicated easily for TfW.

HS1 is perhaps the best

illustration of this. Structurally

it is unique, being the only true

infrastructure concession on the

UK railways, owned and operated

in the private sector. It offers train

paths on a commercial basis to

Southeastern and Eurostar and

to freight overnight. For these,

freight operators have a separate

access contract with HS1, and

pay a different level of charge

to that on the core network.

Those charges are set in HS1’s

own five-yearly control periods,

with some level of regulatory

oversight on a ‘light touch’ basis

compared to the scrutiny that is

undertaken on Network Rail.

The regulatory review of HS

for its Control Period 3 has just

commenced with the publication

of its first consultation. This

proposes that freight charges

should double from the current

level from April next year! The

increase is driven by a new

approach to assessing long-term

renewals, such that contributions

to the ‘escrow account’ must rise

to ensure it has sufficient funds to

do the necessary work in future.

We will of course be

challenging these increases and

seeking assurance that freight

costs have been properly assessed

and allocated. But unlike the

CP6 review for Network Rail,

there is little that Government

can do to help ameliorate this

increase and freight operators

will be faced with paying

the increase or stopping the

services. Hardly ideal given the

expected disruption of Brexit!

However unacceptable these

increases are, freight operators do

at least have a choice of route, and

can use the conventional network

through Kent for at least some

traffic. That choice is not there for

Cwmbargoed, and nor would it

be if other parts of the network

were divested. Speaking at the

Bradshaw Address, Keith Williams

was clear that his review is looking

at all structural models, including

infrastructure concessions, so

there is a very real prospect that

such changes could be on the

table in future. This makes it all

the more important that proper

consideration is given to getting

the right framework in place now.

Such a framework must act to

protect private sector operators,

give the confidence to invest and,

above all, it must reduce and not

increase the very fragmentation

that many cite as the root

cause of today’s problems.

An opinion column of the

Rail Freight Group, http://www.rfg.org.uk

MODEST RISE IN RAIL FREIGHT MOVED

THE TOTAL volume of rail freight

moved in Quarter 3 (October to

December) of 2018-19 was 4.3 billion

net tonne kilometres, up 2% on the

same period the previous year.

Despite decreases in coal and

domestic intermodal traffic, rises

in other categories contributed to

the increase. This included a 25%

increase in the ‘other’ category,

which includes smaller categories

such as general merchandise,

parcels/mail and domestic waste.

The Office of Rail and Road, which

compiles the statistics, suggests

additional Christmas stock may

have boosted this category.

Although it saw a 2% decline,

domestic intermodal remains

the largest category, accounting

for 39% of rail freight moved.

The amount of freight lifted,

which measures the volume of

material moved but does not take

into account the distance travelled,

also grew by 2%. The amount of

coal lifted rose by 39% compared

to the previous year, offsetting

declines across other commodities.

Freight delay fell by 10% during

the quarter, to 12.8 minutes

per 100 train kilometres.

TARMAC LOOKS TO BOOST PRODUCTIVITY

TARMAC HAS become the first

company in the UK to install a

Liebherr LH80C ‘Supergrab’ gantry

materials handler. Installed at its

Battersea concrete plant in London,

the new equipment from Rail Freight

Services will boost site performance

by enabling faster offloading,

improved stock control and increased

delivery capacity.

Meanwhile, Tarmac has partnered

with Ermewa to install GPS tracker

systems on its freight wagons, giving

real-time visibility of their position on

the network and allowing customers

to know precisely where a train is and

when it will arrive for offloading. It is

also working with wagon hire and

logistics firm VTG to trial a new system

designed to enhance its maintenance

programme. The ‘VTG Connect’ units

fitted to the wagons provide live

visibility of the vehicles to maintenance

crews and help reduce downtime.

PIPES TO GEORGEMAS

Flow Country flow: large diameter pipes for the oil industry started moving by rail again from

Hartlepool to Georgemas in late February. The pipes were longer than those moved previously and

required spacer flats between the wagons carrying the pipes, due to the overhang at each end; there

were only two pipes per wagon. No 66099 is seen crossing Slateford Viaduct on 26 February on its

way to Mossend, where it then waited before leaving that evening for its run north to Inverness

and then down the Far North line to Georgemas early the following day. Ian Lothian

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