12


Issue 5 2012


Government plans to put backbone into Britain’s rail system


The Government has announced plans for a high-capacity “electric spine” rail route from the North of England to the South Coast. As well as electrifying the


Midland Main Line from London through Leicester to Sheffield, the £9.4bn High Level Output Specification programme for 2014- 19 unveiled to the Cabinet on 16 July envisages replacement of the 750-volt ‘third rail’ electrification from Reading to Southampton with


25kV AC overhead electrification, giving much higher freight haulage capacity than the system it replaces. The UK is virtually unique in using third rail electrification on its main line railways but the system does not have the capacity to handle heavy trains. At present, freight trains between Southampton and Basingstoke have to be diesel-worked. The Electric Spine scheme also plans wiring of the non-


electrified route from Reading to the Midlands, as well as numerous schemes for capacity improvements, new lines – including a reopened


and


electrified Oxford-Bletchley ‘East- West’ route, which would give an alternative route for freight heading from the south, avoiding the Birmingham area. Where applicable, all routes would also be upgraded to the ‘W12’ loading gauge that would allow 9’ 6”


high containers to be carried on standard wagons. The plan was hailed by Deputy


Prime Minister Nick Clegg as “the biggest expansion in railways in over 150 years.” Philippa Edmunds, manager


at pressure group Freight on Rail added: “These upgrades will unlock suppressed demand for long distance rail freight services out of the ports and on key arterial routes.”


Wales needs joined-up freight strategy, says report


A new report by the National Assembly for Wales called for a new freight strategy for the country with greater emphasis on rail


freight,


electrification of the relief lines on the Great Western Main Line to improve access for container traffic to Welsh ports and for gauge clearance work to allow for high-cube containers. All routes into North and South Wales have a restricted loading gauge that prevents them from carrying high-cube containers except on low- platform wagons, it pointed out. The document, ‘International


connectivity through Welsh ports and airports’, published on 4 July, also called for feasibility studies into short sea shipping and port centric logistics. The Rail Freight Group welcomed


the publication of the report, adding that rail freight suffered obstacles such as restricted rail links to some ports and difficulties for operators in justifying reinvestment and competition. There should be an active policy on ports and more consideration of rail freight path availability to ports. The report also pressed the Department for Transport to submit eligible Welsh rail projects for funding under Brussels’ Connecting Europe facility. The National Assembly


document noted that freight transport was not mentioned at all in the Welsh Government’s re- prioritised National Transport Plan published in December 2011. The Welsh ports also pointed out that the Welsh Freight Group has not met for over two years. The report added that Welsh


ports handled over 60m tonnes in 2010, or nearly 11% of total UK traffic.


Irish Sea business had declined by 23% between 1995 and 2010, mainly because of competition from low cost airlines and the withdrawal of ferry services from Swansea. Nevertheless, Holyhead remained the second largest short sea port in the UK after Dover. Container traffic, in contrast, is


very limited and, apart from boxes carried on Irish Sea ro ro ferries, is largely confined to Cardiff and Newport. Professor Cole said that increasing road haulage costs could however create feeder opportunities for smaller ports such as Cardiff and Swansea. Port operators also highlighted


concerns over road links to ports. ABP, in particular, warned that plans for a new M4 relief route would bisect Newport docks, while Stena Line said that failure to dual the end of the A55 Expressway at Holyhead was leading to serious traffic delays. In the report, Stuart Cole, Professor


of Transport at the University of Glamorgan, argued that current UK policy has not been devolved to the Welsh assembly Government and “did not have sufficient regard to the needs of Welsh ports.” Current policy concentrated on larger container ports, of which Wales has none. The Department for Transport was cool on this idea, however. The Assembly document


also pointed out that while the controversial backdating of business rates for business premises within ports had been rescinded in England by the present Government, Welsh ministers had not asked for similar powers under the 2011 Localism Act, on the grounds that under 90 firms would have been affected and that it would also have been necessary


to forego greater funding received in the UK Government’s spending review. However, the Newport Harbour


Commissioners said that this decision had put Welsh ports at a major disadvantage while Newport Docks-based warehouse operator WE Dowds (Shipping) said that it had been “almost driven out of business” by the backdated rates. ABP said that the Welsh Government’s decision had created a competitive imbalance that could lead to closure of a number of Welsh port


businesses. Wales Minister for Business,


Enterprise, Technology and Science said that


the issue was being


considered by an independent enquiry on business rates, chaired by Professor Brian Morgan. Elsewhere, the report noted


the virtual collapse of freight traffic at Cardiff Airport – Wales’ sole international air gateway – between 2008 and 2010 due to the withdrawal of TNT flights to Liege in favour of road links to East Midlands airport.


Plans to upgrade Felixstowe road


The Government has announced plans to upgrade the A14 route in Cambridgeshire,


an important


link to the port of Felixstowe. A major new toll road scheme will be added to the Department for Transport’s programme of major projects and, subject to agreement with local authorities on


a funding package and


decisions at the next Spending Review, construction could begin by 2018. The plans include a new bypass


to replace the existing road around Huntingdon and upgrades along the A14 as far east as Milton. Two new roads would be built in parallel to the current A14 immediately north of Cambridge for local use. Meanwhile, the existing A14 carriageway will be upgraded through the removal of accesses and junctions, and improvements to junctions at the northern and


southern ends. There will be further work to


determine the best tolling solution, including what length the tolled section should be, how users would pay and what the tariff should be. However, the Freight Transport


Association complained that plans for a toll could set a precedent for road charges in the future. Whilst it welcomed the


investment and increase in capacity of the crucial strategic route, head of road network management policy, Malcolm Bingham, said: “FTA is worried that freight operators who have to use the A14 in order to get in and out of Felixstowe will be forced to pay this toll, which would be seen as an unavoidable tax if they are not offered a reasonable affordable alternative route to reach the Suffolk port.”


///NEWS


NEWS ROUNDUP SEAFREIGHT


Head of commercial property specialists Colliers International’s Bristol office, Tim Davies, has called for the port of Avonmouth’s long awaited deep sea container terminal to be pushed to the front of the queue of strategic transport initiatives in the South West. The £600m scheme at Avonmouth would have the greatest long term significance as it could play a pivotal role in future freight transport requirements.


The line-up of speakers at this year’s Global Shippers’ Summit in London on 22-23 October will include Anne Bergenfelt, cabinet member and adviser to European Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard, and logistics expert Professor Alan McKinnon of Kuhne University in Hamburg and Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. The GSF Maritime Safety Campaign, which promotes high standards of safety in shipping, will also be launched at the Summit including GSF best practice material and the signing of the maritime safety charter. It takes place oat the Institution of Civil Engineers inLondon


CKYH-The Green Alliance, (COSCON, “K” Line, Yang Ming and Hanjin Shipping) is reducing its winter Asia-North Europe service from five loops to four from the middle of October 2012. However, it still provides one of the most comprehensive services in the market, it says.


Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics has resumed services to the port of Zarate in Argentina. Services had been suspended at the end of May, due to severe congestion. Previous issues with delays in customs processing as well as vehicle processing at the port have also been resolved, says WWL.


Lithuanian shortsea and feeder container operator Sea Connect is introducing a direct sailing between St Petersburg and the Port of Tyne in North-East England, with John Good Shipping as UK general agent. It will operate every ten days from the North-east to St. Petersburg with transit times of six days. Sea Connect already operates regular liner services between Rotterdam, Hamburg, St Petersburg, Klaipeda and Tallinn with a fleet of modern 800teu ice class 1A containerships, each with 150-200 reefer plugs. The line offers a range of equipment including 45’ pallet-wide high cube containers as well as shippers’ own equipment.


BG Freight Line introduced a weekly container service with a 700teu vessel between Rotterdam, Liverpool and Belfast on 21 July. Departures from Rotterdam are on Monday, arriving Liverpool Wednesday and Belfast on Thursday and arriving back in Rotterdam on Saturday. Connections are available in Liverpool for destinations on the Manchester Ship Canal.


Short-sea operator Containerships discontinued calls at Soedertalje on 3 August to improve frequency and transit time. The eastern Swedish port was served weekly from Teesport and Sheerness in the UK.


The European Investment Bank has approved funding for the Liverpool 2 project to build a major container hub at the city’s port. The EIB grant is for €180 million (£150m) out of a total cost of about €365m. The scheme would ready Liverpool’s Seaforth docks for the latest generation of containerships, allowing to handle vessels of up to 13,500teu.


New freight ferry operator North Sea Ro Ro has appointed Dan Ericsson as president and chief executive officer, Peter Kleberg as executive vice- president sales and Lennart Dahlback as operations director. Marten Carlquist will also relinquish his post as interim managing director and become chairman of the main board of directors. North Sea Ro Ro, launched in January, operates three sailings a week from Killingholme to Gothenburg in Sweden.


The HJ Heinz Company has signed a five-year ocean freight contract with Ceva Logistics. According to Ceva, it is the first time that a shipper with a such a large annual volume (60,000teu) has entrusted a single logistics provider with exclusive management of its seafreight. The benefits


for Heinz include a simpler and more visible supply chain visibility and lower cost.


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