ISSUE 2 2011


NEWS


The UK Government has hinted that it may consider reviving plans to create a dedicated large loading gauge north-south rail freight route. The House of Commons Transport committee said


its Transport and the Economy report, published on 2 March that, “when asked about the possibility of a dedicated freight route from the Channel Tunnel to Glasgow linking all the main conurbations of Britain and capable of carrying full- scale lorry trailers on trains, the Secretary of State said he was ‘very happy to consider any proposals.’ Innovative proposals, innovatively financed, ’will certainly be considered’, he was reported as saying.


in


A similar idea was mooted by the Central Railway group a few years ago. It was based


on the idea of reopening the former Great Central railway from London to the north along with other new and reopened sections of route to create a dedicated freight line from Lille in north-east France to Liverpool. It would have been capable of carrying standard road trailers on flat rail wagons, similar to north American ‘piggyback’ operation. However, the plan foundered on opposition from MPs and local residents along the route. Elsewhere in the report, the


Transport Committee said that the Coalition government needs a much stronger strategy for developing the UK’s major ports and airports. It called for a new transport white paper, adding that improved connectivity through key international gateways


“simply does not


GBRf goes into domestic service


feature prominently enough in the Government’s current approach to the economy.” The report said it was disappointing that the UK’s international gateways - major ports and airports - do not feature more in the Government’s strategy for transport and the economy. The report noted that although the Government has stressed the importance of national policy statements, that for ports remains in draft and it has not issued one at all for airports, as planned by the last Government, although the Minister


has confirmed that


the Government intends to “take the process forward with Parliament before the summer recess.” It said that the freight sector


generally was “also easily overlooked in discussions of priorities but so important to the UK economy.” The industry requires a mix of investments to improve its efficiency and capacity, said the report. Lindsay Durham, head of rail strategy


at Freightliner, told


the committee that the priority for rail freight was improved rail connections to the major ports, particularly Felixstowe and Southampton and she also favoured selective improvements to existing lines.


In response to the report, the Freight Transport Association said that it welcomed calls for greater development of ports and airports and for


more


funding and consideration given to regions of the country where transport infrastructure has


been sorely lacking. FTA’s head of road network management policy, Malcolm Bingham, said: “For the UK to compete on a European, much less global, level its international gateways must play a larger role in government infrastructure planning. Not only will this make UK PLC a better place to do business with, it will provide greater returns for domestic businesses. For example, greater planning around our ports would mean less


congestion,


which would be good news for port operators, hauliers, shippers and for the environment too.” He said that planning proposals on schemes like rail freight terminals and truck stops should not only considered at a local level but looked at objectively.


3 Central Railway plan to be revived? NZ firm buys


Wim Bosman New Zealand-based Mainfreight said on 7 March that it had signed an agreement to buy Netherlands- based logistics operator Wim Bosman Group for up to $227 million.


A special meeting of Mainfreight shareholders in Aukland on 24 March voted in favour of the acquisition. Mainfreight offers warehousing and forwarding services in Australasia, China and the US.


The Dutch company pointed out that its founder, Wim Bosman would be 70 this year and that he had no successors. It said: “The acquisition will provide an excellent platform for both companies to expand the business and service offering globally. Until now, Mainfreight was not represented in Europe. “


The


GB Railfreight (GBRf) has added a South-east to Northwest England service to its portfolio of services. It follows January’s launch of the first international service through the Channel Tunnel – a dedicated run from Daventry to Novarro, Italy for DFDS - by the company, which joined the Eurotunnel group’s Europorte rail freight subsidary in May 2010.


The new domestic service, branded interhubGB, is described as a fully integrated road and rail freight distribution network, linking London and the South East with Manchester and the North West. Services


are run by GBRf and logistics IT specialist 4Rail Logistics, catering for volumes


ranging from single boxes (40’ or 45’) to multiple or train loads. It


offers a single load haul between the either direction, rail Russell


Railfreight Terminal in Barking and Manchester Trafford Park in


Monday


to Saturday. Departures from Barking are at 23.20, arriving Manchester at 05.15 the following morning. Departure in


the other direction is at


12:20 from Manchester, arriving Barking at 18.50. It also offers connections with Europe. In Barking, the service uses the Russell Railfreight Terminal. Connections to Scotland are also available.


New start for NYK


NYK Group launched a new business plan on 31 March. ‘More than Shipping 2013’ coincides with the integration of Yusen Logistics in Europe into a new group company, uniting NYK Logistics and Yusen Air & Sea Service into a single


logistics provider able to offer warehousing, distribution, air/ ocean freight forwarding and supply chain management in one package.


NYK also predicted that its annual container volumes would rise from 4m teu towards 6m.


RED_AD_Pallet 178w250h.indd 1 23/03/2011 16:10


Visit the Redhead Gallery on Stand 810 at Multimodal 2011


0845 437 8984


sales@redhead-int.com www.redhead-int.com


of smartfreight


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