A parliamentary launch for Rail Partners’ report ‘Freight Britain: An engine for green growth’. The document was formally introduced at the Partners’ annual reception event on the Thames-side terrace of the Houses of Parliament. The invited guests, media, and rail customers were in the company of representatives from across the political spectrum.
With an election expected later this year, it is no surprise that sector interest groups are stating their cases as directly as possible. Launching their report within the Houses of Parliament, Rail Partners took the most direct route possible. Their report sets out how, with the right policy framework, freight companies can build on their track record of investment and growth to support the economy, get more trucks off the UK roads, and, as they put it, deliver for Britain.
Senior figures from parliament and industry
Speakers at the event made an enviable address book of senior figures from the upper echelons of politics and the rail industry. Andy Bagnall, the Chief Executive of Rail Partners, had written all the right invitations for last week’s event. Huw Merriman, Minister of State for Rail and HS2, vied for top billing with Andrea Rossi, CEO of DB Cargo UK.
Attendance from the opposition parties ensured a robust response from across the parliamentary benches. Wera Hobhouse from the Liberal Democrats, who is their spokesperson for Energy, Climate Change and Transport, should have been joined by fellow Member of Parliament Louise Haigh, the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport. However, her late withdrawal left Shadow Minister for Roads Bill Esterson to face the rail lobby.
Consumers rely on rail freight
Andrea Rossi spoke out in support of the Government’s target for freight growth. That target encourages the sector to deliver 75 per cent growth by 2050 (by net weight/distance carried). However, it has been questioned for a lack of ambition. Rossi backed that up in his address. “We need to get more freight on rail”, he said. “The Government has set the sector a challenge. That target is a floor for growth and not a ceiling. We want to smash through it, and we will be working with our customers and stakeholders to help deliver it.”
The subject of the reception, Rail Partners’ Freight Britain: An engine for green growth, sets out how the industry delivers benefits right across Great Britain. It says businesses and consumers across the country rely on rail freight to ensure that their goods arrive on time and in a sustainable way. It was noted by political attendees that rail freight already contributes 2.45 billion pounds (2.87 billion euros) to the UK economy. Notably, says the report, ninety per cent of those benefits accrued outside of the Economically overheated London and the South East.
Significant investments in long-term assets
The report is unashamedly a torch carrier for the rail freight sector. It offers decision-makers a blueprint to meet the Government’s growth target. It also calculates the rail freight target would take 12 million heavy goods vehicles off the UK roads, annually. With representation of the roads sector, in the person of Bill Esterson. However, the Shadow Minister for Roads agreed that rail was vital to remove congestion from Britain’s busy roads.
In addition to the “75 by 2050”, there are also shorter-term targets. The government is eager to grow freight by 7.5 per cent in England and Wales and by at least 8.7 per cent in Scotland over the next five years. The report says the rail freight sector needs a framework that supports rail freight operators, their customers, and international investors to make significant investments in long-term assets by providing certainty and confidence to the sector. The Freight Britain report outlines a policy framework to help create the right conditions for that growth.
