RAIL minister Claire Perry has admitted that successive governments have failed to invest sufficiently in infrastructure, and declared herself 'determined to turn things round' in response to rapidly rising demand. She also signalled that new ways of using rail are being actively investigated, including the carriage of parcels and other low-bulk goods on passenger trains.
She told an audience of rail engineers in London that transport networks are now full, and that railfreight was at the heart of the government's plans to upgrade the railway system between now and 2020.
She said: "This government wants more than anything to deliver balanced, sustainable economic growth. And you can’t grow a local, regional or national economy without moving people and products."
She pointed out that railfreight's share of the market has doubled to 11 per cent since the sector was privatised 20 years ago, and that the UK is doing better at moving goods by rail than many other countries, including China, which is often highlighted as a progressive country as far as railways are concerned.
She also accepted the Rail Delivery Group's calculation that railfreight is worth £1.6 billion a year to the British economy.
She continued: "Both the Doncaster North Chord and the Ipswich Chord have given us significant improvements in rail freight journey times out of Immingham and Felixstowe. We have just opened the Reading flyover, providing grade separation to improve both rail freight performance and reliability for passengers.
"At the same time, we are looking at new opportunities for carrying goods by rail. We know there have been pilot schemes for carrying low-bulk goods on passenger trains, such as the partnership between East Midlands Trains and 5PL on routes between Leicester, Nottingham and London. There should be scope to grow this market. If passenger trains have off-peak services with very few passengers, why should they not make use of available space to offer a parcel service?"
However, she also warned that rail faces fresh challenges as well: "Electrification of the road network will challenge rail’s green credentials. We’ve seen around 30,000 plug-in car and plug-in van grant claims submitted since the grant scheme began in 2010. Autonomous road vehicles and the platooning of lorries are being developed around the world, and trials of autonomous road vehicles will take place here in the UK in Greenwich, Bristol, Milton Keynes and Coventry.
"Rail needs to respond to these developments. Just as we have with road vehicles, we need to think about how we power the rail network and ensure our use of energy is efficient. The electrification programme is key, but electrification is unlikely to be cost-effective everywhere. That’s why there is so much interest in the Independently Powered EMU – also known as the battery powered train – which has recently completed several successful weeks in passenger service.
"The energy challenge will be more acute for freight, where you need a locomotive that can run for long periods on non-electrified routes."
She concluded by asking for the industry's help: "What do you need from my department and from government? More joined-up investment with passenger-facing improvements? Better planning guidance to make sure critical road and rail interfaces are built where they should be? Help in raising the profile of railfreight? After all, you are a great privatisation success story.
"I want to listen to you and your colleagues across the industry."